So I’ve got good news and bad news. Let’s start with the bad…. Apparently, it is somehow August, when 2020 was just a couple weeks ago?? And then there is the good news. From, a venture perspective, we have had an extraordinary year, pulling in a record amount of funding in Q2! Don’t be that person who hasn’t read the Texas Q2 Venture Report.
Thanks to this week’s sponsor!
Escalate Capital Partners is an Austin-based growth capital fund founded in 2005. Since its inception, Escalate has invested more than $1B into over one hundred rapidly growing, venture-backed companies. The Escalateteam has investment experience within the technology, software, services, and healthcare sectors. To learn more about how our capital solutions can accelerate growth, reach out to us at any time - info@escalatecapital.com
Austin Financing Activity
QuotaPath, a Austin and Philadelphia-based sales software platform, raised a $21.3M Series A round led by Insight Partners with participation from Stage 2 Capital, HubSpot Ventures, Integr8d Capital, ATX Venture Partners, and Chris Weber. This round raises QuotaPath’s total funding to nearly $30M.
Spot, a Austin-based insurtech company, raised $15M in new equity funding along with $2.5M in debt funding. The equity round was led by GreatPoint Ventures with participation from Montage Ventures, Mutual of Omaha, MS&AD, and Silverton Partners. Spot previously raised $5.8M in funding in 2018.
ConverseNow, an Austin-based automated restaurant ordering assistant and kiosk company, raised a $15M Series A round led by Craft Ventures with participation from LiveOak Venture Partners, Tensility Venture Partners, Knoll Ventures, Bala Investments, 2048 Ventures, Bridge Ventures, Moneta Ventures, Federico Castellucci, and Ashish Gupta. This brings ConverseNow’s total funding to $18.3M.
Eterneva Inc., an Austin-based company that makes memorial diamonds from the remains of deceased loved ones and pets, raised a $10M Series A round led by Tiger Management with participation from Capstar Ventures, Next Coast Ventures, Goodwater Capital LLC, Mark Cuban, Founder Collective, Lydia Jett, and Kara Nortman. Eterneva has raised $16.7M to date.
83bar, a Patient Journey and Activation Technology platform raised an undisclosed equity investment from HealthQuest, as well as a $20 million debt facility from MidCap Financial Trust.
Moon Ultra Inc., an Austin-based smartphone-powered mobile lighting device maker, raised $3M in equity and securities options
Wander.com Inc., an Austin-based company which appears to be in stealth mode, reported it raised $2.8Maccording to an SEC filing.
Renovate Simply Inc., an Austin-based construction financing platform which does business under the name “Rabbet,” closed a $1,9M Series B round.This brings their total funding up to $9.9M after a $8M Series A led by QED Investors in 2019.
Austin M&A Activity
Silicon Labs(NASDAQ: SLAB), the Austin-based wireless technology company, has completed the sale of its infrastructure and automotive business to Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ: SWKS)in a $2.75B all-cash asset transaction. Silicon Labs plans to use proceeds to bring returns to shareholders though special dividends or share repurchases. Silicon Labs has a market cap of $6.7B while Skyworks has a market cap of $30B.
ESO, an Austin-based emergency responder software company, acquiredEmergency Reporting, a Washington-based software company in the same industry. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. ESO has received over $44M in funding to date, while Emergency Reporting serves 7.5K fire and emergency departments nationwide.
Sauceda Industries, an Austin-based 3PL provider committed to providing fulfillment services to ecommerce brands of all sizes, was acquired by Cart.com, an end-to-end ecommerce-as-a-service provider, for an undisclosed amount.
Other Texas Deal Activity
TPG, the Fort Worth and San Francisco-based investment giant, announced its first closing of $5.4B for its inaugural climate-focused fund. TPG looks to raise $7B for the fund by the end of the year. Initial investors include Allstate, The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board, and the Washington State Investment Board.
Mercury Ecommerce Acquisition Corp, a Houston-based blank-check company with leadership from Houston-based venture capital firm Mercury Fund, raised $175M in its initial public offering. The new SPAC aims to combine with a high growth target with bolt-on acquisition opportunities and a substantial recurring revenue base.
Intrinsic Imaging, a biotech startup that provides imaging support mainly to clinical trial vendors, has been acquiredby WCG Clinical, Inc. for $80 million.
OneDay, a Dallas-based video storytelling tech maker, raised $19 million in Series B funding. Volition Capital led the round.
SolCyber, a Dallas-based managed security services provider, raised $20 million in Series A funding from ForgePoint Capital.
ParkHub, a Dallas-based parking solutions company, raised $5.5M in equity and other securities of an $8M fundraising vehicle titled “ParkHub, Inc.,” according to a public filing. ParkHub recently acquired CurbTrac, a parking payment management platform, and Bonfire, a campground management and reservation platform.
Nada, a Dallas-based real estate tech platform, raised more than $1.8M from nearly 4K investors in a crowdfunding campaign on the Republic platform. This brings the seed round’s total to more than $2.5M.
MediBookr, a Dallas-based digital health platform, has been acquired by StratiFi Health, a Plano-based integrated population health solutions firm. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but MediBookr has raised $3.3M to date.
Austin People
Silicon Labs(NASDAQ: SLAB), the Austin-based wireless technology company, will be losing longtime executive and CEO of nearly a decade, Tyson Tuttle, at the end of the year.. Starting January 1st, 2022, the company will be led by Matt Johnson, its current president. Silicon Labs has a market cap of $6.7B.
CynergisTek(NYSEAMERICAN: CTEK), an Austin cybersecurity and compliance firm, re-appointed its founder, Mac McMillan, who announced his retirement in 2019, as president and CEO, replacing Caleb Barlow, who has been CEO since August 2019. CynergisTek has a market cap of $26M.
Strap Technologies, an Austin-based wearable device company for the visually impaired, appointedNatalia Ferriz as marketing director. She was previously head of communications at Makken and has a consulting firm called leadit.mx. Strap has received $1.9M in funding to date.
Point Health, an Austin-digital health company, appointed DJ Nguyen as its CTO. Nguyen was most recently director of software engineering at Resideo and has worked at Sony Electronics and American Specialty Health in the past.
Austin News
Vacasa to go public after buying Austin's TurnKey Vacation Rentals. The vacation rental management platform is going public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company in a deal that values the Portland company at $4.5 billion.
Business Facilities 2021-Rankings. State and metro rankings across a variety of metrics. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown named fastest growing metro. Texas recognized as top state for semiconductor activity, among other accolades
MATH Venture Partners has touched down in Austin and has named Elisa Sepulveda as Entrepreneur-in-residence.
Lyft travels to the future with new self-driving cars coming to Austin
University of Texas System Board of Regents Votes to Approve University of Texas at Austin Joining the Southeastern Conference. The move to the SEC will happen in 2025.
Here’s how Austin’s housing market compares to the rest of Texas
Thank you! Mason Rathe