Money Moves: DC cyber firm Virtru just landed a $60M Series C, with plans to double headcount

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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Virtru, a DC-based cybersecurity firm specializing in data protection, just raised $60 million in growth financing.

ICONIQ Growth and Foundry Capital led the round, with additional participation from Tiger Global, MC2, Bessemer Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates. Through the deal, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Foundry Capital CEO John Ein will join the company’s board. Former Sonatype CMO Matt Howard has also joined the company in the same position.

Jack Ackerly, CEO, told Technical.ly that the raise followed major success for the company over the past few years, including that Virtru’s usage quadrupled during the pandemic. With the funds, Virtru plans to expand its global reach, build out the government team, enable third parties to integrate into its technology, and move into open-source options with its data and tech.

“In order to really drive to the default, secure world that we’ve been all about from day one, no one company can actually do that on its own,” Ackerly said. “So it’s really about fostering a community of likeminded developers and companies to really move the industry core together towards open source.”

With the new funds, the CEO said the company also plans to double its 150-person team in the next 12 months, particularly on the engineering and go-to-market sides. It plans to hire locally as well as bring in talent from across the country.

See open roles here.

Curbio raised $65 million in a Series B

Real estate tech company Curbio, based in Potomac, Maryland, just nabbed a $65 million Series B round.

Revolution Growth led the round, with additional participation from Camber Creek, Comcast Ventures, Brick & Mortar Ventures and Second Century Ventures (all existing investors) as well as Kanye Partners and Masco Ventures. The company last raised in 2019 with a $7 million Series A, raising a total of $93 million since its founding in 2016.

According to a company statement, Curbio said it plans to use the funds to move into new markets and bolster its technology, which helps real estate agents manage renovations and homeowners manage house flips. It will also build out an invitation-only job platform for five-star contractors to work on said projects.

“The home renovation market is massive and a large portion of that spend happens in Curbio’s wheelhouse with pre-sale upgrades,” said Patrick Conroy, Revolution Growth partner, in a statement. “Curbio’s technology-enabled solution addresses a major mismatch in the U.S. housing market — more than 80% of homes are over 15 years old and more than half of new buyers are millennials seeking modern layouts and finishes in their new homes.”

See open roles here.

HawkEye 360 adds another $5 million

HawkEye 360, a Herndon, Virginia geospatial analytics firm, has continued on its strong funding streak from 2021.

At the end of last year, the company closed a $145 million Series D round led by Insight Partners and Seraphim Space Investment Trust, a space tech fund. Now, Reston, Virginia defense, IT and biomedical firm Leidos has joined in, adding $5 million in the round and becoming a strategic investor. The $145 million was on top of $55 million raised in April, which had brought its 2021 total to $195 million and overall valuation to $895 million prior to the additional $5 million.

“We look forward to harnessing their support to create significant value not only for the defense, intelligence and national security communities but also for organizations addressing some of the most complex global challenges facing humanity and the environment,” said John Serafini, HawkEye CEO, in a statement.

See open roles here.

Other funding news

• Gravy Analytics, a Dulles, Virginia company developing enterprise location intelligence, received a $10 million credit facility from Espresso Capital. The company also competed in an equity financing round from Spring Lake Equity Partners and Richard Braddock.
• FutureAI, an artificial intelligence startup based in DC, raised a $2 million initial funding round from undisclosed investors. Its Brain Simulator product is designed to replicate humans’ deductive reasoning process, the company said.
• Verica, a verification system developer in Fairfax, Virginia, raised $12 million in a Series A round led by Intel Capital. True Ventures and Mango Capital also participated.

Government contracts

• Chantilly, Virginia defense tech company VTG was awarded a $20 million task order in an engineering services contract with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme, a Navy Seals division.
• Electrosoft Services, an IT and professional services firm in Reston, won a $7.4 million, one-year contract from the Defense Logistics Agency with the possibility of an extension.
• McLean, Virginia-based BAE Systems was awarded a $137 million, five-year contract for lifecycle management and sustainment of the US Navy systems, as well as training military personnel.
• Reston’s CACI International was awarded a five-year, single-award, $514 million task order from the US Army. CACI will be modernizing the network of outside plant facilities and infrastructures.
• Axiologic Solutions, based in Fairfax, was awarded a seat on a hybrid contract from Army Event, Planning, Operations and Support for the National Cyber Range Complex. The contract is a 10-year deal with a ceiling of $2.41 billion.
• Reston’s NCI Information Systems, an IT solutions firm, received one of five positions on a total engineering and integration services contract from the US Army. The 10-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract hosts a maximum ordering of $800 million.

IPO watch

• Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Arcellx, a developer of cell therapy technology, filed for an IPO. According to documents, the company reported a net loss of $44.3 million in January to September of 2021.
• C5 Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company based in DC, completed a $287.5 million IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in January. The company, which is led by former Blue Origin President Robert Meyerson, is focused on companies developing products in the space, cybersecurity and energy sectors.