Venture capital deals rebound in Q3 in Tampa-St. Pete
Venture capital investing in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area shrugged off the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and bounced back in the third quarter of 2020.
Ten local companies drew more than $50 million in venture capital investments in the three months ended Sept. 30. In the previous three months, six companies received $30 million in venture funding.
The local numbers reflect a national trend. Venture capital dealmaking has remained resilient throughout the pandemic, according to the Pitchbook-NVCA Venture Monitor, a quarterly report on venture capital activity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Angel rounds in particular were strong during the quarter, the news release said.
“After a lackluster Q2, early-stage VC deal activity showed signs of rebounding in Q3 as investors at this stage are becoming more comfortable investing in the ‘new normal,’” a news release said.
The latest local deals pushed venture funding to more than $150 million for 28 local companies in the first nine months of the year.
The top Q3 local deal was a $14 million investment in Telepathy Labs, a Tampa technology company with an artificial intelligence platform, in an angel deal that closed on Aug. 14. Venture Monitor also listed Telepathy Labs as the top deal for Q2 2020.
Here are the other Q3 deals in the metro area, according to Venture Monitor.
• Immertec, a Tampa medical technology firm, raised $12 million in an early-stage, Series A funding that closed July 31.
• The IMCS Group, Integrated Medical Case Solutions, a medtech company in St. Petersburg received an $8 million capital infusion in a later-stage venture capital investment. The deal closed July 22.
• Kliken, a Tampa marketing technology firm formerly known as SiteWit, raised $6 million in a later-stage, Series B VC investment that closed Aug. 18. The company was valued at $15 million before the deal and had a post-deal valuation of $21 million, Venture Monitor said.
• Homee, a Tampa company with an on-demand home services platform, also increased its valuation, after getting a nearly $5 million early-stage investment July 15. The company’s pre-deal valuation was $60 million and that grew to $64 million, Venture Monitor said.
• SKUXchange, a St. Petersburg company that uses blockchain and other technologies to eliminate fraud in promotional offers, raised funding in an angel deal that closed Aug. 28. Venture Monitor listed the size of the deal at $4 million, although the St. Pete Catalyst previously reported it was a $1 million deal.
• Plaque Buster, an Indian Rocks Beach company with a patented plaque remover and gum stimulator, raised $1 million in an angel funding.
• Covercasa, a Tampa company with a platform that allows consumers to shop for home insurance, raised $1 million in an angel funding and has a post-deal valuation of $6 million, Venture Monitor said.
BlockSpaces, a blockchain technology development studio in Tampa, and MyMedicalHub, a cloud-based predictive healthcare informatics and technology company focused on musculoskeletal pain, also were included in Venture Monitor’s top deals. Deal size was not listed for either of those firms, but the Catalyst previously reported that BlockSpaces raised $75,000.
