An Atlanta startup founded by a former Spanx executive raised $6.3 million and scored a major partnership, according to a June 1 announcement.
Brrr° designs fabrics that incorporate cooling technology into the yarn. Brands that use its cooling technology in their fabrics include Vineyard Vines, Lily Pulitzer and Adidas, according to a spokesperson.
The funding round includes a strategic investment from David Chu, a fashion designer who runs social impact firm DC Design International. Chu also founded and sold the Nautica sea-inspired brand for $600 million in 2003 to apparel maker VF Corp., which has since sold the brand to Authentic Brands Group.
Chu will join brrr°'s board of directors and help the company with designs and sales to his global manufacturing partners.
Brrr°'s investment will be used to expand globally and enhance its sales, research and development for its cooling clothing, according to the announcement.
The funding round comes amid a slowdown in venture capital investments across the nation that some experts say will last until the end of this year. Nationally, tech firms raised a collective $37 billion across 2,856 deals last quarter. It was the lowest quarterly deal amount since the fourth quarter of 2017.
Atlanta startups' deal count was 61 for the first quarter, compared to 67 in the fourth quarter of 2022 and 96 during the same period last year.
CEO Mary-Cathryn Kolb founded brrr° in 2014 after serving as the director of sales at Spanx for seven years. In 2019, she raised $3 million for the company.
In 2021, the Metro Atlanta Chamber accepted brrr° into its Backed by ATL program, which provides mentorship and networking connections to middle-market companies with high growth potential. Kolb was named an Atlanta Business Chronicle Small Business Person of the Year in 2018.
The company is headquartered in Buckhead and also has a location in Taiwan.
