ComplianceQuest, Homee, Washlava top MoneyTree funding report

Six companies in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area raised $60 million in funding in the third quarter of 2019, according to the PwC/CB Insights MoneyTree report.

ComplianceQuest, a Tampa company with software for life science firms and manufacturers, received more than half the total, when it raised $36 million in a Series A round led by Insight Partners in September.

The ComplianceQuest deal also was the largest venture capital funding in Florida in Q3 2019, the MoneyTree report said.

MoneyTree is one of two quarterly reports that tracks early-stage funding activity. The other report, the Pitchbook-NVCA Venture Monitor, was released Wednesday.

Both focus on investor interest in startups, companies that hold promise for creating high-skill, high-wage jobs that can transform the economy. MoneyTree counts only actual dollars invested in a quarter, while Venture Monitor tags a broader array of deals.

Here’s a snapshot of the Tampa-St. Pete top deals in the MoneyTree report.

• ComplianceQuest, Tampa, Series A round, $36 million. ComplianceQuest is a cloud-based EQMS using the Salesforce platform. ComplianceQuest streamlines quality, compliance, content and collaboration management workflows across companies and globally-based supply chain networks.

• Homee, Tampa, Series B round, $15 million. Homee is an on-demand property maintenance service that provides customers with instant access to electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians and handymen from a mobile app.

• Washlava, Tampa, growth equity, $5 million. Washlava, technology to reserve and pay for laundry machines with a smartphone, is an elevated self-service laundry experience aimed at mass retail consumer segments in the United States.

• CoLabs Holdings, Tampa, seed/angel round, $2.25 million. CoLabs Holdings is a software incubator that builds cloud-based solutions. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, it tailors solutions to address specific industry challenges.

• Lumina Analytics, Tampa, $1.47 million. Lumina Analytics harnesses external data for predictive analysis and intelligence reporting, offering enterprise solutions, strategic solutions, correlate solutions, and security solutions for corporate and government clients.

• Dabbl, Tampa, $400,000. Dabbl is a mobile ad network that directly connects consumers with their favorite brands through the consumer’s preferred retailer loyalty platform to build lasting relationships.

The MoneyTree report also included a deal involving Aspire, a Tampa company that provides retirement solutions and serves advisors, plan sponsors and third party administrators. The amount of funding raised was not disclosed.

Florida moved up to No. 10 among the states in terms of deal activity in the three months ended Sept. 30. There were 21 deals with a total value of $141 million in Florida in Q3 2019.

Nationwide, venture capital funding fell in the third quarter, but remains at strong levels, the MoneyTree report said. U.S. venture capital-backed companies raise $26 billion in the third quarter, a 15 percent decline compared to the prior quarter. Deal activity fell 16 percent, to 1,304 transactions.