The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Main Street Health Leads Slow Week

Want to keep track of the largest startup funding deals in 2023 with our curated list of $100 million-plus venture deals to U.S.-based companies? Check out The Crunchbase Megadeals Tracker.

This is a weekly feature that runs down the week’s top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week’s biggest funding rounds here.

For weeks it seemed like investors couldn’t take part in enough nine-figure rounds. Well, that all stopped this week, as only one round topped $100 million (although by quite a lot!) and rounds all-in-all were relatively small. Did investors take a fall holiday? Is the big-round frenzy over? Stay tuned.

1. Main Street Health, $315M, health care: This huge round may have gone unnoticed. Value-based health care provider Main Street Health locked up more than $315 million led by Oak HC/FT. The health care organization focuses on rural America, partnering with primary care physicians in those areas. The firm currently partners with over 900 clinics in 18 states and plans to expand into another eight states next year. Founded in 2021, the Nashville-based firm has now raised $342 million, per Crunchbase.

2. Pair Eyewear, $75M, retail: The direct-to-consumer startup market is not what it used to be. All one needs to do is look at Birkenstock’s recent IPO to be reminded of that. Nevertheless, VCs are still willing to put cash into some such startups — including New York-based Pair Eyewear. The customizable eyewear brand raised a $75 million Series C led by Prysm Capital. The company makes prescription glasses for just $60 and has realized 24x revenue growth from 2020 to 2023. Clearly those numbers caught some investors’ attention. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $150 million, according to Crunchbase.

3. Shine Technologies, $70M, Energy: Fusion has been very popular with investors for a while now. This week it was Wisconsin-based Shine Technologies that raised big, locking up a $70 million round led by existing investors including Baillie Gifford and Fidelity Management and Research Co. The round is a convertible note ahead of a Series D later, per Axios. Many feel the commercialization of fusion energy — created when two atoms are merged — is close to becoming a reality thanks to recent tech advancements in things like switches and modeling software. Founded in 2005, the company has raised $742 million, per Crunchbase.

4. Saronic, $55M, defense: Fusion isn’t the only hot sector investors eyed this week. Defense tech also has seen a slight surge in funding, and this week Austin, Texas-based Saronic raised some cash in the space. The maritime autonomy company raised a $55 million Series A led by Caffeinated Capital. Saronic plans to use the new cash to accelerate research and development while expanding in-house manufacturing capacity for rapid production of its autonomous surface vessels. Founded in 2022, the company has raised $70 million, per Crunchbase.

5. Capital Rx, $50M, health care: New York-based pharmacy benefit manager Capital Rx closed a $50 million-plus strategic investment round from the likes of Atlantic Health System and Banner Health. The company’s health platform, Judi, connects the various parts of the  pharmacy ecosystem and services more than 2.4 million members for Medicare, Medicaid and commercial plans. Founded in 2017, the company has now raised $253 million, per Crunchbase.

6. Mojo Vision, $44M, electronics: Saratoga, California-based Mojo Vision, a micro-LED developer, closed a $43.5 million Series A led by New Enterprise Associates and Khosla Ventures. Founded in 2015, the company has raised nearly $270 million, per Crunchbase.

7. Harri, $43M, human resources: New York-based employee experience platform Harri raised a $43 million Series B led by Atalaya Capital Management. Founded in 2012, the company has now raised $112 million, per Crunchbase.

8. Stash, $40M, fintech: New York-based investing app Stash raised $40 million in a convertible note led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management. Founded in 2015, the company has raised $520 million, per Crunchbase.

9. Prophecy, $35M, data: Palo Alto, California-based data platform developer Prophecy locked up a $35 million Series B led by Insight Partners and SignalFire. Founded in 2017, Prophecy has raised $67 million, per the company.

10. BlueNalu, $34M, aquaculture: San Diego-based cellular aquaculture startup BlueNalu locked up a $33.5 million Series B from new and existing investors. Founded in 2017, the company has raised $118 million, per Crunchbase.

Big global deals

Main Street’s big raise led the way globally, but there was a big AI round overseas.

China-based Dark Side of the Moon, an AI large-scale model company, raised a venture round of approximately $274 million.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the Crunchbase database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the seven-day period of Oct. 7 to Oct. 13. Although most announced rounds are represented in the database, there could be a small time lag as some rounds are reported late in the week.

Illustration: Dom Guzman