Venture capitalists were a little slower in the Boston area during the second quarter of this year, investing less money across fewer deals than they had in each of the previous two years.
But there were still some sizable checks being written, across healthcare, IT and software, and even—hold onto your hats—cleantech.
Here’s a rundown of the top five deals of the quarter, as laid out by the new MoneyTree Report from the National Venture Capital Association, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Thomson Reuters.
They’re the cream of the crop for a quarter that saw $719 million invested across 79 deals in the Boston metro area, according to the report. That compares with $766 million in 97 deals during the same period last year, and more than $1 billion invested over 105 deals during the second quarter of 2011.
Interestingly, even some of the big investments we see reported here may have flown a little under the radar the first time around. See how many of these deals you recognize:
—$55 million for Mevion Medical Systems, a Littleton, MA-based developer of next-generation proton therapy equipment for treating cancer. The money was raised from existing equity investors, including Caxton Heath Life Sciences and Venrock, along with debt financing.
—$48.8 million for Affirmed Networks, in a Series C deal led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from KCK Group and previous investors. The Acton, MA-based company, founded in 2010, sells software for improving wireless networks.
—$48.5 million for Blu Homes, formerly known as Mint Homes, a builder of environmentally friendly houses. Waltham, MA-based Blu also has offices in San Francisco, Ann Arbor, MI, and a factory in Vallejo, CA, where it produces its prefabricated “green” homes. This one is a bit confusing because the company announced its new funding at $65 million, although the MoneyTree Report pegs it at this lower figure, which reflects an SEC filing. In any case, it’s a lot of money for a sector that we don’t see getting big investment checks too often these days.
—$40 million for Interactions, Inc. of Franklin, MA, which makes call-center customer service software. The investment was led by SoftBank Capital, with previous investors also participating. Interactions said the money would be spent on expanding the company, including opening a new office in Boston.
—$30 million for Joule Unlimited Technologies. This one was a big surprise—Joule hadn’t announced any new fundraising this year, after publicly discussing rounds of $70 million last year and $30 million in 2010. And the Bedford, MA, company refused to comment on the report of a new round when I contacted it. But the MoneyTree Report says its data was sourced from Joule’s venture backers at Flagship Ventures, so consider this one confirmed.
