– Branch, which helps businesses accelerate payments to empower working Americans, announced it has raised over $540m to fuel its momentum in delivering flexible workforce payments.
– Addition led the closing of a $48m Series B funding round with participation from Drive Capital, Crosscut Ventures, Bonfire Ventures, Matchstick Ventures, and HR Tech Investments, a subsidiary of Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd., among other investors.
– The company has also secured $500m in purchased assets from funds managed by Neuberger Berman.
– With over 300% growth year over year, Branch will use the funding to deliver faster payments and inclusive financial services to W-2 and 1099 workforces through partnerships with employers, gig platforms, staffing companies, and other businesses.

– SonderMind Inc. from Denver, CO develops behavioral health technology to improve mental health clinical outcomes.
– Company closed $150m Series C financing.
– The round was co-led by new investors Drive Capital and Premji Invest with participation from General Catalyst, Partners Group, Smash Ventures, Kickstart Fund, F-Prime Capital, Founders Circle Capital, Zoma Foundation and FCA Venture Partners.
– The new investment will be used to accelerate the company’s expansion into all 50 states.

– Algolux, a Montreal, QC, Canada-based computer vision software company, raised $18.4M in Series B funding.
– The round was led by Forte Ventures and Drive Capital with participation from Investissement Quebec, Castor Ventures, Nikon-SBI Innovation Fund, GM Ventures, Generation Ventures and Intact Ventures.
– The company intends to use the funds to achieve the following three goals: accelerate adoption of its products across mobility markets; grow its engineering and customer enabling teams to scale worldwide support; grow its engineering and customer enabling teams to scale worldwide support.

– Sololearn, a mobile-first education platform, raised $24m in funding.
– The round was led by Drive Capital and joined by previous investors Learn Capital and Prosus Ventures.
– The company plans to expand its business.

– SkyWatch is a space technology startup based in Waterloo, Canada.
– The company raised $17.2M in Series B funding.
– The round was led by Drive Capital with participation from existing investors Bullpen Capital, Space Capital, Golden Ventures, and BDC Ventures.
– The new investment will be used to expand operations, growth and business reach.

– SkyWatch Space Applications Inc. (“SkyWatch”), a Waterloo-based space technology startup, announced today the completion of a $17.2M USD Series B round of financing to further democratize access to Earth observation data.
– Drive Capital led the investment round with participation from existing investors Bullpen Capital, Space Capital, Golden Ventures, and BDC Ventures.
– The Series B financing builds on an exceptional first half of 2021 for SkyWatch, which is seeing revenue growth in excess of 450% over the same period last year, highlighting the appetite for Earth observation data from the private sector.

– Forge Biologics announced the closing of a $120m Series B financing.
– The financing was led by RA Capital Management with participation from Perceptive Advisors and related affiliates, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Octagon Capital, and Marshall Wace. Existing investors Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund and Drive Capital also participated.
– In connection with the financing, Matthew Hammond, Ph.D., of RA Capital, and Fred Callori of the Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund will join the Company’s Board of Directors.
Forge will use the proceeds of this Series B financing to accelerate the expansion of its AAV manufacturing CDMO capabilities with cGMP production capacity, as well as operate its subsidiaries that are advancing novel AAV gene therapy programs.

– CirrusMD from Denver, CO provides on-demand virtual care services.
– The company raised $20m in Series C funding.
– The round was led by Blue Venture Fund, with participation from 7wireVentures, Drive Capital and the Colorado Impact Fund.
– The new investment will be used to continue to expand solution capabilities, enhance user and provider experiences, increase scalability, and drive innovation to support employer and health plan customers.

– Beam Dental is a Columbus, Ohio-based digital-first dental insurer that rewards its members for good dental hygiene.
– The company raised $80m in Series E funding.
– The round was led by Mercato Partners’ growth equity fund, Traverse, with participation from new and existing investors, including Drive Capital, Georgian, Nationwide, and Breakout Capital.
– The new investment will be used to expand its offering to new markets, onboard additional employee benefits brokerages and add additional products.

– Circulo Raises $50M in Series A Funding.
– The round was led by Drive Capital and General Catalyst with participation from Oak HC/FT and SVB Capital.
– The new investment will be used to expand the company’s product and technology platform.

– Sidecar Health is a health insurtech company.
– The company raised $125m in Series C funding.
– The round was led by Drive Capital and joined by new investors BOND, Tiger Global, and Menlo Ventures, and existing investors Cathay Innovation and GreatPoint Ventures.
– The company has raised more than $175m since its founding in 2018.