top of page
Search
masonrathe

Austin Weekly Deal Highlights - Sept. 6, 2021

In response to Texas’ abortion law that went into effect last week, which is among the most restrictive in the developed world, companies are pushing back, including Dallas-based Bumble creating a fund for abortion rights, Lyft, Uber covering legal fees for drivers sued under the law, and GoDaddy removing an informant website. However, we are still hearing crickets from the majority of Texas CEO’s , and our local business leaders will be tested as their employees look to them for guidance. We will see who steps forward in support of women’s reproductive rights, and those who let this opportunity pass by.



Thanks to this week’s newsletter sponsor! For more than 20 years, Wilson Sonsini’s Austin-based attorneys have represented innovative technology and life sciences companies while also growing the firm’s presence and brand in Austin. Our Austin-based attorneys are among the most active and experienced in representing Austin’s entrepreneurs and the investors who finance them in the full range of legal needs from corporate formation and venture financings all the way to and through liquidity events such as M&A, IPOs, and de-SPACs. Most importantly, our deep ties to Austin’s vibrant business community of companies, investors, and other organizations as well as the global marketplace are all aimed at helping our clients succeed. For more information, contact a member of our Austin office.


Austin Weekly Deal Activity

  • Poppi, a prebiotic soda brand, raised a $13.5M round led by investor CAVU Venture Partners along with a host of celebrity investors like Olivia Munn, the Chainsmokers, and Ellie Goulding. This brought Poppi's total funding to $20M, which will first be used to move the company's headquarters to Austin, TX later in 2021.

  • CareAR, a Xerox subsidiary and AR service platform for service technicians, raised $10M in funding from ServiceNow. The company was acquired by Xerox in 2020.

  • Prism.fm, a live music management software system for music venues, concert promoters, and talent agencies, raised an $8M Series A, led by Stephen Cook, with strong support from Jay Jensen and other existing investors.

  • UXD Protocol, an algorithmic stable coin, raised $3M of seed funding in a deal led by Multicoin Capital.

  • Gatsby Events, a tool to facilitate making "guest list planning and event -coordination”, raised $3.85M of seed funding from Pear and 8VC.

Austin M&A Activity

  • Chubbies, a direct-to-consumer apparel brand, was acquired by North Texas-based Solo Stove, via its financial sponsors Bertram Capital Management and Summit Partners.

  • X-Microwave, who provides modular radio frequency and microwave (RFMW) components, was acquired by Quantic Electronics, a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management.

Other Texas Deal Activity

  • Antuit.ai, a Frisco, Texas-based provider of analytics SaaS for forecasting and merchandising that raised over $70 million from firms like Goldman Sachs and Zodius Capital, was acquired by Zebra Technologies (Nasdaq: ZNRA)

  • AcctTwo, a Houston-based accounting and financial management software provider, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Baker Tilly for an undisclosed amount

  • FlightAware, a Houston-based a digital aviation company and data tracking platform, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies (NYS: RTX), for an undisclosed amount.

  • The Rise Fund agreed to buy a majority stake in Teachers of Tomorrow, a Houston-based teacher alternative certification program, from Gauge Capital.

  • Rosy, a Dallas-based woman's sexual wellness app, is midway through raising a $2M seed round, with $1.35M currently raised. The round is led by Austin early-stage venture capital firm True Wealth Ventures.

Austin People

  • The top Austin tech and startup executive hires and departures (August 2021)

  • Digital Health company Everly Health, parent of at home health testing unicorn Everlywell namedChris Bishko as CFO. Most recently, Chris served as CFO of Tubi. The company also named Kristina Omari as its first Executive Vice President of Finance. Omari comes to Everly Health from Lyft. Finally, Everly Health appointed Kristin Reinke to its Board of Directors, where she will serve as the company's Audit Committee Chair. The VP and Head of Finance at Google has been a member of Google's finance leadership team since 2005. Everlywell’s last financing round was at a $2.7B valuation in March, according to Pitchbook.

  • Earbuds, a social listening app hired former Apple product manager David Ransom as head of product and former Apple software development manager Sean Moubry as head of engineering, as well as Drew Larner, a VR creator, founding CEO of Rdio, and current investor as senior advisor. The company recently announced a $3M Series A.

  • ESO, an emergency medical services software company, named Nelly Pitocco as CRO. She previously worked for T-Mobile, heading solution engineering and innovation. The company was acquired by Vista Equity Partners earlier this year.

  • E2open (NYSE: ETWO), a supply chain management software company, announced its hiring of Kari Janavitz as Chief Marketing Officer. She was previously CMO at publicly traded TE Connectivity, which has its HQ in Switzerland.

  • Khoros, a customer engagement company, announced Jason Perlewitz as its vice president of technical operations. It also announced Tony Cetera as its Senior Director of Information Security. The company was acquired by Vista Equity Partners in 2017.

  • Volcon, an electric powersports vehicle startup, announced its hiring of Jordan Davis as CEO. Davis was previously President of Americas of O. Mustad & Son and Remington Arms Company. The company last raised $12.4M in venture funding in June.

Austin News

Thank you!

Additional research and newsletter support provided by Nirjhar Mundkur

34 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


Post: Blog2_Post
bottom of page