Big names and big numbers entered the Boston tech scene last week. Large acquisition plans, huge funding rounds and massive hiring pushes are underway in Massachusetts. Here’s what you may have missed last week. This is the Built In Boston Weekly Refresh.
Bevi raised $70M. Smart water cooler startup Bevi raked in $70 million in a Series D funding round led by Cowen Sustainable Investments. Since 2015, the Boston-based startup has been developing smart water coolers that can produce filtered, flavored and sparkling water on demand. With its new capital, Bevi plans to invest in new vertical expansion, sales efforts and developing new products. Additional funds will go toward hiring up to 100 new staff members for its sales, marketing, hardware, operations and software teams. [Global Newswire]
WiTricity raked in $63M. WiTricity, a Watertown-based producer of portable electric vehicle chargers, raked in $63 million in its latest funding round. The 15-year-old company plans to use its new capital to further invest in portable EV chargers for vehicles of all sizes, such as passenger vehicles, light-duty trucks and heavy commercial vehicles. So far, the company has developed technology patents for 1,250 wireless charging assets. [Built In Boston]
FundamentalVR raised a $20M Series B. London-based medical equipment startup FundamentalVR raised $20 million in its Series B funding round led by EQT Life Sciences. The startup, which has local roots in Boston, plans to use its funding to scale its virtual surgery training technology. According to the company, the practice of VR surgery training is lifelike and purposely ultra-realistic to train surgeons without risking patient safety. [Built In Boston]
Boston tech Quote Of The Week
Cupixel secured $5M from JOANN. Fabric and craft store chain JOANN invested $5 million into Boston-based Cupixel, an AI art generator platform last week. Cupixel uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality to help users develop digital art. With its fresh funding, the startup built a “high-end and really cool studio” in Boston to produce its new content alongside rebuilding its app. Cupixel also allocated funds to hiring and has recently expanded its marketing, sales and content teams. [Built In Boston]
Amazon entered an agreement to acquire iRobot. Robotic vacuum cleaner and mop company iRobot entered an acquisition agreement with Amazon last week. The agreement, announced on Monday, states Amazon will acquire iRobot for $61 per share, valuing the deal at approximately $1.7 billion. IRobot’s cleaning technology joins Amazon’s existing home tech products such as camera doorbells and keyless entry systems. [Built In Boston]
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