FUELING THE FUTURE: Minnesota growth, a new fund in Pittsburgh, $210M for a Madison unicorn
- Pittsburgh’s Brand Holdings LLC announced that it has acquired Simple Botanics, Chicago-based maker of herbal botanic teas and organic bars.
- Madison-based Fetch Rewards has raised $210 million in Series D financing, making it one of the few privately held startups to reach the billion-dollar valuation milestone in the Midwest.
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Business starts in Minnesota are up 30%, with over 30,000 businesses having started recently. The state also received $1.86 billion in venture capital investments in 2020, ranking it 12th in the United States and second in the Midwest..
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Will Allen has, with three other people, founded a VC firm called Magarac Venture Partners that will focus on investments in early-stage startups in Pittsburgh and the Midwest in the software, robotics and med tech sectors.
- Kansas City startup Simplifyy, a tech-enabled multifamily property management company, has closed on a $5 million funding round led by UnitLeader, a San Diego-based VC group.