Venture capitalists invested $16M in R.I. firms in 2015

PROVIDENCE – Venture capitalists invested $16.3 million in Rhode Island companies in 2015, considerably less than in 2014, when venture capital investments topped $124 million.
The data was released recently as part of the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association.

Based on data from Thomson Reuters, the report showed that 10 companies received funding last year, while one received funding twice, indicating a total of 11 deals; the firms represent a mix of early-stage, expansion stage and later-stage companies in industries spanning biotechnology, software, medical devices, electronics, industrial and energy, and consumer products.

Nationally, $58.8 billion in venture capital was deployed across the United States last year, marking the second-highest full-year total in the last 20 years, the report said.

“The venture capital ecosystem is strong and healthy, and committed to helping entrepreneurs get their breakthrough ideas off the ground and into the marketplace,” Bobby Franklin, president and CEO of NVCA, said in a statement. “While a handful of unicorns and late-stage funding rounds by nontraditional investors continue to grab the headlines, more than half of all deals in 2015 went to seed and early stage companies, with more than 1,400 companies raising venture capital for the first time. Entrepreneurs in 46 states and the District of Columbia raised venture capital in 2015, a testament to the reach of the venture capital industry and the strength of startup ecosystems across America.”
In Rhode Island, the following companies received funding in 2015:

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  • Voltserver Inc., East Greenwich, a developer of power distribution products – $4,995,900; investors are Marker Hill Capital LLC, an undisclosed firm, Clean Energy Venture Group
  • Mnemosyne Pharmaceuticals Inc., Providence, an early-stage company focused on development of small market therapeutics – $3,932,000; Atlas Venture, CLal Biotechnology Industries Ltd. (Mnemosyne has since changed its name to Luc and moved to Cambridge, Mass.)
  • ShapeUp, Providence, later-stage provider of holistic wellbeing solutions – $3 million; Excel Venture Management, Cue Ball Group LLC
  • SquadLocker, Warwick, early-stage provider of custom athletic apparel – $2.25 million; Slater Technology Fund Inc., undisclosed firm
  • Premama Inc., Providence, early-stage company offering fertility and lactation supplements – $1 million; Cherrystone Angel Group LLC
  • Chartwise Medical Systems Inc., South Kingstown, expansion-stage company that designs hosted software solutions for hospitals – $375,000; Clayton Associates LLC
  • IlluminOss Medical Inc., East Providence, later-stage medical device company – $309,000; Pappas Ventures, Slater Technology Fund Inc., undisclosed firm
  • Tivorsan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Providence, early-stage protein therapeutics company – $250,000; Slater Technology Fund Inc.
  • Enhanced Energy Group LLC, a South Kingstown industrial firm that deploys military semi-closed cycle technology in commercial spaces – $80,000, then $10,000; Slater Technology Fund
  • Clarke Industrial Engineering Inc., a North Kingstown company that designs and markets shutter valves – $61,000; New World Angels Inc.

In 2015, there were 74 megadeals nationwide (investments of $100 million or more), compared with 50 in 2014, and financial services, consumer products and services, and health care services saw stronger increases from 2014, growing 183 percent, 57 percent and 133 percent, respectively, the report said.

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