#33: (11/25/24) Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap!
Check Out This Week's Venture Capital Investment Summary ($545.5 million raised across 18 featured companies) Spanning Early & Growth-Stage US Based Environmental Technology & Enterprise Software Startups!
Every Monday, the team here at Bearhug Recruiting aggregates, researches, and publishes a recap of the prior week's fundraising activity within the early and growth-stage Environmental Technology & Enterprise Software startup ecosystem.
This research not only allows us to keep our finger on the pulse of the markets we serve, but also benefits others who, like us, enjoy analyzing the latest trends that signal investor confidence AND startup growth within what we believe are the most exciting and impactful segments!
We also hope the people and companies we feature enjoy both a virtual fist bump from the team at Bearhug, plus benefit from some additional free market exposure to amplify their mission. Make sure you reach out to any that are interesting/relevant that you might be able to help!
Here’s this week’s startup funding recap:
OceanWell, led by Robert Bergstrom, has raised an $11 million Series A funding round. OceanWell develops modular deep-sea water farms designed for reverse osmosis desalination, harnessing natural hydrostatic pressure at depths of 400 meters. Each pod produces up to one million gallons of fresh water daily, removing salts, bacteria, pesticides, and other contaminants. The technology reduces energy consumption by up to 40%, eliminates toxic brine disposal, and protects marine life. OceanWell’s scalable solution aims to address global freshwater needs sustainably. The company plans to scale its modular deep-sea water farm solution and launch California’s water farm pilot with Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD). The round was led by Kubota Corporation, the family office of Jon Hemingway of Carrix Ports, and Charles McGarraugh. [Link] #Water Tech #Environmental Technology #Sustainability Tech #Water Purification Tech #Advanced Filtration Tech #Marine Tech #Energy Efficiency Tech
Four Growers, led by Brandon Contino, has raised a $9 million Series A funding round. Four Growers develops AI-powered harvesting robots, including the GR-100 system, which uses 8 stereo cameras and proprietary AI to achieve 98% accuracy in detecting ripe produce and optimizing harvesting paths. Designed to reduce production costs for greenhouse growers, the technology provides a scalable, sustainable solution for various crops. Operational for years across North America and Europe, the GR-100 is transforming agricultural processes with speed and precision. The company plans to scale production of the GR-100 harvesting robot, expand globally to Europe, North America, and Oceania, and enhance research and development activities. The round was led by Basset Capital, with contributions from Ospraie Ag Science, Y Combinator, and other existing investors. Kudos to Taver Capital Partners (Mikhail Taver), for participating in prior funding rounds as well. [Link] #AgTech #Robotics #Smart Agriculture #Precision Agriculture #Artificial Intelligence #Sustainability Tech #Environmental Technology
Distru, led by Blaine Hatab, has raised a $6 million Series A funding round. Distru provides a seed-to-sale ERP platform for the cannabis industry, offering tools to manage inventory, orders, and customer relations. The platform integrates with Metrc and supports hundreds of licensees across the United States. Designed for compliance and operational efficiency, Distru empowers cannabis operators to streamline workflows and scale their businesses effectively. The company plans to accelerate growth, enhance product development, and expand into 11 additional states, including New York, with its Biotrack integration. The round was led by Global Founders Capital. Kudos to Felicis (Niki Pezeshki), Village Global (Anne Dwane), for participating in prior funding rounds as well. [Link] #ERP Software #Supply Chain Management Software #Inventory Optimization Software #Customer Relationship Management Software #SaaS #Compliance Software #Cannabis Tech
Oishii, led by Hiroki Koga, has raised $150 million in a Series B funding round. Oishii is a sustainable vertical farming startup known for its innovative produce, including Omakase Berries and Koyo Berries. Combining advanced robotics with traditional farming methods, Oishii delivers pesticide-free, non-GMO produce that has caught the attention of chefs, consumers, and major retailers like Whole Foods. Its state-of-the-art farms, such as the 237,000-square-foot Amatelas Farm, increase production efficiency and scalability, making fresh, high-quality produce accessible year-round. The company plans to expand into new markets, invest in R&D, and establish an innovation center in Tokyo for further technological advancements. The round included Resilience Reserve, Miyako Capital, NTT, Bloom8 (Gabriel Ruimy, Brandon Chong), McWin Capital Partners, Mizuho Bank, Japan Green Investment Corp. for Carbon Neutrality (JICN), and Yaskawa Electric Corp. [Link] #AgTech #Vertical Farming #Sustainability Tech #Environmental Technology #Advanced Materials #Precision Agriculture #Food Tech
