October has been a busy month for venture capital investments and acquisitions in the Boston area. The latest deals include an acquisition by Nokia, another big round for telecom technology startup Altiostar, and a seed round for a telehealth startup. Read on for details.
—Nokia bought Cambridge, MA-based Eta Devices for an undisclosed price. The 20-person startup’s technology helps extend smartphone battery life and reduces power consumption at the base stations that connect mobile phone calls to telephone networks. Nokia said it sees the latter capability as crucial as the telecommunications industry moves to 5G networks.
—Speaking of the telecom industry, Altiostar disclosed in an SEC filing that it raised $30 million from investors. The Tewksbury, MA-based startup makes radio equipment that it says boosts the performance of wireless networks and helps mobile broadband companies lay the groundwork for the transition to 5G networks. Altiostar has raised about $182.5 million in equity and debt financing, according to SEC filings.
—Mobiquity, a Waltham, MA-based mobile-app maker and marketer for businesses, raised $13.2 million from investors, according to a new SEC filing. Investors have poured almost $45 million into Mobiquity to date, SEC filings show.
—Woburn, MA-based Gridco Systems, which makes equipment and software for electric utilities, said it raised $12 million from General Catalyst Partners, Lux Capital, North Bridge Venture Partners, Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen, and others. Gridco has raised $54 million from investors since it was founded in 2010.
—NewSpring Capital announced it invested $7.5 million in Boston-based Seniorlink. Seniorlink employs a staff of nurses, social workers, and behavioral health specialists who support doctors and other healthcare professionals providing in-home care. NewSpring’s investment will fund further development of Seniorlink’s Vela product, a software program that the company says helps care teams collaborate; access local services, such as transportation and medical equipment providers; find helpful articles, videos, and podcasts; and more.
—Concord, MA-based Apriori Technologies raised $3.5 million, according to an SEC filing. The company sells product cost management software.
—Ecurv raised $3 million from investors, an SEC filing shows. The Cambridge, MA-based company’s technology helps manage the operations of electricity-guzzling machines like refrigerators, HVAC systems, pumps, motors, and more.
—Virtudent, a telehealth startup focused on dental care, raised $2 million in seed funding. BostInno reported the round was led by Sparta Group, Desh Deshpande’s investment office.
—Finally, there was a pair of funding announcements that didn’t disclose the amount invested. Hamilton Lane backed Boston-based fintech startup Bison, and Lowell, MA-based cloud services firm PlumChoice received an influx of capital led by M/C Partners and Edison Partners.
