Early-stage venture funding has certainly slowed down during much of 2023. But that doesn't mean that VCs aren't still supercharging the startups that they find most promising. Over the past week, Inno and the Austin Business Journal have tracked five strong funding deals, including the biggest of the year for an Austin-area company so far.
Want to get news like this delivered to your inbox the day it happens? Sign up to the Austin Inno Beat newsletter here.
Infinitum on Nov. 1 announced it has raised $185 million in series E funding. The massive investment, the largest one in the Austin area reported this year, was led by London-based Just Climate. Other investors included Galvanize Climate Solutions and NGP. Existing investors including Alliance Resource Partners, Rockwell Automation, Riverstone Holdings, Chevron Technology Ventures, Cottonwood Technology Fund and Ajax Strategies also pitched in.
The company has now raised a total of $350 million. It declined to share its valuation.
Armed with fresh funding, the company announced it will open a new, 110,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Saltillo, Mexico, that will be capable of producing 200,000 motors per year. It's expected to open in the first half of next year. That adds to Infinitum's existing 65,000-square-foot facility in Tijuana, Mexico, which can produce 100,000 units per year. Altogether, the company will be able to produce around 300,000 motors each year.
GreenLite, led by co-founder and CEO James Gallagher, said Nov. 1 that it has raised $8 million in seed funding led by Austin-based Trust Ventures. Austin's LiveOak Ventures, as well as Chicago Ventures, also joined the round.
GreenLite reduces time and costs in the pre-construction process by taking users' building permits, ensuring they're code compliant and then its team provides real-time updates on progress. It partners with cities, counties and other jurisdictions on plan review. It operates nationwide and has full coverage of Florida and Texas. The company said one of its earliest customers, Chick-fil-A, cut permitting timelines from six-plus months to two weeks.
Cedar, an Austin startup that uses generative algorithms and public and private data to help developers more quickly identify and evaluate real estate projects, on Oct. 31 announced it has raised $3 million in seed funding to fuel its growth.
The new round was led by San Francisco-based Caffeinated Capital with additional backing from Tishman Speyer Ventures, Kojo CEO Maria Davidson, David Rubenstein via Shorewind Capital and Alumni Ventures.
Cedar was founded last year by Rahul Attraya, Kyle Vansice and Nate Peters.
Austin autonomous robotics startup Wilder Systems Inc. said Nov. 1 that it has raised a $7.5 million seed round led by Star Castle Ventures, the venture arm of Fort Worth-based Point Bridge Capital.
Cubit Capital, Square Deal Capital and AeroX Ventures also joined the round. And the startup's pre-seed investors – Plains Venture Partners, Cortado Ventures and Echo Global – also reinvested.
Wilder, founded in 2015 by CEO Will Wilder, uses robotic arms to build and maintain military and commercial aircraft. It aims to cut labor time on certain operations by 50% or more. Its Agile Manufacturing Robot is being used by used by companies including Piper Aircraft to drill airplane wings and increase production.
Talus Renewables, which makes a modular green ammonia system, said Nov. 2 it has raised $22 million in series A funding.
The round was co-led by Material Impact and Xora Innovation, the venture arm of Temasek. Other backers included Cavallo Ventures, the VC wing of Wilbur-Ellis, and Rice Investment Group.
The startup, which is headquartered in Austin but appears to be a remote-first, hybrid company, was founded in 2021 and is led by co-founder and CEO Hiro Iwanaga. Its green ammonia platform creates carbon-free products near the point of use for farmers. The company has projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and is about to deliver more of its platforms to users in the U.S. and Europe.
