One of the most powerful validations of a business idea is when somebody else is willing to invest their time, resources and capital into your business.
In technology and software, venture capital firms are perpetually seeking to uncover the next unicorn to invest in. In July, RH clients Integris and DreamBox Learning represented two of the five biggest venture capital deals in the thriving Seattle technology market. Built in Seattle has a solid run down of the top five Seattle-based VC deals done in July.
Integris works to keep data secure
Integris CEO Kristina Bergman founded this data privacy company in 2016. She foresaw the huge business impact of future regulation like GDPR. She told Geekwire in an interview when the funding was announced that “Integris is in a unique position to help companies unlock the value of organization’s data while helping them stay in compliance with important legal mandates.”
Integris raised $10 million in a Series A round that Aspect Ventures led and notable companies such as Workday Ventures, Madrona Venture Group, and Amplify Partners also participated in the funding. Integris will use the funding to continue to build on its industry-leading data privacy automation platform and meet the accelerating demand for a comprehensive data privacy solution.
DreamBox Learning secures $130 million from The Rise Fund
This month, we also had the pleasure of working to announce that DreamBox Learning, an interactive and adaptive learning software that helps students in kindergarten through eighth grade grow their math and problem-solving skills, secured a $130-million investment from The Rise Fund. This wasn’t an ordinary VC announcement. The Rise Fund is the world’s largest global fund and commits itself to achieving measurable, positive social and environmental outcomes. Its backers include notable names such as Bono and Richard Branson.
DreamBox CEO Jessie Woolley-Wilson noted in a blog post that “DreamBox will be able to fuel more learning innovations, evolve our product and services offerings, and expand our reach on the global stage.”
According to an in-depth article in FastCompany, which broke the news for us, the funding from The Rise Fund means that “DreamBox becomes one of the best-funded startups in education, and Woolley-Wilson becomes one of the only black women to have raised that much cash in private funding. According to Project Diane, just 34 black women have raised over $1 million in venture dollars.”
This is what we love most about the work we do at RH: giving voice to innovators who have a big vision for the future. Congratulations to these companies who are challenging the status quo and making the world brighter and more secure for all of us.
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RH Strategic is a Seattle and D.C.-based communications firm providing strategic public relations for innovators in the technology, public sector and healthcare markets.
