The month of August brought another $1 billion startup into the local innovation ecosystem and a handful of tech acquisitions from Atlanta corporations.
Local startups and venture capital firms raised at least $190 million during the month, according to Atlanta Inno reporting. Digital experience startup FullStory had the highest raise at $103 million, making it the fourth company this year to reach unicorn status.
This month’s funding numbers are on the lower end for 2021. In July, startups raised around $403.4 million. January and April remain the most lucrative months for Atlanta startups at $850 million and $725 million, respectively.
Despite the relatively low funding rounds this past month, the innovation ecosystem is already breaking records for new money. Startups raised more than $2 billion in the first half of 2021, which is more than all of last year.
Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), NCR Corp. (NYSE: NCR) and Cox Enterprises, three powerful Atlanta tenants, all bought companies this month to expand their technological capabilities.
Here’s a rundown of the month's top funding and acquisition deals. As always, subscribe to The Beat newsletter and get these deals in your inbox as they happen.
Funding
InpharmD raises $1M
InpharmD, an Atlanta startup backed by Silicon Valley's Y-Combinator accelerator, closed a $1 million seed round and passed $1 million in annual recurring revenue, CEO Ashish Advani said. Y-Combinator, Asymmetry Ventures and angel investors participated in the round. InpharmD uses a combination of pharmaceutical experts and artificial intelligence to create a database of summarized, reputable medical studies that medical professionals can use to compare and research different types of treatment. The startup recently added Piedmont Healthcare and Dartmouth-Hitchcock healthcare system in New Hampshire to its customer list.
FullStory passes $1 billion valuation
A $103 million funding round catapulted the digital experience startup FullStory’s valuation to $1.8 billion. It's the fourth Atlanta startup to reach the $1 billion milestone this year. Permira, a global private equity firm based in Europe, led the round. Existing investors Kleiner Perkins, GV, Stripes, Dell Technologies Capital, Salesforce Ventures and Glynn Capital also participated. The round is much larger than FullStory’s previous raises, the highest of which was $32 million in April 2019. FullStory previously operated cash-flow positive and didn’t need to raise money, CEO Scott Voigt said, but he saw a market opportunity for rapid, international expansion. The startup is starting the expansion in Europe and plans to double its 300-employee team. Read more.
World Within Ventures launches first fund
Mehul Bhagat and Rostam Zafari closed their first $20 million fund with hopes to invest in early-stage startups that could change the world for the better. The two Emory University graduates want World Within Ventures to focus on humanitarian innovations and invest in a small group of seed-stage startups so the firm can help them grow. That’s different from the typical venture capital strategy, in which investors make bets on a wide range of early-stage companies and stick with the successful ones. World Within is an “anti-venture capital firm,” Zafari said. World Within has invested in nine companies right now and plans to have around 10 portfolio companies in total. Read more.
Fearless Fund receives $5M
Ally Financial Inc., a digital financial services company, invested $5 million into Atlanta's Fearless Fund, an early-stage investment firm for businesses led by women of color. The support for Fearless Fund is part of Ally's $30 million to Black businesses in honor of Black Business Month. Ally and Fearless Fund leaders will work together to create a series of programs to support Black entrepreneurship. Ally also sponsors the University Growth Fund, an investment firm led by college students that recently expanded to Atlanta.
Cherry Street Energy receives $50M investment
Cherry Street Energy, an Atlanta solar energy startup, which sells power to the City of Atlanta and Emory University, received a $50 million investment from The Forest Road Company to increase its project capacity and hire more people. The investment comes with a long-term commitment to develop 200 megawatts of energy, according to a news release. Cherry Street Energy previously raised $2.7 million in April 2019 under the name Cherry Street Investment Holdings LLC, according to a filing with the SEC. Cherry Street Energy, led by CEO Michael Chanin, designs, builds and operates solar energy projects and sells that energy directly to large-scale businesses through power purchase agreements. Read more.
