Money Moves: Blu Ventures has $25M for cyber and tech startups

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.

Investor Blu Ventures landed a new fund

Vienna, Virginia private VC investment firm Blu Venture Investors Cyber, which also uses the name Blu Ventures, just announced the closing of its first fund. The Blu Ventures Cyber Fund will focus on early-stage investment in the cyber and tech spaces to the tune of $25 million.

The fund, which a statement said will close at just under $25 million, had commitments from 95 investors, both new and old. So far, the fund has closed three transactions, totaling $2.67 million — or about 11% of the committed funds. According to Blu Ventures, these initial investments display the firm is intent on scaling and growing smaller companies navigating the tech and cyber industries.

“We’ve doubled down on our technology and cybersecurity strategy and are excited to close this fund and make the first few investments,” said Michael Sutton, a Blu Ventures partner, in a statement. “As technology takes on society’s biggest challenges, these companies stand out as leaders in providing comprehensive and innovative solutions for customers of all sizes. We’re thrilled to support them in their continued growth and success in the technology and cybersecurity space.”

cove doubles down on software with a fresh $10 million

cove, the DC-based coworking company, raised $10 million to grow its software product in a round led by Blackstone. Kastle Systems also took part in the round alongside existing investor Second City Ventures. According to cove, the funds will primarily be used for hiring.

cove has also made moves in the ecosystem of work tech for building owners and managers. The company developed tenant experience and building operating systems for commercial real estate holders. With its platform, which is white-labeled, tenants can do things like lease and book space, register guests and submit work orders.

“The way people engage with the built environment is changing, and we have developed our software to create a seamless experience for the user — whether tenant or operator,” said Adam Segal, founder and CEO of cove, in a statement. “Partnering with Blackstone as the preeminent real estate investor will help us grow our platform, reach greater scale and continue to innovate the digital layer of what’s next in the industry. Having a partner of this stature believe in our mission challenges us to continue innovating.”

Aledade raised $123 million in a new Series E

Aledade, a Bethesda, Maryland physician tech company, closed a $123 million Series E round this month.

Aledade now partners with more than 1,000 independent primary care practices, including more than 140 federally-qualified health centers. Together, these practices comprise more than 11,000 physicians in 36 states and the District of Columbia.

It is a self-described “physician enablement company” that provides data analytics, workflows, payer relationships and other care solutions to providers. Led by existing investor Omers Growth Equity, with additional participation from Fidelity Management & Research Company and other previous investors, the funds will grow the company’s tech offerings. Aledade said it plans to invest in more care and innovation for seniors covered by Medicaid and expand offerings in its health services subsidiary, Aledade Care Solutions.

The huge funding news is on par with the company’s growth over the past few years. In 2020, it closed a $64 million Series C and followed it up with a $100 million Series D in 2021. In February of this year, it also acquired care planning solutions provider Iris Healthcare.

DMV-area raises

• Capra Biosciences, the Manassas, Virginia-based bioengineering company building a continuous flow bioreactor, raised $1.8 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round. Prithvi Ventures, the E14 Fund, GS Futures, Wes Osbourn, Savantus Ventures, Asymmetry Ventures, the Decarbonization Consortium and SOSV are among the company’s other investors.
• Frederick, Maryland-based Regent Education, which developed an automated financial aid software, raised a “significant” investment round led by Attain Capital Partners, with additional participation from Chrysalis Ventures, CNF Investment and New Markets Venture. The deal will make Attain’s founder and leader Greg Baroni the chair of the company’s board.
• CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield made a grant investment of up to $2.2 million for 16 nonprofits and small businesses in the DMV. According to the company, the grants will be available to provide resources and guidance for recipients’ growth and sustainability.
• DC’s Dcode Capital, the investment arm of govtech accelerator Dcode, invested in two companies it projects for high growth. The funder was a new investor in California-based UrbanFootprint’s $25 million Series B round. It also took part in the latest round for Tamr, a Cambridge, Massachusetts tech company.
• Beltsville, Maryland-based Ion Storage Systems, which develops lithium batteries, raised a $30 million Series A. Toyota Ventures, Tenaska, Bangchak Corporation, GAINTECH Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, Z2Sixty Ventures, Climate Capital and the University of Maryland Discovery Fund were all involved in the round.

M&A Moves

• Dulles, Virginia program management and acquisition software company Unison acquired Ashburn, Virginia-based Plan4 Healthcare, a provider of budget and performance tracking tech. Financial terms were not revealed, however, Plan4 will now be a part of Unison’s software options and founder Brian Cannavan will remain.
• Rockville, Maryland-based Infinite Computer Solutions acquired the Yahoo Small Business Essentials portfolio from communications giant Verizon. A company statement said that with the acquisition, Infinite intends to be a leading enabler of small and midsize business growth.
• Curiosity Media, an Arlington, Virginia-based language learning tech company, was acquired by IXL Learning. Terms were not revealed.
• Arlington’s Level Access signed a merger deal with eSSENTIAL Accessibility, based in Toronto, Canada. Together, the digital accessibility companies intend to create a new end-to-end tech solution for accessibility.
• DC digital services company Ad Hoc announced that it would be acquiring Cascades Technologies, a federal IT company based in Herndon, Virginia. Financial terms were not revealed.