Atlanta startups again raised a low amount of venture capital this week.
From Jan. 13 to Jan. 20, local companies raised nearly $20 million across two deals, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and press releases. Nearly the same as the $19.5 million the ecosystem raised between Jan. 6 and Jan. 13.
Both of those were multi-week lows for Atlanta. Recently, local businesses saw seven-day figures of $192 million, $80.9 million, $77 million and $55 million. But that’s no shock: Venture capital has been dwindling for several months.
Companies in the state raised around half the amount of venture capital in 2022 they got the prior year, which was a record level for funding.
As investors have changed focus from growth to profitability, layoffs from tech companies in the past half-year to cut costs have been the result. PitchBook predicts that 2023 will also be a year when venture capital will slow, although seed-stage companies may show some resiliency.
Here are the venture deals you might've missed this week:
- Presso raised $8 million in seed funding, a news release announced. Funding came from Uncork Capital, Cherubic Ventures, 1517 Fund, AME Cloud Ventures, HAX, SOSV, Pathbreaker Ventures, VSC Ventures and YETI Capital. The startup makes machines that dry and press clothes in minutes, holding up to three articles of clothing at a time. In July, the company moved to the Northridge Commons business park in Sandy Springs after being in the Atlanta Tech Village. The raise brings the company’s total funding to at least $12 million. It is led by CEO Nishant Jain.
- Mobile testing platform Kobiton Inc. raised $11.2 million as it tries to raise $1 million more, according to an SEC filing. The company allows businesses to test mobile apps before releasing them to make sure they can function. The latest raise brings the company’s total funding to at least $42 million, based on previous filings. Atlanta firms Panoramic Ventures and Fulcrum Equity Partners previously invested in the company. There were 13 participating investors in the latest raise. Kobiton is currently led by CEO Sean Barry, and was formerly led by Kevin Lee. The business is a graduate of the state’s Advanced Technology Development Center incubator.
