Investing in Iowa is a quarterly review of all investments made into early-stage companies in Iowa. The series is sponsored by ISA Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in Iowa-based companies.
Iowa startups raised more than $65 million in Q3 of 2021. Since the beginning of 2018, Iowa startups have now raised a total of more than $420 million.
The following is a list of all known investments raised by Iowa companies in Q3 of 2021.
Companies | Location | Amount Raised | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Dryland Genetics | Des Moines | $3,800,000 | 08-05-21 |
Dwolla | Des Moines | $21,000,000 | 07-21-21 |
Farmer Risk | Ames | $50,000 | 07-30-21 |
Gross-Wen Technologies | Ames | $6,500,000 | 08-10-21 |
PVpallet | Cedar Rapids | $1,000,000 | 08-10-21 |
Roboflow | Des Moines | $20,524,717 | 09-16-21 |
Sevelyn | Des Moines | $20,000 | 07-29-21 |
SmartScripts | Washington | $11,235,869 | 09-15-21 |
Steel Therapeutics | Iowa City | Undisclosed | 09-16-21 |
Stratafolio | Cedar Rapids | $1,177,606 | 09-23-21 |
$65,771,192 |
KEY TAKEAWAYS

Multiple $20M+ Rounds
Two Des Moines companies raised rounds of $20 million or more this quarter.
Dwolla announced in July that it had raised $21 million in funding to continue to build out its strategic roadmap and to expand to markets outside of the U.S. The round was led by Foundry Group. Additional investors were Park West Asset Management LLC, Union Square Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Firebrand Ventures, and Next Level Ventures. To date, Dwolla has raised more than $70 million in capital.
Des Moines computer vision company Roboflow announced in September that it had raised a $20 million Series A led by Craft Ventures. Additional investors named include Lachy Groom, Jack Altman, DJ Patil, Max and Sam Altman, Cassidy Williams, Harry Hurst, Greg Brockman and Mike Maples. The Series A round came less than a year after Roboflow raised a $2.1 million seed round in January.
Lots of acquisitions and exits
- In July, Boston Scientific exercised its option to acquire the remaining shares of University of Iowa startup Farapulse for $250M. Farapulse was founded in 2012 by University of Iowa Assistant Professor Steven Mickelsen to develop a method for precisely and safely treating abnormal heart rhythms. Mickelson served as the company’s acting president and CEO until Allan Zingeler joined the company as CEO in 2014.
- Cloud-based business reporting platform Workiva announced its first acquisition earlier this month, acquiring OneCloud, a New York-based startup that offers code-free integration, automation, and data preparation for many complex technologies.
- Quad Cities-based John Deere in August acquired Bear Flag Robotics, a Silicon Valley startup that makes fully autonomous tractors for farms for $250 million.
- Des Moines startup FarmlandFinder announced in August that it had been acquired by EasyKnock, a residential sale-leaseback platform based in New York.
- In September, Collins Aerospace announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire digital aviation company FlightAware, which will join its Avionics strategic business unit.
- MEANS Database, a nonprofit that connects food donors to pantries and kitchens, announced at the World Food Prize Foundation’s Iowa Hunger Summit its acquisition of Des Moines-based food rescue app ChowBank.
This list was made from a combination of SEC filings, Crunchbase and previous Clay & Milk stories from throughout the year. If you are aware of investments we may have missed, please post them in the comments or send us an email and we will be sure to add them.
Clay & Milk composes a similar list of investments every quarter to build a credible track record of capital raised throughout Iowa. Over time, we will add analysis to these posts, comparing past time periods and noting trends as they appear.
