Boston tech had a big week with funding announcements and new job opportunities abundant. Keep reading to find out more. This is the Built In Boston weekly refresh.
Unicorn Aura hit $2.5B valuation. The cybersecurity tech unicorn Aura closed a $200 million funding round led by Madrone Capital Partners. The funding will be used to grow the company’s products, engineering and go-to-market teams with plans to hire up to 200 people. [Built In Boston]
Zoba gained $12M. The tech company that focuses on fleet optimization solutions for micromobility services announced it raised a $12 million Series A funding round. The fresh capital will be used to build the company’s marketing, sales and customer success teams, and expand its engineering and data science efforts in the U.S. [Globe Newswire]
Boston Tech Quote of the Week
Drive by DraftKings raised $60M. Venture capital firm Drive by DraftKings raised its first venture fund of $60 million which will be used to invest in sports and entertainment startups. Drive by DraftKings works with what it calls an “All-Star Network,” including high-profile figures in sports and entertainment. [Built In Boston]
Hopper Acquired PlacePass. Hopper acquired PlacePass, which provides B2B tours and activity booking solutions. As part of the acquisition, Hopper will now power the Marriott Bonvoy’s Tours and Activities platform through the Hopper Cloud, as PlacePass will be offering its experiences through the Hopper Cloud to other travel brands. The acquisition is the start of Hopper getting into the experience business. As the company continues to grow, Hopper is actively looking to acquire other companies within travel, data science and engineering. [Hopper]
Ashton Kutcher and others invested $7M in Molten. Celebrities, including Jack Dorsey, invested in the Boston startup. The cloud platform designed for the media industry already manages hundreds of terabytes of content and millions of film and television rights. [Built In Boston]
These startups could make the next big thing in Boston tech. Boston is buzzing with tech startups and several are hard at work innovating new solutions for a variety of industries. Featured this quarter, here are ones to watch. [Built In Boston]
- Cheft is a network of professional chefs with virtual cooking classes. The company uses a B2C model so consumers can book classes on their own.
- Dispense is an e-commerce and order management platform for the cannabis industry.
- HumanID offers an open-source anonymous login service that protects users’ privacy and blocks bots networks.
- Moonbeam helps consumers find podcasts that might interest them. The app operates similar to TikTok in that consumers can swipe up on an audio clip, which the app remembers to better understand the consumer’s interest.
- Troav is a delivery startup founded by two friends from Harvard University. The company delivers local goods to a customer’s door similar to DoorDash and Amazon, but what sets them apart is their driver’s starting rate at $20 an hour.
