2016 was an odd year when it came to venture funding.
While there was still plenty of money available, investors weren't as generous with their terms as they were during their check-writing frenzy of 2014-2015. They wanted to nab a bigger piece of equity for the money they put in.
So, if the previous period was all about "unicorns"– startups that raised so much money at such great terms that their investors valued them at over $1 billion – 2016 was the year of the "down round." That's when cash-burning startups had to sell shares for a lower price than they previously commanded.
Given this backdrop, we thought it would be interesting to look at the enterprise startups that did the best nabbing money in 2016 and growing their valuations this year. Enterprise startups are those that sell their products and services to other businesses, as opposed to consumers.
We asked PitchBook, a company that offers a database of venture and private equity funding, to sift through its vast collection of financial records to come up with this list of the highest-valued enterprise startups of 2016, based exclusively on startups that completed financing rounds in 2016.
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SEE ALSO: 38 enterprise startups that will boom in 2017, according to VC investors
Yieldbot: $95.79 million for online ads
Company:Yieldbot
Date of last round: 8/3/2016
Amount: $35 million
Total funding to date: $65.37 million
Post-money valuation: $95.79 million
Provides a rules-based online advertising service. The company collects visitor data, mines it and then serves advertisements to the visitor.
Skycatch: $96 million for photo drones
Company:Skycatch
Date of last round: 9/19/2016
Amount: $26 million
Total funding to date: $46.01 million
Post-money valuation: $96 million
Provides small flying drones designed to take pictures and video for commercial needs, like logistics.
Invoca: $100 million for marketing software
Company:Invoca
Date of last round: 3/30/2016
Amount: $29.5 million
Total funding to date: $61.93 million
Post-money valuation: $100 million
Provides a cloud app to help marketers understand why customers are calling, who's calling, and analyze what's being said in conversations.
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