Prelude Ventures

OptimoRoute, a route planner tech startup, has secured $6.5 million in Series A funding.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Zapata Quantum, a quantum computing startup, has named Rhonda Germany Ballintyn to its board. Ballintyn is the former corporate vice president, chief strategy and marketing officer at Honeywell International. Zapata is backed by Comcast Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Pitango Ventures, BASF Venture Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Pillar VC and The Engine.

Seattle-based LevelTen Energy, a renewable energy procurement platform, has raised $20.5 million in Series B funding. Prelude Ventures led the round. In conjunction with the funding, Tim Woodward, a managing director at Prelude Ventures, will join LevelTen Energy’s board of directors.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Zapata Quantum, a quantum computing startup, has raised $21 million in Series A financing. Comcast Ventures and Prelude Ventures led the round with participation from other investors that included Pitango Ventures, BASF Venture Capital, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Pillar VC and The Engine.

Woburn, Massachusetts-based Boston Metal, a provider of metals production solutions, has raised $20 million in Series A funding. Breakthrough Energy Ventures led the round with participation from Prelude Ventures and The Engine.

MineSense Technologies, a Vancouver-based digital mining solutions provider, has secured $23.5 million (US$18 million) in its latest financing. The round was led by Prelude Ventures and joined by strategic investors Caterpillar Inc, Mitsubishi Corp and new backer ABB Technology Ventures, the venture capital arm of Europe's ABB Group. Existing investors Aurus Ventures, Chrysalix Venture Capital and Cycle Capital Management also participated. MineSense, founded in 2008, provides real-time, sensor-based ore data and sorting solutions for large-scale mines. CEO Jeff More said the funds raised will accelerate the commercialization of the company's digital offering.

ClearMetal, a predictive logistics company, has secured $9 million in Series A funding. Prelude Ventures and Innovation Endeavors led the round with participation from other investors that included New Enterprise Associates.

Redwood City, California-based Citrine Informatics, a chemicals and materials artificial intelligence platform, has raised $7.6 million in Series A funding. Innovation Endeavors, Data Collective and Prelude Ventures led the round with participation from AME Cloud Ventures and XSeed Capital. In addition to the funding, Scott Brady from Innovation Endeavors and Mark Cupta from Prelude Ventures have been appointed to Citrine's board.

To address Europe's 'Series B Death Valley' for climate tech companies, World Fund has set aside €200m of its new €300m fund for follow-on investments in its best-performing companies.

In just 12 months, Venture Capital Journal's list of climate-focused funds has grown to 44 funds that have raised a combined $9.5bn.

Other investors included Evok Innovations, Prelude Ventures, BDC Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, Cycle Capital Management and Chrysalix Venture Capital.

Electric autonomous airplane manufacturer Pyka has raised $37 million in Series A funding.

Mori, a food technology company, has raised $50 million in Series B1 financing.

Quaise Energy, a terawatt-scale geothermal company, has raised $40 million in Series A financing.

Persefoni, a climate management and accounting platform for enterprises and financial institutions, has raised $101 million in Series B financing.

Form Energy Inc, a developer of energy storage systems, has raised $240 million in Series D funding.