Get details below on recent funding deals, including a total of $134 million reported by five companies plus two investment firms raising new funds. These kinds of deals are a useful gauge of a company's evolution, and are sources of leads for real estate pros and other service providers.
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STARTUPS
8fig said Nov. 18 it had raised $50 million in series A funding. The company "provides equity-free flexible funding and supply chain management tools" to e-commerce companies — basically, helping businesses that sell online grow without diluting their ownership stakes. The new money will be used “to accelerate growth and expand its lending capabilities to more eCommerce businesses looking to realize their potential,” according to the announcement. Investors included Battery Ventures, LocalGlobe and Matt Robinson, co-founder of Nested and GoCardless. Silicon Valley Bank is also providing 8fig with a credit facility of undisclosed size. The series A round follows a $6.5 million seed round announced in June.
Roei Yellin, Yaron Shapira and Assaf Dagan founded 8fig in 2020. A spokesperson said the company employs about 30 people, with 10 working from an Austin office, including Yellin, the chief revenue officer. 8fig also has an office in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company operates legally as CBB Inc.
Austin-based physical security startup Ontic Technologies Inc. said Nov. 16 it has raised a $40 million series B funding round led by California-based JMI Equity. Others in on the round included Felicis Ventures, Silverton Partners and Ridge Ventures. That brings the startup's total funding to $58 million since it was founded in 2017 by CEO Lukas Quanstrom, Chief Strategy Officer Thomas Kopecky and Chief Technology Officer Gagan Jain. The company says it will use the funding to branch out to new market segments, develop new products and add staff. The company, which uses software to identify potential physical threats, has boosted its features though its acquisition of Sigma Threat Management Associates in September.
Austin-based landlord insurance company Steadily Insurance Agency Inc. said Nov. 16 that it has added substantially to a previous $3.8 million round from last year. The startup now says it has raised $31 million total. Its new funding was led by California-based private equity firm Matrix Partners, as well as New York-based Zigg Capital. Others in on the round included Vesta Ventures, Peak State Ventures, Nine Four Ventures and Next Coast Ventures. Steadily, led by founder and President Darren Nix, is co-headquartered in Austin and Overland Park, Kansas.
Austin-based cybersecurity startup NetRise Inc. has emerged from stealth with $6.8 million in seed funding. The investment was led by California-based Miramar Digital Ventures. Others in on the round included Sorenson Ventures, DNX Ventures and strategic angel investors. News of the funding round first emerged in late October with a Form D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but this is the startup's official debut. The company was formed last year by co-founders Thomas Pace and Michael Scott. Pace was most recently vice president of global enterprise solutions at BlackBerry. Scott was most recently a senior software developer at Tanium. The startup is focused on device security, and its platform identifies firmware vulnerabilities with machine learning models.
Clean meat startup Force of Nature LLC reported in a Nov.16 securities filing raising $6.3 million in new equity funding. The startup supplies businesses and consumers with clean meat from a variety of animals that have been raised on regenerative farms. It's led by the wife-husband duo Katie Forrest and Taylor Collins, who previously founded Epic Provisions LLC, as well as former Epic chief operating officer Robby Sansom, who is CEO of Force of Nature. Their products include ground bison, venison and beef.
INVESTMENT FIRMS
8VC, Joe Lonsdale's venture capital firm that moved to Austin from California last year, reported in a Nov. 12 SEC filing raising $743 million of an $880 million total offering for its 8VC Opportunities Fund II LP. The firm first reported its intent to raise the round June 14. And this is far from 8VCs only fund. As we reported back in June, the firm has has filed paperwork for several funds in recent months. The Opportunities Fund is separate from its flagship fund, which it calls 8VC Fund. That fund is now in its fourth iteration, and the company last year filed paperwork showing it could raise $640 million for 8VC Fund III. The firm earlier this year also filed to raise $640 million for 8VC Fund IV. Meanwhile, 8VC has been active locally, including backing oil drilling analytics company Zeno Technologies, and Lonsdale has been involved in several local deals, including as part of a $35M bridge round for HumanCo LLC.
TVP Bitcoin Venture Fund I LP reported Nov. 12 raising $10 million of a $15 million offering. The fund was created by Trammell Venture Partners, which is led by partners Christopher Calicott and Dustin Trammell. The firm's site says it invests in "highly technical seed- and early-stage startups" involved in bitcoin technology, applied AI and security and privacy tech.