Ecore, led by Art Dodge, has raised an undisclosed Private Equity Round. Ecore transforms reclaimed rubber materials into sustainable, high-performance products. Through its TRUcircularity program, Ecore reclaims and repurposes its own products, creating a continuous cycle of rubber usage and preventing waste from entering landfills. Operating UL-certified zero waste plants, the company reclaims over 430 million pounds of waste rubber annually, avoiding 9.5 million pounds of CO₂ emissions. Its product portfolio includes athletic tracks, playground surfaces, and certified flooring solutions for diverse applications. The company plans to support growth initiatives, strengthen its operational infrastructure, and accelerate circularity and net-zero strategies. The investment was made by General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero Fund (Michael Bevan, Wilson Bowen). [Link] #Circular Economy #Sustainability Tech #Environmental Technology #Advanced Materials #Waste Management Tech #Renewable Materials #Green Building
Alchemyca, led by Patrick Vagner, has raised $2.5 million in a Seed funding round. Alchemyca uses enzymes, sensors, and AI to convert organic waste into renewable natural gas. By integrating advanced computational tools and biological catalysts, the company optimizes efficiency, making organic waste a viable feedstock for producing versatile fuels and chemicals. Partnerships with Ginkgo Bioworks and Novonesis support its innovative approach to renewable energy, driving sustainability and advancing waste-to-energy solutions. The company plans to expand operations and its development efforts. The round was led by Ferment (Jason Kakoyiannis). [Link] #Waste Management Tech #BioTech #Sustainability Tech #Environmental Technology #Renewable Energy #Circular Economy #Methane Emissions Monitoring
EarthOptics, led by Lars Dyrud, has raised $24 million in a Venture funding round. EarthOptics specializes in soil digitization and predictive agronomy, leveraging advancements in soil-sensing technologies, genomics, and data science. By combining lab-based analysis with proprietary field-based sensors, the company provides farmers and ranchers with actionable insights into their soil's chemical, physical, and biological properties. The merger with Pattern Ag enhances EarthOptics' offerings, creating a comprehensive soil data solution that helps optimize spending and unlock sustainable farming opportunities. The company plans to accelerate technological innovation, broaden its geographic reach, and strengthen its position as a leader in soil insights. The round was led by Conti Ventures and The Production Board. Backers included Cibus Capital, RuralWorks Partners, Norinchukin Bank, Leaps by Bayer, S2G Ventures (Cristina Rohr), Middleland Capital’s VTC Ventures, Cooperative Ventures, iSelect Fund, Serra Ventures (Stephen Beck), TO VC, Route 66 Ventures, Shell Ventures, Pappas Capital, CNH Ventures, and Rabo Ventures. [Link] #AgTech #Precision Agriculture #Sustainability Tech #Environmental Technology #Data Analytics Platform #Soil Regeneration #Predictive Analytics
Lightsynq, led by Mihir Bhaskar, has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round. Lightsynq develops quantum interconnect technology that links quantum processors into broader networks, overcoming the scaling limitations of single quantum systems. Using diamond photonic devices with color centers, the company’s quantum networking platform integrates scalable photonic fabrication to enable commercial quantum networking solutions. Lightsynq's technology is designed to provide hardware providers with the tools to solve key challenges in building interconnected quantum systems. The company plans to develop its quantum interconnect technology and scale its commercial applications. The round was led by Cerberus Ventures, with participation from Murata Electronics North America Inc., IAG Capital Partners, Safar Partners (Nader Motamedy, Arunas Chesonis), QVT, Element Six, and In-Q-Tel (George Hoyem). [Link] #Quantum Computing #Photonics #Hard Tech #Artificial Intelligence #Advanced Materials #Frontier Tech #Quantum Sensors
BrightAI, led by Alex Hawkinson, has raised $15 million in a Seed funding round. BrightAI provides an AI-driven platform, Stateful OS, designed to transform critical infrastructure industries from reactive to proactive decision-making. The platform offers real-time asset monitoring, AI-powered field guidance, and autonomous robotics for inspections, reducing risk and improving efficiency. With over 250,000 active AI endpoints deployed across 25,000 locations, BrightAI serves industries such as water, energy, transportation, and manufacturing, offering unparalleled insights into infrastructure conditions and enabling multimodal AI models to detect flaws. The company plans to expand its platform's reach across key industries. The round was led by Upfront Ventures (Nick Kim). [Link] #Artificial Intelligence #Internet of Things #Infrastructure Inspection #AI Agent #Predictive Analytics #Energy Tech #Industrial Automation
