Here's a look at funding rounds raised by local startups since mid-February. If you'd like to keep track of venture capital raised by Austin area startups, consider subscribing to Austin Inno's daily newsletter, the Beat, which highlights funding rounds, executive hires, local tech trends and more.
The science of gut health and the solutions to improve it have become mainstream. Look no further than the ads and articles about yogurt, kombucha and dozens of supplements.
But most of the attention seems to be on adults.
Enter Tiny Health, an Austin startup that has developed an at-home gut microbiome test for babies.
The startup, founded in 2020, says that studies show early detection of gut microbiome imbalances during the first couple years of life can prevent and reverse otherwise chronic illnesses. It has also expanded to offer adult microbiome testing and vaginal microbiome testing, as well as strain-tracking technologies and a B2B platform to form new partnerships.
On March 5, Tiny Health announced it raised an $8.5 million series A round led by Spero Ventures, a California-based firm that invests in wellness and sustainability startups. Other investors in the round included TheVentureCity, Overwater Ventures, Next Coast Ventures and Peterson Ventures.
Tiny Health was founded by CEO Cheryl Sew Hoy, who saw a gap in the market when she learned she could potentially improve her child's eczema and allergies but lacked the gut tests to detect imbalances.
The startup's new funding round brings its total raised to $13 million.
Austin-based space communications startup CesiumAstro Inc. on Feb. 13 reported raising $30 million in new equity funding. The company, founded in 2017 by CEO Shey Sabripour, has its headquarters in Austin and additional offices in Broomfield, Colorado; El Segundo, California; and the United Kingdom.
Late last year, the startup won a $396,000 NASA contract to develop wide-band active phased array terminals for communicating between satellites in low-Earth orbit. It also announced successful tests of its CommPack cross-link communications payload on the NASA Starling mission’s CubeSats. Those are just a few of the company's government contracts. It also secured a $3.6 million contract with the U.S. Air Force in July.
CORE Industrial Partners, a manufacturing tech PE firm based in Chicago, said Feb. 14 that it closed on $887 million in capital commitments across two funds. The firm, which opened an office in Austin last year, has invested in several Texas companies between 2019 and 2022. That includes orthopedic maker Centex Machining in Round Rock and laser component maker Laser Manufacturing in Pflugerville. Both are now part of Fathom. It also invested in LED lighting product company Saylite in Carrollton and precision sheet metal services company EPMP in Seguin.
The firm has 33 employees, and several of its leaders now live in Austin, including Managing Partner John May, Partner Matt Puglisi and VP Nick Longtin. It's planning to add about 20 employees over the next couple years, including five new employees in Austin for roles including investor relations and portfolio associates.
Merit Medicine, an Austin startup that has an AI-powered platform to help self-funded employers anticipate high-cost medical spending, said it has closed a $2 million seed round led by LiveOak Ventures.
The company has been operating quietly since 2022, and it's led by founder and CEO Ali Panjwani. He has previously worked in the life sciences and pharmaceuticals industry with Aetion, BridgeBio and Coherus BioSciences. Merit uses AI to make connections across extensive datasets to make predictions tailored to the specific population of each employer. That, in turn, helps employers offer the best plans possible to employees.
Uhnder Inc., an Austin startup known for its digital radar technology with applications in the auto industry, announced that it raised a $50 million funding round on Feb. 21.
The company, founded by CEO Manju Hegde and Chief Operating Officer Curtis Davis in Austin in 2015, said its new series D was led by ACME Capital, which also invested in prior rounds. Additional backers on the new round include Magna, Qualcomm Ventures, El Camino Capital, Monta Vista Capital, Sagitta Ventures and HT Capital.
Uhnder's digital radar-on-chip tech can detect and track things in a 4D environment, monitoring distance, size and speed. The company says its tech is also resistant to spoofing attacks and radar interference, which have been issues with other types of autonomous vehicle sensing technology.
HALO Americas, an Austin- and Ireland-based bodycam startup, said Feb. 27 that it raised a $20 million series A funding round. The investment was led by Boston-based firm Volition Capital.
Halo, which has its Austin office near MoPac and Far West, has developed a subscription-based bodycam and bodycam management system used by law enforcement, as well as retail and transportation security officers. Its systems capture HD video, as well as audio. Its platform allows for searching, editing and categorization of videos.
The company, headquartered in Dublin and led by CEO Fiona Shanley, says the new money will help it advance its hardware and software, as well as expand its teams in the U.S. and Europe. It also has an office in Belfast.
