Boston Tech Roundup: MassChallenge, True Fit, SmashFly, & More

Here’s a collection of fundraising headlines that surfaced around the Boston-area technology scene in the past week, from cleantech companies and startup accelerators to enterprise software, e-commerce tools, and more:

—Next Step Living, a Boston-based company that aids homeowners with energy-efficiency retrofits, has raised a $25 million Series D investment. The round was led by a new investor, Braemar Energy Ventures. Earlier investors  VantagePoint Capital Partners and Black Coral Capital also participated. The company, founded in 2008, says it has more than 800 employees in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

—MassChallenge, the startup accelerator program that gives new companies free rent, mentorship, and a prize competition, wants to raise $10 million to expand globally. The plan is part of the Clinton Global Initiative, a fundraising program run by the nonprofit foundation run by Bill and Hillary Clinton. MassChallenge says it would use the money to expand to 10 new locations in the next five years. Half of the money would go to MassChallenge, and the other half to subsidize new locations as they build local support.

—True Fit, a Woburn, MA-based startup that sells software for helping consumers standardize clothing sizes across shopping websites, has filed SEC paperwork indicating a $10.6 million investment. More background on the company at the Boston Business Journal.

—SmashFly, a Concord, MA-based corporate hiring software developer, has raised a $9 million Series A investment. The round was led by Boston-based VC firm OpenView Venture Partners. SmashFly was founded in 2007 and is led by founder and CEO Michael Hennessy. The company lists Ryder, PG&E, and The Cheesecake Factory among its clients.

—Coherent Path, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of marketing software for retailers, has raised a $6.25 million Series A investment. The round was led by Sigma Prime Ventures and GrandBanks Capital, joined by Common Angels, Dunnhumby Ventures, and BOLDstart Venture. The money will be used to hire more sales and marketing employees.

—Whoop, a Boston-based startup working on wearable health monitors and software for athletes, has raised $6 million, according to an SEC filing. Atlas Venture and Founder Collective are among the investors. The company, which got its start at the Harvard iLab, used to be called Bobo Analytics.

Author: Curt Woodward

Curt covered technology and innovation in the Boston area for Xconomy. He previously worked in Xconomy’s Seattle bureau and continued some coverage of Seattle-area tech companies, including Amazon and Microsoft. Curt joined Xconomy in February 2011 after nearly nine years with The Associated Press, the world's largest news organization. He worked in three states and covered a wide variety of beats for the AP, including business, law, politics, government, and general mayhem. A native Washingtonian, Curt earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. As a past president of the state's Capitol Correspondents Association, he led efforts to expand statehouse press credentialing to online news outlets for the first time.