From pre-seed to high growth rounds, Atlanta startups raised more than $725 million in April.
Atlanta unicorns OneTrust and Greenlight Financial Technology raised more than $200 million each, padding their multi-billion-dollar valuations. Other startups closed mostly early-stage rounds.
April was one of the most lucrative months of 2021 for Atlanta startups. Last month, new venture capital funds dominated the headlines, and February saw only $120 million in deals. January, which included growth raises from local unicorns Calendly and SalesLoft, surpassed $850 million in funding, starting off the year strong.
Here’s a rundown of the month's top funding deals. As always, subscribe to The Beat newsletter and get these deals in your inbox as they happen.
Infinite Giving raises pre-seed round to jumpstart company
Atlanta Tech Village Vice President Karen Houghton raised $500,000 from Atlanta investors to found fintech startup Infinite Giving and tapped serial entrepreneur and Georgia Tech graduate Seth Radman as chief technology officer and co-founder. The 12 investors supporting the startup’s pre-seed round include Atlanta Tech Village founder and serial entrepreneur David Cummings, SalesLoft CEO Kyle Porter and Atlanta Tech Village President David Lightburn. Read more.
Sports tech startup raises $13.5M
Supersapiens, an Atlanta-based sports technology startup, raised $13.5 million. MICA Ventures AG led the round, which included participation from serial investor Ed Baker and various fitness brand executives. Supersapiens partners with Abbot to power its Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor, which is designed to allow athletes to monitor their glucose levels to better understand their performance. Supersapiens provides the app software and personalized analytics to complement the Abbot glucose sensor. Supersapiens claims to have more than 2,000 athletes on their system within 12 weeks of being on the market. The sensor is available in some European countries but not yet in the U.S. The startup is also working on its first hardware product, the Supersapiens Reader Version Zero, to help athletes see their live fuel data. Read more.
Greenlight Financial Technology raises $260M
Greenlight Financial Technology Inc. raised a $260 million Series D round, according to a company announcement. The funding brings the fintech startup’s valuation to $2.3 billion, padding its unicorn status, which Greenlight reached in September of last year. Silicon Valley-based Andreessen Horowitz led the round, with participation from existing investors Atlanta-based TTV Capital, Canapi Ventures, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, BOND, Fin VC and Goodwater Capital. Wellington Management, Owl Ventures and LionTree Partners joined as new investors. Read more.
New startup raises explosive seed round
SUNDAY, a financial technology startup for QR code restaurant payments, launched with a $24 million seed round and a staff of 40. It’s an explosive launch for any startup, which typically start with little to no funding or employees in the early stages. Investors include United Kingdom seed firm New Wave and global investment firm Coatue. SUNDAY CEO Christine de Wendel said her team wants to hit the ground running, which is why they needed such a large seed round. They’re attempting to capture the market of a pandemic dining trend before potential competitors. The startup simultaneously launched in the UK, Spain and France. Read more.
Saltbox raises $10.6M Series A
Saltbox, an Atlanta-based startup that offers companies co-warehousing space, raised a $10.6 million Series A round to accelerate its expansion across the U.S. The round, which brings the company's total investments to $16 million, was led by West Coast investor Playground Global with participation from XYZ Venture Capital and Wilshire Lane Partners. The startup offers small businesses and e-commerce merchants space to store their products in a shared warehouse. The Atlanta location opened in November 2019 and has 27,000 square feet of space, all of which is full, CEO Tyler Scriven said. The company recently opened a 66,000-square-foot warehouse in Dallas and plans to expand into Denver, Seattle and Los Angeles. Scriven said Saltbox aims to have eight locations by the end of the year. Read more.
Itential raises $20M
Software startup Itential raised a $20 million Series B from Elsewhere Partners to expand its customer base and 200-person team. Itential provides software that automates the maintenance and management of enterprise companies’ cloud, physical or hybrid networks. The most recent round brings Itential’s total investments to $25.5 million, all of which is from Elsewhere Partners, an Austin-based investment firm focused on business-to-business companies in growth stages. Elsewhere Partners' Cam McMartin will join the Itential board. CEO Ian Bresnahan said the capital will go toward developing and launching a software-as-a-service product offering, which would allow more companies to use the technology, rather than only enterprise companies. Read more.
Retail tech startup raising $2M
Retail tech startup OTHRSource is raising a $2 million Series A to double its 12-person team and add more predictive data capabilities, CEO Mark Feinberg said. Investors include Florida Funders, Entaire Global, CSN Investments, EAT Investments and Engage Ventures in Atlanta. Feinberg called OTHRSource “the Uber for in-store support” because it uses gig workers to help small brands keep their products stocked, updated and organized. The gig model helps small brands compete with large companies that have in-store support teams. Feinberg said the company grew 515% last year and expects an even higher rate this year. Read more.
OneTrust raises another $210M
Atlanta data privacy and security startup OneTrust raised another $210 million. The Series C extension comes weeks after OneTrust, which has a valuation of more than $5 billion, made two acquisitions to expand its suite of services. New investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the round, with participation from Franklin Templeton. OneTrust's total funding is $920 million. Founded in 2016, it has become a global company with a suite of products that help protect client data, comply with privacy guidelines, evaluate risks, and manage internal and external ethics and compliance. Read more.
DC Blox raises $187M
DC Blox, which provides data centers where companies can lease space, received $187 million in financing and broke ground on a new data center facility in Greenville, S.C., according to a company announcement. Post Road Group, a Connecticut-based credit and equity real estate and technology investor, and Bain Capital Credit, a global credit and equity investor, led the financing, which aims to continue the firm’s expansion. Read more.
Valor Ventures closes second fund
Valor Ventures, an Atlanta seed-stage investment firm, closed its second, $21 million fund focused on inclusive investing in the Southeast. The firm aims to make sure its portfolio matches the diversity of the region and focuses on inclusive investing. About 80% of its total 17 investments are led by a woman or a person of color, which reflects the demographics of the Southeast, general partner Lisa Calhoun said. Valor Ventures has invested in seven companies with its second fund, including local startups LeaseQuery, Physician360, Funding U, Capway and Vital4. Check sizes range from $500,000 to $1 million, Calhoun said. Investors in the second fund include the Georgia Tech Foundation, MeHarry Medical College and the Kellogg Foundation. Calhoun and general partners Robin Bienfait and Gary Peat lead the firm. Read more.
