Get details below on recent funding deals that caught our attention. In the past week, five Austin companies reported more than $130 million in combined equity and debt funding, while an investment firm indicated it was raising a $125 million fifth fund.
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Local enterprise software company Upland Software Inc. said July 15 it secured a $115 million strategic equity investment from private equity firm HGGC.
The convertible preferred stock deal will allow Upland (Nasdaq: UPLD) to acquire companies that might be in search of exits during an economic downturn, according to the announcement. Upland, led by Chairman and CEO Jack McDonald, said the pricing at $17.50 per share is a 30% premium over its closing price July 13.
The company said it plans to appoint HGGC's David Chung to its board as part of the deal.
Additionally, Upland noted that Rod Favaron will be stepping down from his position as president at the end of August. Favaron, who was chairman and CEO of Austin-based Spredfast from 2011 to 2018, was appointed to the position in February 2020.
Financial-technology and lending automation startup TurnKey Lender Inc. said July 14 it raised $10 million in a mix of equity and debt, though it didn't elaborate on the breakdown. The new raise was led by Amsterdam-based OTB Ventures. Also in on the deal were prior investors DEG and Vertex Ventures.
As its backers imply, TurnKey operates internationally, and the funding will help it reach more customers domestically and in Europe and Southeast Asia. Aside from its Austin headquarters, it operates in Singapore, London, Kuala Lumpur and Warsaw.
Along with the new money, the company, founded in 2014 and led by CEO Dmitry Voronenko, said it appointed Christian Morales as chairman of the board. Back in January, the company announced it had hired Marc Pickren, former CEO of Austin-based OutboundEngine, as CEO for North America.
Every now and again, I spot a press release headline that really pops. Prime example from last week: "What Crypto Winter? Curios Raises $5M in 6 Days..." The announcement goes on to say that Austin-based non-fungible tokens startup Curios raised $5 million in crowdfunding on the Republic platform. It plans to use the funds to expand its product and engineering teams. The startup, founded in 2021 by Grant Powell, has developed user-friendly backend tools that helps developers launch NFT marketplaces with payments, wallets and browser-based features. In its crowdfunding campaign, it estimated total revenue for 2022 would hit $2.5 million, and it projected $5 million in revenue next year.
Sumatra, an Austin-based artificial intelligence and machine learning startup, last week announced a $1.5 million seed round led by S3 Ventures with additional money from Sentiero Ventures, Data Power Ventures and AI Sprouts. The startup was founded in 2020 by Greg Kuhlmann and Lucas McGrew. Its tech helps businesses fight fraud but has other applications, like developing personalized shopping experiences based on real time user activity.
Spark Cognition Government Systems, a subsidiary of Austin-based artificial intelligence company SparkCognition Inc. that focuses on defense and security applications, said July 11 it was among 20-plus companies to secure a piece of a $950 million government contract. Under the contract, SparkCognition will work with the Department of Defense on specific AI use cases across all military branches.
Investment firms
Austin-based Multicoin Capital Management LLC, one of the largest crypto-focused firms in the country, said July 12 it raised $430 million for its third fund. From that war chest, the firm plans to make investments from $500,000 to $25 million in early-stage crypto and Web3 startups, and it noted it might dish $100 million or more for key late-stage projects, which would also draw from its hedge fund.
For more on the massive fund, go here.
Consumer-focused venture capital firm Brand Foundry Ventures plans to raise up to $125 million for its fifth fund, according to a July 12 securities filing. The forthcoming fund is called Brand Foundry Ventures Fund V LP. The firm is led by Andrew Mitchell, who co-founded Aspen Industries, and Brian Spaly, founder of Bonobos and Trunk Club. VC firms typically can't discuss fundraising at this stage. Brandy Foundry's portfolio includes Austin businesses such as Rosso & Flynn and PreFix.
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.
