The money plant grows bigger. Image Courtesy: Getty Images
Richard Drury
Atlanta tech companies and startups blew prior funding records out of the water in 2019.
After breaking the 2018 standing record for VC capital raised in the city by Q3 this year, Atlanta startups continued to raise major rounds at the tail end of 2019.
The top three raises of VC dollars this year were cybersecurity startup OneTrust's $200M round, cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt's $182.5M round and medical marijuana startup Parallel's $100M Series D round.
Each month, we’ve included a wrap-up of all the funding announcements and SEC filings in the ecosystem and mentioned the top three announcements we believe to be the most important in our daily newsletter, the Beat.
Check out this record-breaking year’s top funding below.
December
- PlayOn! Sports, an Atlanta-based high school sports media company, has raised $25M in a Series B round led by local VC firm BIP Capital. New investors included in the round are Tampa Bay Lightning owner and serial Tampa Bay investor Jeff Vinik, Teall Capital and Crossover. The funding will primarily be used for accelerating the deployment of PlayOn! Sports’ Pixellot, an automated production solution, throughout the high school market. The company plans to use some of the investment to also advance consumer products and automated marketing infrastructure. David Rudolph, CEO of PlayOn! Sports, said the company would be expanding its staff of 75 employees as a result of the funding.
- BioIQ, an Atlanta-based biotech company, raised about $14M in equity from 12 investors, according to a filing with the SEC. Atlanta Inno has reached out to representatives at BioIQ to learn the primary use of the funding. BioIQ utilizes data analytics to simplify health testing and immunization programs for health plans, employers and government agencies.
- Motivo, an Atlanta-based platform that helps mental health professionals on their path to licensure, raised $2.2M in a seed round led by Cox Enterprises. Techstars, SEI Ventures, ECMC, Great Oaks VC, The Jump Fund, Emmett Partners and Next Wave Impact Fund participated in the round, along with multiple angel investors. The startup will use the funding to grow its team, acquire contracts with mental health agencies and clinics and sign channel partnerships with therapist associations and universities.
November
- LeaseQuery raised $40M in a Series A round from Goldman Sachs. Founder and CEO George Azih said the investment will primarily be used to continue the startup’s rapid growth and its mission to help accountants comply with the required accounting standards from the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the International Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. This is LeaseQuery’s first formal investment, having been bootstrapped since 2011.
- Illuminarium Experiences, an Atlanta-based “global experimental entertainment company” raised $14.2M of a $25.4M round, according to a filing with the SEC. The company specializes in using technology to create immersive experiences.
- A Woodstock-based SaaS startup in the restaurant and hospitality space completed its $5M round. Popmenu, a customer engagement engine for restaurants, raised a $5M Series A round, according to a filing with the SEC. The platform helps restaurants control their menu in real-time to attract and engage customers. In 2018, the company raised a $585K seed round from unknown investors. Atlanta Inno reported earlier this year that the company was raising a $1M debt round.
October
- Atlanta-based medtech startup ControlRad raised $15M in a Series B funding round led by Questa Capital. The funding will be used for the company’s commercial launch of its Trace system, which focuses X-Ray imaging during surgery and prevents unnecessary exposure to radiation from a fluoroscopic X-Ray for physicians, nurses and the patient.
- Atlanta’s SaaSOptics, a cloud-based platform for subscription-based businesses, raised $12 million in a Series B round led by Fulcrum Equity Partners. The investment includes equity and debt, as well as a line of credit from Silicon Valley Bank. CEO Tim McCormick told Atlanta Inno the funding will primarily be used to continue scaling the startup’s sales, marketing and customer teams. Over the next 12 months, McCormick plans to hire about 20 to 30 more employees.
- Florence, an Atlanta-based clinical trials software startup, raised $7.1M in a Series B round led by Fulcrum Equity Partners. Atrium Health and Bee Partners also participated in the round. The startup, which assists clinical trials through software by managing document and data flow between research sites and sponsors, will use the funding for Florence’s product offerings. The company also plans to grow its sales, marketing and customer success teams.
September
- AnalyticsIQ, an Atlanta-based marketing data and predictive analytics startup, raised nearly $15M in a Series A round from Boathouse Capital, a Pennsylvania-based private equity firm. AnalyticsIQ uses cognitive psychology and data science to help clients understand consumers and the decisions they make. AnalyticsIQ was founded 2007 by Dave Kelly, following the acquisition of his former company, Sigma Analytics. This round is the first funding raise for the startup, according to Crunchbase.
