Love to see my people win! A handful of years ago I was when I was completing my MBA, I had the opportunity of working on a project with the Convey leadership team, so of course it brought a smile to my face when I learned of their $225M exit. And how about a two for one this week, Must also give congrats to my friends over at Levelset on their $500Macquisition, huge! Tons of amazing activity this week, read it all below.
Thank you to this week’s sponsor, S3 Ventures!
Acquisitions & IPOs: What to Expect & How to Prepare — Join us for this webinar on October 5 to learn from Bryan Hill, current CFO of Alkami and former CFO of Real Page, who has executed 40+ acquisitions and two IPOs, including Alkami this past April. Alice Takhtajan from J.P. Morgan will review the latest capital markets data, and S3 Ventures’ Brian Smith, who has taken companies public as both a Founder/CEO and a VC, will host the discussion. Register now
Austin Financing Activity
Elligo Health Research, a clinical research and technology company, has raised $135 million Series E led by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and Ally Bridge Group.
HumanCo, an investment firm in the health-focused consumer product goods sector, has raised a $35M bridge funding. Joining existing Series A investors such as Vista Equity Partners co-founder Brian Sheth and Scarlett Johansson, this new round includes highly strategic and like-minded celebrity investors.
Osano, a data privacy software provider, has raised $11M led by Jump Capital and including TDF Ventures, LiveOak Venture Partners, and Next Coast Ventures. The latter two investors also led Osano’s $5.4M Series A round in 2019.
Flippa.com, a Sydney, Australian-based marketplace for online businesses to find acquirers and operators, has set up its North American headquarters in Austin and raised an $11M Series A funding round. Investors include Guy King and Bevan Clarke, of Austin’s RetailMeNot.com and Sydney’s OneVentures.
Grape, a decentralized social networking platform, raised $1.8M of seed funding in a deal led by Multicoin Capital
Several local companies , received $500K as part of the $5M GoogleBlack Founders Fund. This includes The Mentor Method, an employee-mentor matching program; Sandbox Commerce, a no-code mobile app creation platform that was previously part of Texas Venture Labs; Journey Foods, a food science and supply chain software startup; and Tradeblock, a sneaker trading platform startup.
Austin M&A Activity
Levelset, a New Orleans and Austin-based lien rights management platform, was acquired by Procore (NYSE: PCOR) for approximately $500 million in cash and stock. Levelset had raised $47 million (plus got a PPP loan) from firms like S3 Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Brick & Mortar Ventures, and Altos Ventures.
Convey Inc., a last-mile delivery management platform, has been acquired by Project44, a Chicago-based advanced supply chain deliverability company, for $255M. Convey Inc. had previously received $25.7M in Series A and B funding led by Techstars Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, Silverton Capital, and Capital Factory.
Leia, a website builder and application development platform, was acquired by Braidio for an undisclosed amount
Other Texas Deal Activity
VeraDermics, a developer of a kid-friendly wart treatment, raised a $20.7M Series A from investors including J.W. Childs Associates, L.P., Vladimir Coric Family Trust, Connecticut Innovations, and Peter Werth Family Investment Associates
VOSS, a Richardson-based unified communication management platform, raised $15M from Foncière Georges Mignon, Vodafone Ventures, Verdane, Claret Capital Partners. The company also acquired LayerX Technologies, an Irving based advanced data analytics and monitoring platform.
Gramercy Extremity Orthopedics, a Richardson TX-based Orthopedic Medical Implants company, raised $9.83M in Series Afunding from undisclosed investors.
Abexxa Biologics, the Arlington-based antibody pharmaceutical company, has been acquired by pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim for an undisclosed amount. Abexxa had previously raised $1.2M in funding.
Buchanan Technologies, a Grapevine-based IT services firm, has acquired Cybernoor, a platform solution consulting company, for an undisclosed amount. Buchanan Technologies is backed by Lightview Capital.
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe acquired Argos Health, a Dallas-based provider of claims revenue cycle services to health systems.
Code Ninjas, a Pearland-based kid's coding franchise, was acquired by Eagle Merchant Partners
Austin People
Mighty Swell announced the hiring of Jeana Harrington as the beverage company’s Chief Executive Officer, its first female CEO. Harrington, a founding employee, rose through the ranks and most recently was Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Operating Officer.
University of Texas computer science professor Dr. William Press was named to President Biden's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Dr. Press served as Vice Chair for the same council under President Obama from 2009 through 2016.
Austin News
Texas StartUps Mount Fight Against Abortion Ban – Without Big Tech
Austin has returned to pre-pandemic employment, ranks No. 4 in US for labor recovery
Fintech startup Moca Ventures approved for incentives for HQ that could bring 700 jobs to Bastrop
Now valued at $40B, graphic design platform Canva plans to continue Austin growth; 180,000 job applicants knock on door annually
Super Coffee moves HQ from New York to Austin
UT admits the largest, most diverse class in the school's history
Major League Pickleball Inc., is making its debut on Nov. 5 in Dripping Springs. The league has raised $825K and is led by President Mellie Price, Steve Kuhn, owners of Richard’s Rainwater, as well as Navdeep Sooch of Silicon Labs.
ACL Fest has added to its list of precautions as well as its COVID-19 testing requirements as enforced by the city.
Thank you!
Additional research and newsletter support provided by Nirjhar Mundkur