Startup funding hasn't stopped in Austin, with three deals announced last week totaling $163 million, although the lion's share was raised by one company.
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• Ben Lamm's Colossal Biosciences Inc. raised a $150 million series B round and announced its next moonshot: bringing the dodo bird back from extinction.
The $150 million round was led by the United States Innovative Technology Fund. Breyer Capital, Bob Nelsen, Animal Capital, Victor Vescovo, In-Q-Tel, Animoca Brands, Peak 6, Bold Capital, Jazz Ventures and others also invested.
Colossal, which emerged from stealth mode in September 2021, has also committed to reviving other long-gone animals like the woolly mammoth and the Tasmanian tiger. It's raised a total of $225 million and employs about 85 people full-time.
• In November, we noted that a local startup called Chrono Inc. had raised $9 million in new funding on top of the $5.3 million it scored in 2019.
On Feb. 1 the company, which does business as Nexus and has a platform for live service games and content creators, gave us fresh details on its funding. It has raised a $10 million round led by Griffin Gaming Partners.
Sony Innovation Fund and Valhalla Ventures also got in on the deal alongside existing investors Pace Capital and Austin-based S3 Ventures. Content creators CohhCarnage and Berleezy also joined the round.
Nexus, led by co-founder and CEO Justin Sacks, has developed in-game software that lets developers build support-a-creator programs into their games. Last year, it launched its in-game Support-a-Creator application programming interface for developers. And it announced it helped power programs for big name companies including Capcom, Ninja Kiwi Games and with the developer of Big Ballers VR, the first Oculus game with a program powered by Nexus.
• A newly launched digital health startup called Frontrow Health said Feb. 1 it raised $3 million in seed funding. The round was led by a group of investors including Austin's Next Coast Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners and angel investors, including executives from Austin-based Everly Health and former 23andMe president Andy Page. Frontrow was founded last year by Irfan Alam, a 26-year-old Pakistani Muslim-American. Its platform helps medical providers build personalized digital storefronts with consumables, devices and virtual services for sale. Meanwhile, patients can get cash back on some purchases. The startup has already partnered with big brands such as Natalist and 1MD Nutrition.
"It’s never been harder for D2C health brands to acquire new customers because consumers just don’t know what to trust through the noise of what’s being pushed via Instagram or TikTok ads," Next Coast Ventures co-founder Mike Smerklo stated. "Frontrow solves that by bringing the provider into the fold; through their guidance, consumers finally know what to trust online, which is critical to the long-term success of the D2C health space."
For more local deals, check out another recent funding wrap. And subscribe to Austin Business Journal for startup resources such as lists of venture capital and private equity firms, incubators and accelerators, angel investors and coworking providers.
