This week, we’re tracking several Boston-area startup funding announcements, although some investors are being tight-lipped about the size of their bets. We’ve also got cleantech companies making waves at a national competition. Read on for details.
—Waltham, MA-based Harvest Power raised another $20 million in a funding round led by previous investors True North Venture Partners, Industry Ventures, and Generation Investment Management. The company also named Christian Kasper as its CEO. He replaces Kathleen Ligocki, who recently left for another CEO job at an undisclosed company. Harvest Power helps customers manage and recycle organic waste by turning it into renewable energy, soils, mulches, and natural fertilizers.
—Avedro, a Waltham-based vision correction technology startup, raised $16.5 million in an equity funding round that could reach $32 million when it closes, according to a new SEC filing.
—LovePop, a Harvard Innovation Lab spinout that makes pop-up greeting cards, raised $2.6 million in a round that could reach $3.4 million, according to an SEC filing. LovePop participated in Techstars Boston’s most recent summer program.
—Boston-based “social” robot maker Jibo continued to rake in capital. Fenox Venture Capital has invested an undisclosed amount of money in Jibo, which raised $37.4 million from investors earlier this year. That funding round followed a $3.7 million Indiegogo campaign last year. Jibo expects to begin shipping its robot next year.
—MassVentures, the state of Massachusetts’s venture capital arm, invested an undisclosed amount in the latest funding round for Boston marketing software company Jebbit. In July, the company disclosed it had raised $1.5 million out of a potential $3.5 million round, according to SEC filings.
—Tank Utility, which has developed an Internet-connected device to monitor fuel tanks, won the national accelerator grand prize at this year’s Cleantech Open awards. The company is based at Greentown Labs in Somerville, MA. It’s the first startup from the Northeast to win the award, which comes with a $100,000 investment and $100,000 worth of services, a spokeswoman says. EverVest, another Boston-area company, was the award’s runner-up.