Animation studio files $4.5M raise
Trioscope Inc., an animation studio dual headquartered in Atlanta and Los Angeles, filed to raise $5.3M, according to an SEC filing. The studio has raised $4.5M from four investors so far, according to the filing. Trioscope refers to a new animation style that combines live-action shots with animation. The team behind the studio produced animation for "The Liberator," a World War II drama on Netflix. The company is led by CEO L.C. Crowley, chief creative officer Greg Jonkajtys and chief content officer Brandon Barr.
Viva Finance raises $6.2M
Viva Finance, a 2021 Startups to Watch honoree, raised $6.2M to expand nationwide. The Atlanta financial technology startup says the Series A round was funded by “a diverse group of investors” but declined to give names. The startup previously raised $3.5M, which included investments from the Atlanta Technology Angels and New York’s Acumen Fund, which also participated in this round. The announcement comes on the heels of 800% year-over-year revenue growth, according to Viva Finance. Founded by brothers Jack and Hodges Markwalter in 2019, the platform aims to make lending more inclusive by using employment history to screen applicants instead of just credit scores. Read more.
Tech Square Ventures invests in Slope Software
Early-stage investment firm Tech Square Ventures led a $2 million investment in Atlanta's Slope Software, an insurance technology startup that makes financial projection modeling for actuaries more efficient. Alerion Ventures, Charlotte Angel Fund and Cofounders Capital also participated in the round. CEO Andy Smith and chief technology officer Taylor Perkins founded Slope in 2015. Read more.
Acquisitions
NCR invests in cryptocurrency
NCR Corp. is buying Boston-based LibertyX, a national network of Bitcoin ATMs, cashiers and kiosks. LibertyX is in 20,000 retail stores and has 9,500 ATMs, according to its website. NCR, a global financial technology company headquartered in Tech Square, says "growing consumer demand" led to the acquisition. The purchase will help NCR process digital and cryptocurrency payments for its customers, mostly in the banking, retail and hospitality industries.
Equifax to buy two companies
Equifax is buying two technology companies that will expand its largest and fastest-growing business. The data, analytics and technology giant announced its intention to buy Appriss Insights, which provides companies with risk and criminal justice intelligence, for $1.8 billion. The company said the acquisition would expand its “relationships with employers, background screeners, and state and federal government agencies.” The deal follows Equifax's Aug. 7 announcement of plans to buy Health e(fx), which provides technological services for companies for complying with the Affordable Care Act, for an undisclosed amount. Read more.
Digital engineering firm buys Wisconsin company
Rural Sourcing, a digital engineering firm, is buying Wisconsin-based digital consultancy Centare to expand its network to the Midwest. Rural Sourcing provides U.S.-based engineering talent to Fortune 1000 corporations and companies in a range of industries. Rural Sourcing, backed by an affiliate of Boston-based private investment firm Bain Capital, adds two Wisconsin locations to its existing network of six software development centers with the acquisition. CEO Monty Hamilton says the acquisition aims to "bring technology jobs to Middle America."
Cox acquires indoor farm startup
Atlanta media giant Cox Enterprises acquired BrightFarms, an indoor farming company that provides locally grown packaged salads. The acquisition is part of Cox's Cleantech initiative, where the company invests in sustainability startups with the intent to acquire them. Cox has had a majority stake in BrightFarms since 2020. BrightFarms has five farms across the country and recently acquired lēf Farms, another indoor grower. Its goal is to bring local salads to two-thirds of the population by 2025. Cox has more than $1 billion invested in sustainable tech companies, including Atlanta's Nexus Fuels, a plastic film recycler.
Atlanta company expands tech capabilities with acquisition
Crawford & Co., a global claims management company based in Peachtree Corners, bought Edjuster, a Canada-based claims handling tech company. The acquisition aims to expand Crawford & Co.'s technological capabilities to incorporate Edjuster's proprietary content management platform and digital services.
