Get details below on recent funding deals that caught our attention. In the past week-plus, three Austin companies reported a combined $123.5 million in funding deals.
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In national news, venture funding for Black-led startups declined during Q2 this year, according to Crunchbase News. The decline follows an uptick in funding for Black founders last year as more venture firms sought to invest in Black-led startups, which have traditionally only secured shreds of the overall pool of VC dollars. After five quarters ranging between $850 million and $1.2 billion for Black-led startups, Q2 marked a significant decline with only $324 million invested.
Austin sales software startup DealHub.io Ltd. said June 14 it raised a $60 million funding round led by Alpha Wave Ventures.
The startup has now raised a total of $90 million. The new round follows a $20 million series B led by Israel Growth Partners last June.
DealHub, founded in 2014, is led by co-founder and CEO Eyal Elbahary. Its centerpiece software product, called RevAmp, helps sales teams maintain personalized dialogue with buyers and integrates with major sales platforms, such as Salesforce. The startup previously raised a $3 million round led by Cornerstone in 2017, as well as a $1.5M seed round led by Jerusalem Venture Partners in 2014, according to Crunchbase. DealHub has about 30 job openings currently listed, with a mix of positions for its Austin and Israel offices.
Sana Benefits Inc., an Austin company that helps small and medium-sized businesses set up employer-sponsored health insurance coverage, said June 15 it raised $60 million in series B funding to accelerate its expansion into new states.
The round was led by Austin-based firms Trust Ventures and Gigafund. Several of its earlier investors also joined, including American Family Ventures, Mark vc, Breyer Capital, JAM Fund and Liquid 2.
Founded in 2017, Sana has raised a total of $107 million. CEO Will Young said the new funding gives the company the ability to keep hiring even as markets get shaky. It expects to boost its headcount from today's 170 to about 200 by the end of 2022 and continue hiring in 2023. The company offers remote-friendly work; about a quarter of its employees live in the Austin area.
Getting feedback on your brand, especially from Generation Z, can be tricky. Austin startup Knit wants to make it easy with its consumer insights platform that's powered by short selfie videos responding to customized research questions. The idea is gaining traction, and Knit announced June 14 it raised a $3.5 million seed round to fuel its tech buildout, including automated video analysis systems, and reach non-Gen Z consumers as well.
The funding round was led by Atlanta-based Silicon Road Ventures. Others in on the round included Bread and Butter Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Bootstrappers.mn, Operate Studio and TiE Global Angels. Knit, led by CEO Aneesh Dhawan, launched about a year and a half ago, and it says it has 30-plus enterprise customers, including NASCAR, WNBA and Moët Hennessey. The company operates legally as PurPics Inc.
Get ABJ's latest list of local venture capital firms here, and see the list of angel investors here. A list of local startup incubators can be found here.
