We're back with another funding wrap. In the past two weeks, seven Austin-area companies reported raising more than $250 million.
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EIG and Modern Energy announced on Feb. 28 a $90 million investment in Austin-based Industrial Sun LLC, which develops large-scale solar projects for industrial clients in Texas' energy market. The deal follows a partnership announced in July 2020, in which EIG committed $100 million to Modern Energy through a debt facility to fund the development of clean energy projects.
Modern Energy had also previously committed $30 million to launch Industrial Sun in November 2021.
"Our utility-scale solar projects help our ERCOT customers save millions of dollars at the facility level without any capital expense required," stated Wade Gungoll, Industrial Sun CEO.
Coherent Logix Inc., an Austin-based semiconductor company that works in the aerospace and defense markets, raised $85 million from Houston-based Atlas Credit Partners.
The investment in Coherent will be used for growth capital after the company completed several recent deals.
It was the company's first reported funding round since a $3 million equity series sale in 2019. The company’s primary markets involve the so-called Space 2.0 sector — an approach to spaceflight relying on smaller, cheaper satellites — and the defense industry.
Austin-based supply chain technology startup Overhaul said March 7 it raised $38 million in new equity funding, along with $35 million in non-dilutive debt.
Growth equity investor Edison Partners led the round. Also pitching in were eGateway Capital, StepStone Group, and TRM Ventures. Early investors Abbey International Finance, Avanta Ventures and Macquarie Capital also joined in. Stifel Bank, meanwhile, joined the fold for the debt portion.
Overhaul, which counts Microsoft among its customers, makes software that allows companies better visibility into their supply chain, from tracking shipments in real time to predicting estimated arrival times. Founded in 2016, Overhaul is led by founder and CEO Barry Conlon and has raised $137 million total, according to Crunchbase.
Adam Lyons, who co-founded Austin-based insurance comparison site The Zebra, secured an $18 million seed round for his new venture, Really Communications Inc.
The funding, led by Polychain and Floodgate founding partner Mike Maples Jr., appears to be the largest seed round raised by a telecom company in the U.S., based on a search of Cruncbase.
The startup aims to create a blockchain-powered mobile network that's community-owned, affordable and provides privacy.
AI processor startup Mythic Inc. said March 10 it raised $13 million in new funding. Backers included the company's earlier investors, Atreides Management, DCVC and Lux Capital, along with new investors Catapult Ventures and Hermann Hauser Investment.
This brings Mythic's total funding to $178 million. The company was founded by Dave Fick and Mike Henry in 2012. With the new funding, the company announced Henry would depart his role as CEO and Fick would become CEO after serving as chief technology officer previously. The new funding comes only four months after the company was said to have run out of capital.
Mythic develops AI chips and a software platform to deploy AI solutions from data centers to edge devices. The company says its new funding will help it bring its processor to market.
Local recruiting startup HeadRace Technologies Inc. said March 9 it has raised a $6 million seed round. Greylock, Susa Ventures and Breyer Capital led the round.
The startup, which has a network of recruiting services and shows employers recruiters' placement records, is led by co-founder and CEO Laszlo Korsos, along with Chief Operating Officer Kevin Brinig and Chief Technology Officer Amos Barreto. The three were members of Uber's marketplace team perviously.
"Employers are always looking to lower costs on hiring, but they don’t want to sacrifice on quality," Korsos stated. "We believe there is an opportunity to democratize the hiring process with technology, and that's why we started HeadRace."
Better Sour Co., an Austin-based company making low-sugar sour candy, recently raised more than $1 million in pre-seed funding.
Lifelong friends Bella Hughes and Semira Nikou founded the company in 2022. They said most of the $1 million raised will support the company's retail launch, with a focus on brick-and-mortar stores. Some of the money will also be spent on product trials and attending trade shows to meet retail buyers and get feedback from consumers.
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.