- Nview Health, an Atlanta-based behavioral health solutions company, raised $4.65M from local VC firm BIP Capital. Nview Health delivers online behavioral health solutions that help healthcare professionals and research organizations screen for and monitor mental disorders in children and adults.
- 510 Kardiac Devices, Inc., an Atlanta-based medical tech startup that designs cardiovascular devices cardiologists can use to perform procedures to targeted locations within the structures of the heart, raised nearly $3M of a $3.5M round, according to a filing with the SEC. The filing states 24 investors were involved in the round.
August
- Greenlight Financial Technology, an Atlanta fintech firm that supplies smart debit cards to kids, raised $39.1M of a planned $54.1M round. In July of 2018, the startup announced it had exceeded its original $16M Series A round and raised $20M. Following the investment, the company was valued at about $50M. If the startup is successful in this funding round, Greenlight will have raised a total of $81.6M.
- Kobiton, an Atlanta-based mobile testing platform, raised a $5.2 million Series A round, led by BIP Capital. Other investors included previous seed investors KMS Technology and Kinetic Ventures, in addition to Jon Hallett, BetterCloud executive chairman; Ken Walters, former Infor COO; and Kevin Lee, the CEO of Kobiton. The funding will primarily be used for hiring sales and marketing positions in Atlanta, Lee told Atlanta Inno. Lee said he also anticipates much of funding will be used to “continually innovate and increase [Kobiton’s] portfolio of intellectual property, in addition to scaling our go-to-market initiatives.”
- Flourish, an Atlanta-based supply chain management startup that helps cannabis companies monitor logistics, raised $2.1 million in a seed round led by 7thirty Opportunity Fund. The funding will primarily be used for R&D, sales and marketing and hiring across the company, according to founder and CEO Colton Griffin. The company has hired at least seven people since closing the round, and consists of 25-30 employees in seven states, including Georgia, California and Oregon.
July
- OneTrust, an Atlanta-based privacy, security and third-party risk technology platform, raised a $200M Series A from Insight Partners, which now values the startup at $1.3B. The funding will be used to continue to build out more modules, privacy strategy and a third party risk management product, according to Chairman Alan Dabbiere. OneTrust plans to continue its global expansion, acquire more companies and grow its headcount.
- Ciox Health, an Alpharetta-based healthtech company with a focus on clinical data exchange, raised $30M in a funding round from new investor Merck Global Health Innovation Fund and private equity firm New Mountain Capital. Ciox will use the funding to enhance its core capability of providing clinical data liquidity to reduce health care costs and improve the quality of patient outcomes.
- DefenseStorm, a cloud-based cybersecurity firm in Alpharetta, raised $15M in a Series A round led by Georgian Partners. The company added Justin LaFayette, managing partner at Georgian Partners, to its board of directors and work with the Georgian Impact team to fast track technology in AI, according to a news release.
June
- Parallel, an Atlanta-based medical marijuana startup formerly known as Surterra Wellness, raised a $100M Series D round. The company also approved the expansion of its board of directors. The round was supported by existing and new investors, family investment offices and the startup’s current director, Ed Brown, former Patrón Spirits Co. CEO. The startup plans to use the new funding to continue “strategic acquisitions and infrastructure capital expenditures,” along with expanding its headcount to nearly 2K employees by the end of the year.
- Ironscales, an auto-phishing startup based in Atlanta and Tel Aviv, raised $15M in a Series B round led by previous investor K1 Investment Management. The company plans to use the new funds to focus on decentralization as a means of preparing against cyber attacks and AI in the future, a company blog post said. CEO Eval Benishti told VentureBeat the funding will go toward growing the startup’s operations in the United States.
- Cypress.io, an Atlanta-based startup that offers automated testing for applications in web browsers, completed a $9M Series A round, led by previous investor Bessemer Venture Partners. The funding comes almost a year to the day after the startup announced it completed a $4M seed round from BVP and Las Olas Venture Capital. The funding will primarily be used to continue the growth and expansion the company started with its seed round, with a focus on cross-browser testing, test analytics, code coverage, component testing, enhanced errors, built-in test retries, Github integration and more.
May
- Atlanta-based identification and cybersecurity startup Evident ID raised $20M in a Series B round led by Aspect Ventures, with participation from New Enterprise Associates, Blue Cloud Ventures and Internet Security Systems founder Tom Noonan. The company will use the funding to broaden its existing tech infrastructure, including deepening its investment in AI and machine learning, computer vision and facial recognition technologies. The startup also plans to expand its team in Atlanta, according to a news release.
