Catch up with the latest developments, news and insights from 43North and our portfolio companies.
Barbershop management platform and 43North portfolio company Squire announced today that it has closed a $34M Series B, led by San Francisco-based venture capital firm CRV. Squire received a $650K investment from 43North in 2017, and currently has a customer success and operations team headquartered in Buffalo at Seneca One Tower.
43North portfolio company GroupRaise is hosting a nationwide effort to support food banks called Takeout for Good on Tuesday, June 2nd. More than 1,500 restaurants across the country have signed up to donate a portion of their sales (15-25%) during the event to their local food bank, including several right here in Western New York.
A Buffalo startup played a key role in helping researchers obtain quick approval for a Covid-19 test that relies on a person’s saliva, rather than using swabs.
Keeping kids engaged while parents work from home – a familiar challenge nowadays – was the $10,000 first-place project in 43North’s “Code:Buffalo” hackathon.
43North concluded its Code:Buffalo Hackathon @ Home and selected three teams to win a share of $15,000. The hackathon, which challenged participants to “build something to support the Buffalo community,” was moved to a virtual format this year due to COVID-19.
Two local startups have received infusions of capital to the tune of a combined $10 million. CleanSlate UV, which makes technology that disinfects mobile devices, raised $7 million in funding, led by Prolog Ventures. SparkCharge, a maker of portable electrical charging devices aimed at serving the automotive industry, closed on a $3.3 million round of seed funding, led by PJC.
Odoo, which offers a suite of business management software, is based in Belgium and has a large office in San Francisco. The company has more than 900 employees, and expects to eventually hire up to 300 in Buffalo.
Earth Day celebrations might look a bit different this year, as we’re staying home and adhering to social distancing guidelines, but don’t let that stop you from safely enjoying the great outdoors and taking care of our planet.
SparkCharge came to Buffalo last year after winning the $1 million grand prize in the 43North business competition. The company is poised to further solidify its presence here after completing a $3.3 million round of private financing.
A European technology company with its major U.S. base in California has confirmed plans to occupy one floor of Seneca One Tower for its new East Coast operations center, with the potential to take up more space as the business grows.
Hundreds of hackers are working to build something for Buffalo this week. That was the prompt that 43North gave them for this year’s event, which they switched to a virtual competition in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
The startup – which splits operations between Buffalo and Toronto – announced that it has raised a $7 million round of venture capital. The money will support heavy demand not just in health care but also food processing, biotechnology, hospitality and corporate offices.