Money Moves: Aquicore and 4 other local tech companies raised millions in VC funding

Money Moves is a column where we chart the funding raises of tech companies across the region. Have a tip? Email us at dc@technical.ly.

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Despite the pandemic-prompted recession in place, D.C.-area companies continued to land major venture capital dollars in the second quarter of this year. Overall, venture capital firms have already invested more than $1 billion into the region’s startups in 2020, and we’re only a little over halfway through.

Technical.ly recently reported that Adams Morgan-based Sorcero closed a $3.5 million bridge to a Series A, Arlington, Virginia-based Second Front Systems closed a $6 million seed round and Reston, Virginia-based careMESH closed on a $5 million seed funding round, for instance.

Other recent funding raises for Aquicore, RangeForce, Trilogy Mentors, Sayari Labs and Somatus range from $1.1 million up to $64 million. Here’s the info on those deals:

Aquicore

Commercial real estate software company Aquicore secured $14 million in a new funding round led by Keyframe Capital with participation from A/O Proptech and Westly Group.

Founded in 2013, the company built an all-in-one platform to help buildings monitor their usage of all utilities (electricity, gas, water, etc.) in real time. This fresh funding brings Aquicore’s total venture capital raised to $33 million.

“In these times of uncertainty, empowering teams with actionable and accurate data has become a top priority for business leaders as they reconfigure their plans,” said Logan Soya, founder and CEO of Aquicore, in a press release. “Making building analytics easily adoptable for the world unlocks the promises it has held. We are beyond excited to reach this critical milestone for our company with such incredible customers and industry leaders.”

The proptech company plans to use the new funding to expand into Europe and continue advancing its cloud-based platform. This announcement comes after Aquicore moved into a new office space in Penn Quarter last November to accommodate its growing team.

Trilogy Mentors

Richmond, Virginia-based Trilogy Mentors, a Saas-based cloud cybersecurity training company, raised $1.1 million in seed funding and launched a strategic partnership with Tuscany Strategy Consulting.

Tutors and educators can use Trilogy Mentors’ platform to provide one-on-one academic support to students. The company plans to use the funding for marketing efforts, development of its platform and growing its team. Trilogy Mentors has raised around $2 million in venture capital to date.

“With Trilogy’s unique ability to launch and scale a branded, relationship-based online learning platform and its focus on relationship-based, holistic learning, we were in a position to help educators through digital transformation when the pandemic hit,” Trilogy Mentors founder and CEO John Failla said in a statement.

RangeForce

Manassas, Virginia-based RangeForce, provider of on-demand, cloud-based cybersecurity training, closed a $16 million Series A funding round led by Energy Impact Partners with participation from existing investor Trind and new investor Cisco Investments.

“Worldwide, we see organizations continue to struggle with the shortage of cybersecurity professionals,” said Nazo Moosa, Europe managing partner at Energy Impact Partners, in a press release. “We’re thrilled to partner with RangeForce at a time when critical infrastructure is under attack and organizations seek to replace classroom education with cloud-based practical training.”

The company plans to use the Series A to advance its go-to-market efforts, product development, global growth and partnerships.

Sayari Labs

Chinatown-based Sayari Labs, developer of financial intelligence and supply chain risk solutions, has secured $2.5 million for its Series B funding round, which originally closed at $9 million.

The additional investors include In-Q-Tel, MissionOG, and TFX Capital. They joined current investors Arsenal Growth, Lavrock Ventures and SAP’s NS2 Ventures who made earlier investments in the round.

“Access to trustworthy data from the least transparent parts of the world is mission critical for global financial institutions and corporations, as well as U.S. and partner government agencies,” said Farley Mesko, Sayari CEO and cofounder, in a press release.

The company plans to use the Series B extension funding to further develop its tech solutions and help organizations further leverage open source data to fight security threats.

Somatus

McLean, Virginia-based Somatus closed a $64 million Series C funding round.

Founded in 2016, the company provides kidney care for health plans, health systems and provider groups through its full-stack kidney care solution. The solution provides end-to-end services from analytics and diagnostics to dialysis to ultimately help prevent chronic kidney disease. With the close of this new funding round, Somatus has raised more than $105 million in venture capital since its inception.

“Since our inception, we have set out to do one thing: be the best provider of integrated care for those with or at risk of developing kidney disease,” said Somatus cofounder and CEO Ikenna Okezie in a statement. “Fueled by the tenacity of our team, the trust of our patients, and the support of our partners and investors, we have made great strides in the pursuit of our mission and helped spur needed transformation in the kidney care sector.”

The company reports that it is providing kidney care to more than 20,000 patients across six states who are suffering from kidney diseases. Somatus uses its propriety tech platform to provide actionable insights about how to care for patients suffering from kidney diseases.

Somatus will use the fresh funding to expand to more markets, secure more partnerships and add to its 300-person team. The company is also working on launching and apps for its patients to manage their kidney care goals.