Money Moves: Procurated raised a $10M Series A round

Just two years after its launch, downtown DC’s Procurated raised a $10 million Series A financing round to continue growing its review-based tech offerings.

The company developed a digital review platform, allowing public sector orgs to view peer reviews when selecting suppliers.

Greycroft led the round, with participation by Tribeca Venture Partners, TDF Ventures and Limerick Hill. In 2019, the company closed a $2.5 million funding round led by Limerick Hill and MayFive Holdings. To date, it’s raised $15 million in total.

Cofounder David Yarkin said in a statement that with PPE shortages and supply chain issues, procurement and suppliers are front of mind for many across the company.

“With that spotlight comes increasing scrutiny over the contracting decisions made every day in state capitols, city halls and school district offices,” said Yarkin. “Through our growing community of thousands of purchasers sharing their supplier experiences, Procurated is instilling more trust and confidence in those decisions and reducing the risks of picking suppliers with spotty or unknown track records.”

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The Future of STEM Scholars Initiative (FOSSI), a national organization headquartered in DC, announced a goal this week to fund 1000 students in STEM fields through 2025.

FOSSI funds students in science, technology, engineering or math at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). With this goal, it would provide $40 million in scholarships to students to help drive diversity in the workforce. The initiative is a partnership of the American Chemistry Council, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, The Chemours Company and the HBCU Week Foundation.

“Through this ambitious long-term goal, FOSSI has the potential to have a real, tangible impact on the face of the chemical industry, providing opportunities for students in local facility communities and across the nation to pursue their dreams of a STEM education,” said Chairman Mark Vergnano in a statement. “But, it’s not just a scholarship. FOSSI creates lasting relationships between scholars and sponsors and helps provide real-world training and leadership skills to ensure these students’ success in their college years and beyond.”

To date, the organization has raised $15 million and funded over 300 scholars.

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Strivacity, a Herdon, Virginia-based startup that provides customer identity and access management products, landed a $9.3 million Series A investment.

The round was led by Ten Eleven Ventures, based in California, and Toba Capital.

The funding, Strivacity said, will be used to boost research and development as well as go-to-market investments for its product. Additionally, Ten Ventures Operating Partner Todd Weber with join the company’s board of directors.

“Business shouldn’t be forced to choose between providing a great customer journey and keeping data secure,” said CEO Keith Graham in a statement. “Customers have more choices today than ever before, and they expect the brands they interact with to provide great service and safeguard their personal information. Strivacity adds secure CIAM capabilities to your online properties fast so you can grow your revenue, stay compliant with fast-changing privacy regulations and personalize your service thanks to the insights you’ll get into how customers interact with you.”

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• Following a name change from the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) to the Virginia Innovation Partnerships Corporation (VIPC), CIT’s popular GAP funds is now Virginia Venture Partners.
• Baltimore City, Maryland is investing $35 million into broadband infrastructure, which includes public Wi-Fi hotspots.
• VentureCount, a financial services firm headquartered in DC, received an undisclosed investment from Everlane Equity Partners, a Boston, Massachusetts private equity firm.
• Boathouse Capital, a venture capital firm from Wayne, Pennsylvania, invested $8 million in Arlington’s Sandboxx, which developed a connectivity platform for military servicepeople.
• Yay Lunch, a startup from Charlottesville, Virginia that created a tech platform for healthy student lunches, raised a $12 million Series A round led by Valor Siren Ventures.
• Sheeva.AI, a vehicle location technology firm from Alexandria, Virginia, received a follow-on investment from Conscious Venture Partners in Baltimore. The company initially came out of stealth mode last month with an investment from Hagiwara Electronics and the Aggarwal Family.
• After spinning out of digital services company C2 Labs, RegScale, a compliance automation firm in Tysons, Virginia, landed a $1.5 million early funding round from VIPC and New Dominion Angels.
• Media conglomerate Comcast awarded $10,000 grants to 100 BIPOC founders in DC through its RISE program.
• Nicholas Kristof, a former longtime New York Times columnist and potential candidate for governoror of Oregon, awarded his Holiday Impact Prize to nonprofit Per Scholas to fund its programming efforts, which offer tech training programs for underrepresented groups in the DMV.

Government Contracts

• Reston, Virginia IT and professional services firm CACI International landed a five-year, $80.5 million task order for the US Naval Surface Warfare Center. Through the contract, CACI will provide expertise for unmanned aircraft.
• Arlington, Virginia-based robotics firm AeroVironment was awarded a $4.15 million from the Department of Defense contract for unmanned aircraft systems, with delivery by September 2022.
• Expedition Technology, a defense and intelligence company based in Herndon, received a multi-year contract of over $15 million from the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity for work with smart radio systems.