Summer 2018 may have brought more rain than sun, but when it comes to funding at Maryland startups, things have been hot, hot, hot. With top-notch research institutions, an unparalleled technical workforce, and a network of accelerators, Maryland is a hotbed for innovation, so it's no wonder venture capitalists want Maryland startups in their portfolio. Here’s a snapshot of companies that have recently received VC investments.

• IronNet Cybersecurity, a company redefining cybersecurity based on next generation technology, cutting edge engineering, and a leadership team with decades of military, intelligence and commercial experience, received $78 million.
• Neuraly, a biotech business that focuses on the development of neuroprotective agents for neurologic disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, raised $36 million.
• Immuta, a data management platform for artificial intelligence, raised $20 million.
• Sirnaomics, a leading biopharmaceutical company in development of RNAi therapeutics, received $25 million.
• Xometry, the largest on-demand manufacturing platform, acquired MakeTime and added an additional $25 million to help fuel its growth.
• CloudBolt, developers of a leading self-service hybrid cloud platform, announced a $23 million investment.
• RETHINK Water, a boxed water company disrupting the children's beverage industry with RETHINK Kids Water, secured $6.7 million.
• LifeSprout, a company looking to bring soft tissue replacement technology to market, closed on $6.5 million in funding.
• InSilico Medicine, an artificial intelligence company specialized in the application of deep learning for target identification, drug discovery and aging research, secured $6 million.
• Topbox, a provider of omni-channel customer experience analytics software, secured $5.9 million.

Momentum was building all summer, but it's not an anomaly. The state’s innovation ecosystem has been catching the eye of venture capitalists for some time now. The amount of venture capital invested in Maryland companies in 2017 nearly tripled the amount invested in 2016, and 2018 amounts are more than two-thirds of the way toward topping 2017’s total. Maryland’s biohealth industry, in particular, has the attention of early stage investors. In Maryland, the industry saw a 700% increase in VC funding in 2017, according to JLL’s 2018 Life Sciences Outlook.