Inversion, led by Justin Fiaschetti, has raised $44 million in a Series A funding round. Inversion enables precision on-demand delivery from space to anywhere on Earth using its fully autonomous re-entry vehicles. Designed to deliver goods to challenging locations such as remote islands, mountains, or oceans, these vehicles ensure delivery within an hour and with pinpoint accuracy of 20 feet (6 meters). The company’s next-generation vehicle, Arc, represents a breakthrough in autonomous re-entry technology for precision delivery. The company plans to scale operations and develop Arc, its next-generation autonomous re-entry vehicle. The round was co-led by Spark Capital (Nabeel Hyatt) and Adjacent (Nico Wittenborn), with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, Kindred Ventures, and Y Combinator. Kudos to Kohala Ventures (Eric DelBalso), for participating in prior funding rounds as well. [Link] #Aerospace Tech #Frontier Tech #Autonomous Systems #Logistics Software #Unmanned Aerial Vehicles #SpaceTech #Environmental Technology
Aquaria, led by Brian Sheng, has raised $112 million in a Debt financing round. Aquaria develops atmospheric water generators (AWGs) that produce water from the sky using patented materials science and heat exchange technology. Designed to be scalable and energy-efficient, its Hydrogrid system supplies water to residential, hospitality, and commercial properties. These units can be deployed without traditional infrastructure and are compatible with solar and renewable energy, enabling net-zero water solutions in urban and remote areas. The company plans to develop and finance sustainable water supply solutions for residential, hospitality, and commercial properties. Backers included Mistletoe, Ciri Ventures, Soma Capital (Fouad Farhat, Aneel Ranadive, Mir Faiyaz), HF0, Bow Capital (Raymond Dong), Umami Capital, and Dick Gephardt. [Link] #Water Tech #PropTech #Environmental Technology #Sustainability Tech #Advanced Materials #Energy Efficiency Tech #Renewable Energy
Epic Cleantec, led by Aaron Tartakovsky, has raised $12 million in a Series B funding round. Epic Cleantec provides water reuse technology for the built environment, converting wastewater into treated water for non-potable uses, organic soil amendments, and heat energy. Its OneWater™ system is used in landmark projects like Salesforce Tower in San Francisco and The Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. Epic supports water reuse at scales ranging from single buildings to community-level systems, helping customers save millions of gallons of water annually while advancing sustainability in urban development. The company plans to expand its water reuse and resource recovery solutions across its project portfolio. The round was led by the family office of Drs. Kathy Fields and Garry Rayant. Kudos to J-Ventures (Oded Hermoni), for participating in prior funding rounds as well. [Link] #Water Tech #CleanTech #Sustainability Tech #Environmental Technology #Advanced Filtration Tech #Energy Efficiency Tech #Smart Cities
Revv, led by Adi Bathla, has raised $20 million in a Venture funding round. Revv provides a B2B SaaS platform leveraging AI and advanced language models to simplify auto repair diagnostics. By aggregating data from over 60 sources, the platform delivers actionable repair packages for complex ADAS systems, such as automatic braking and lane departure warnings. Its hardware-agnostic system integrates with shop equipment and estimation software, providing real-time diagnostic information. With over 2,100 repair locations and significant ARR growth, Revv is expanding into auto-quoting and mechanical repair solutions. The company plans to expand operations and further its development efforts. The round was led by Left Lane Capital (Dan Ahrens), with participation from Soma Capital, 1984 Ventures (Samit Kalra), and Agalé Ventures. [Link] #Automotive Tech #Artificial Intelligence #SaaS #Predictive Analytics #Machine Learning #Data Integration Platform #Customer Experience Software
Keychain, led by Oisin Hanrahan, has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round. Keychain provides an AI-powered platform connecting brands and retailers with ideal manufacturing partners in the CPG sector. With a network of over 20,000 manufacturers, brands, and retailers, the platform simplifies product creation, offering clarity and convenience to the manufacturing process. Facilitating over $500 million in monthly projects, Keychain is a key player in the food and beverage manufacturing ecosystem, supported by strategic partnerships with major companies like General Mills and Schreiber. The company plans to expand its reach across the United States food and beverage manufacturing ecosystem. The round was led by BoxGroup (David Tisch), with support from General Mills, Schreiber, Lightspeed Venture Partners (Raviraj Jain), and SV Angel. [Link] #Manufacturing Tech #Artificial Intelligence #SaaS #Supply Chain Management Software #Data Integration Platform #Food & Beverage Tech #Customer Engagement Software