- Atlanta-based Revenue Analytics, a provider of pricing and revenue management software, raised $11M in Series A funding led by Noro-Moseley Partners and joined by Blue Lagoon Capital. Revenue Analytics has bootstrapped since 2005 to more than 100 employees today, according to a news release. The startup provides predictive analytics software applications for Fortune 500 clients, hotels, cruise lines and media companies.
- Farm Cannabis GA, Inc., an Atlanta-based cannabis startup, raised $3.75 million in funding, according to a recent SEC filing.
April
- Salesloft, an Atlanta-based sales engagement platform, raised $70M in a Series D round, bringing its total funding to $145M. Insight Partners led the round alongside HarbourVest Partners. The VC firms joined prior investors Emergence Capital and LinkedIn. SalesLoft has grown recurring revenue by more than 1,000% over the last three years and has expanded to 400 employees. The company was named the seventh fastest-growing technology company in North America by Deloitte.
- FullStory, an Atlanta-based customer experience software company, came in right behind SalesLoft with the second biggest funding in April, after it closed $32M in Series C funding. The round was led by growth equity firm Stripes, a new investor in the company. Dell Technologies Capital, another new investor, joined Stripes alongside GV, Kleiner Perkins and Salesforce Ventures. The new investment brings the company’s total funding to $57M.
- Atlanta-based STORD Inc., a supply chain startup that connects customers with available warehousing and distribution, raised $12.4M, according to a filing with the SEC. Last year, the startup raised $2.4M in funding, bringing its total raised to $14.8M. CEO Sean Henry and CTO Jacob Boudreau founded STORD in 2015 through the CREATE-X program – an entrepreneurial program at Georgia Tech that enables students to create real startups and take them to market.
March
- Duluth-based Movius, a cloud-based secure mobile communications software maker, closed a $45M Series D funding round led by new investor JPMorgan Chase & Co. Existing investors PointGuard Ventures, New Enterprise Associates and Anschutz Investment Company also participated in the round. Movius representatives said the new funding nearly doubles what the company has raised to date: $91M. This was significant news given the investors involved and it’s the largest round we saw in March.
- Atlanta-based OncoLens, a tech startup that provides cancer care programs with a treatment platform, closed a $1.35M seed round. OncoLens plans to use the money toward its strategic growth and the round was led by local investors BIP Capital and Atlanta Technology Angels.
- Ideas United, LLC, a creative studio that produces content and events for brands, universities, nonprofits and networks, raised $15M from Kayne Partners, the growth equity group of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P. The studio intends to use the new funds to continue growing and expanding its business reach globally.
February
- Atlanta-based software company Ionic Security Inc. raised $40M in Series E funding. JPMorgan Chase & Co. led the round, followed by investors Google LLC (a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.), Klenier Perkins, GV, Icon Ventures, Meritech Capital and Atlanta-based TechOperators and Ten Eleven Ventures.
- Roadie, an Atlanta-based on-the-way delivery service, raised a $37M oversubscribed Series C funding round, bringing the startup’s total funding to $62M. Investors in the round include The Home Depot, Warren Stephens and Eric Schmidt’s Tomorrow Ventures. The funding announcement follows Roadie’s recent delivery partnerships with Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot and Walmart. The startup now delivers in 224 metro areas around the nation and up to 100 miles around every major city. Not only was this a huge number to boast about, but the local Fortune 500s involved make this a major homerun for ATL tech.
- Atlanta-based Pointivo, a software company that utilizes AI and computer vision to provide automated analytics for drone and other aerial platforms, raised $7M in a Series A round led by local VC firm BIP Capital. Pointivo’s platform automates the heavily manual processes around inspecting and assessing physical assets in the insurance, roofing, solar, telecom and energy industries.
January
- Bakkt, an Atlanta-based cryptocurrency exchange, raised $182.5M from 12 notable investors and VC firms, according to a New Year’s Eve announcement. Boston Consulting Group, CMT Digital, Eagle Seven, Galaxy Digital, Goldfinch Partners, Alan Howard, Horizons Ventures, Intercontinental Exchange, Microsoft’s venture capital arm, M12, Pantera Capital, PayU, the fintech arm of Naspers and Protocol Ventures participated in the round.
- Featurespace, an Atlanta and U.K.-based fraud protection and risk management startup, raised $32.3M from New York-based Insight Venture Partners and MissionOG. Other firms included in the round were existing investors IP Group plc, Highland Europe, TTV Capital, Robert Sansom and Invoke Capital.
- ThingTech, an Atlanta-based industrial IoT platform as a service provider, raised $4M of a Series A round from local BIP Capital and repeat investor Engage Ventures.
