Here's a look at the biggest venture capital rounds for Austin startups in 2017. Please note, we've included a few notable private equity and strategic investments we thought you'd be interested in, as well. And we've limited this list to companies that raised $20 million or more in 2017.
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The Zebra - $40M
The Zebra, one of Austin’s fastest-growing tech startups, announced in September a $40 million Series B investment led by Accel Partners. It was the largest venture funding round of the year for an Austin startup. Along with the funding, The Zebra hired former Kayak President Keith Melnick as its new CEO. The company has raised $61.5 million total. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was one of Austin Inno's 50 on Fire, and it is also one of Austin Inno's 18 to Watch in 2018.
Ambiq Micro - $33M
Ambiq Micro, a low-power chipmaker, raised $23.5 million in equity funding in June. It tacked on another $10 million in November. It was part of a pileup of equity and debt funding reported by the company, which used to be called Cubiq Microchip, Inc.
SparkCognition - $32.5M
SparkCognition, a fast-growing AI startup, raised a $32.5 million Series B in June. The financing was led by Verizon Ventures and Boeing’s HorizonX. That came atop the $16 million SparkCognition had raised from Michael Dell’s private equity group, MSD Capital, The Entrepreneur’s Fund, CME Ventures and others. The company was founded by Amir Husain in 2013.
Zilliant - $30M
In April, New York finance giant Goldman Sachs invested $30 million into Zilliant, an Austin-based software company. The new money came from Private Capital Investing Group, a branch of Goldman Sachs’ focused on investing in growth and mid-market companies. Zilliant, which makes predictive sales guidance and business optimization software, said the new money would help it expand its global reach in several new business sectors.
Opcity - $27M
Opcity, an Austin-based real estate tech startup, raised a massive $27 million Series A led by Palo Alto-based Icon Ventures. Founded by Yodle co-founder Ben Rubenstein and Michael Lam, a former VP of corporate strategy and M&A at Citigroup, Opcity had previously raised $1 million in seed funding from friends and family and a round of convertible debt before raising the Series A.
Main Street Hub - $27M
This wasn't really a pure VC deal. But Main Street Hub, a marketing tech company, announced in January a $27 million debt refinancing deal with Silicon Valley Bank.
uShip - $25M
uShip, a shipping logistics company, raised a $25 million Series D in February from DB Schenker, the German-based global logistics company. That followed a 2015 agreement in which DB Schenker signed a five-year deal with uShip to match shippers with truckers in Europe.
Tiff's Treats - $25M
In November, Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, the VC arm of the big investment banking firm, invested $25 million into Tiff’s Treats, an Austin-based warm cookie delivery company. The Series D investment came as Tiff’s Treats expanded to new cities in Texas and Georgia. It has raised more than $50 million total.
Baxter Planning Systems - $25M
Baxter Planning Systems, a software maker founded in 1993, got a $25 million investment from Boston-based Polaris Partners.
Pivot3 Inc. - $22.9M
Pivot3 Inc. announced a $55 million equity and bank financing event in March 2016. That was led by Argonaut Private Equity and S3 Ventures. Though the company didn't make any official announcements in 2017 about funding, it did report a $22.9 million increase to its previous funding in an amended report.
Favor - $22M
In September, Favor, the on-demand delivery startup, announced a $22 million Series B led by S3 Ventures. That brought total funding to $34 million. Other investors include Austin’s Silverton Partners and Tim Draper, the Menlo Park-based venture capitalist.
TurnKey Vacation Rentals - $21 M
TurnKey Vacation Rentals announced in March that it had raised a $21 million Series C investment led by Adams Street Partners, a Chicago-based venture capital firm. That round came less than a year after TurnKey’s $10 million Series B. Other investors include Altos Ventures in Silicon Valley and Silverton Partners in Austin also contributed to the round. TurnKey has raised about $41 million since its 2012 launch.