Distyl, led by Arjun Prakash, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round. Distyl offers automation solutions for AI processes, combining AI-native software with tailored engineering to enable rapid enterprise-scale implementations. Using its proprietary accelerant, Distillery, the platform transforms organizational knowledge into AI-native workflows, automating complex tasks. Distyl serves Fortune 100 companies across industries like healthcare, telecommunications, and retail, driving reliable automation and delivering rapid results tailored to unique business needs. The company plans to expand its AI engineering and research team to accelerate development efforts. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Khosla Ventures (Samir Kaul, Hari Arul), Coatue (Andy Chen), Dell Technologies Capital, Nat Friedman, and angel investors. Kudos to Firsthand.vc (Simon Chan), VCFirm1 (Partner), for participating in prior funding rounds as well. [Link] #Artificial Intelligence #Generative AI #AI Agent #Machine Learning #Data Integration Platform #Enterprise Service Management Platform #AI Infrastructure
Agentio, led by Arthur Leopold, has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round. Agentio provides an ad platform that simplifies purchasing advertising integrations within creator content. Using proprietary AI technology, it connects brands with creators, enabling scalable and efficient ad buys on platforms like YouTube. With features like AI-powered matching, auto-bidding, and brand safety tools, Agentio empowers brands such as DoorDash, Bombas, and HelloFresh to collaborate with top creators, delivering impactful advertising experiences. The company plans to expand its brand and creator network, scale its platform capabilities, and introduce integrations with additional social channels starting in 2025. The round, which brought the total capital raised to $16 million, was led by Benchmark, with investments from Craft Ventures (Bryan Rosenblatt), AlleyCorp (Susannah Shipton), and others. [Link] #AdTech #Artificial Intelligence #Marketing Ops Tech #Customer Engagement Software #Conversational AI #SaaS #Digital Voice Communication Tech
SuperAnnotate, led by Vahan Petrosyan, has raised $36 million in a Series B funding round. SuperAnnotate provides enterprise software for managing and creating large-scale multimodal AI datasets. Its platform enables customers to build, fine-tune, and iterate datasets for generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLM), accelerating the development lifecycle for AI applications. Operating globally, the company supports clients like Databricks, Canva, and Motorola Solutions in advancing dataset management and orchestration for AI-driven solutions. The company plans to expand its position as a leader in enterprise GenAI dataset creation, management, and orchestration. The round was led by Socium Ventures, with participation from NVIDIA, Databricks Ventures, Lionel Messi’s Play Time Ventures, and existing investors. Kudos to Base10 (TJ Nahigian), Plug and Play (Alireza Masrour), for participating in prior funding rounds as well. [Link] #Generative AI #Artificial Intelligence #Data Analytics Platform #AI Infrastructure #Machine Learning #Data Integration Platform #DataOps Software
Magma Math, led by Henrik Appert, has raised $40 million in a Series A funding round. Magma Math provides a K-12 instructional platform supporting state-aligned math pedagogy. Designed for formative assessments and student-centered learning, the platform enables students to show their thinking and teachers to foster deeper math understanding. By integrating with classroom technology, it enhances academic growth while saving teachers time. Magma Math promotes mathematical discourse and efficient classroom management, advancing education through innovative tools. The company plans to expand curriculum offerings, enhance user experience with AI capabilities, and scale operations. The round was led by Five Elms Capital (Joe Onofrio), with participation from previous investors, team members, and industry experts. [Link] #EdTech #Learning Management System #Artificial Intelligence #Digital Education #Data Analytics Platform #Student-Centered Learning #AI Infrastructure
*Note: The companies we feature in our weekly recap are a very small subset of a much larger batch, carefully chosen based on our team's assessment of how each company aligns with our GTM search practice. It’s worth noting that most startups raise funding rounds privately, often long before the news is announced publicly!
