New England startups working on drugs, security software, robots, laser weapons (seriously), and mobile fitness applications have reported a bundle of deals this week heading into Thanksgiving.
—Newton, MA-based Allena Pharmaceuticals, a new startup targeting protein therapeutics, premiered with a $15 million Series A financing. The funding came from Third Rock Ventures, Frazier Healthcare, and Bessemer Venture Partners.
—Area security software makers were busy in the past week. CounterTack, formerly of the DC area, announced a $9.5 million financing and its plans to move to Boston. The new money comes from Fairhaven Capital of Cambridge, MA, along with other private investors. Boston-based Rapid7, a security assessment software maker, pulled in a $50 million Series C round from new backer Technology Crossover Ventures.
—Cambridge-based Agios announced its oversubscribed $78 million Series C financing, from its drug-development partner Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) and return investors Arch Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, and Third Rock Ventures. Also participating in the deal were “three leading, large public investment funds,” whose identity Agios did not disclose.
—The week kicked off with a duo of deal announcements from Harvest Automation and TeraDiode. Billerica, MA-based Harvest, which makes robots that harvest shrubs, raised $7.8 million led by Entree Capital. And Littleton, MA-based TeraDiode, which makes lasers for defense and industrial applications, pinned down $10 million in Series B money led by Argonaut Ventures.
—Mobile app developer RunKeeper nabbed a $10 million financing round, led by new investor Spark Capital, with participation from existing investor O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and new investor Revolution Ventures (co-founded by AOL chairman Steve Case). The Boston startup said it would use the money to further develop a platform for plugging different health-focused applications and devices into its RunKeeper ecosystem.
