North Texas kicked off the year with a strong month of funding, investment activity and M&As, continuing a trend from 2020.
Despite the pandemic, the region reached more than $1.1 billion in investment funding – the highest it has been in nearly two decades – according to the PwC/CB Insights Q4 2020 MoneyTree Report. And in January, nearly $100 million VC and PE dollars went to local companies. Nine companies made new acquisitions, at least three investment firms raised new funds, and two companies announced plans to go public.
On the company front, Richardson-based GoFind announced filing for bankruptcy.
To help you keep track of what’s going on around DFW, NTX Inno put together a roundup of January’s activity.
Pro tip: You can check out daily updates on funding, M&A and VC activity in our newsletter The Beat.
Check it out below.
Funding & Grants
Hongli Wu, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the UNT Health Science Center College of Pharmacy and North Texas Eye Research Institute, landed a $376,000 grant from the Department of Defense to support her research to find a therapy to prevent vision loss. His research focuses on using a smart estrogen that can directly target the retina, protecting it from injury. Wu is working with Katalin Protkai-Tatrai, a fellow professor at the Health Science Center, on the research.
The Blackstone Charitable Foundation gave the UT system a $5 million grant to support Blackstone LaunchPad programming at campuses across the state, giving student entrepreneurs access to mentoring, fundraising networks, and events to help them develop products that catch the attention of potential investors. Blackstone has partnered with nationally renowned startup accelerator Techstars to provide additional resources to students and universities. Among the six campuses chosen was UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Virtual pharmacy startup Scripx is planning to raise $2.5 million through the recently launched Republic Dallas, a curated community of companies and investors created by early-stage crowdfunding investment platform Republic, to expand its inventory and bring on new hires the rise of telemedicine services created by the pandemic.
Preciate, a Dallas-based startup offering digital tools to replicate in-person business socials and mixers, announced landing a $4.6 million seed round led by Inspiration Ventures to further product development, marketing and hiring. Investors Founders Capital Partners and the Santa Barbara Angel Alliance also joined the round. The new funding comes as the company, founded in 2017 and officially launched last year, has experienced 200 percent growth in Q4 over the third quarter.
Lewisville-based patient tracking and analytics company Post Acute Analytics said it has closed on a Series B funding round for an undisclosed amount. The round was co-led by Concord Health Partners’ AHA innovation Development Fund and Dorilton Capital. Existing investor Generator Ventures also joined the round. Post Acute said it plans to use the new funding to boost its tech platform and build its management team.
According to a filing with the SEC, Fort Worth-based biotech company Sanara MedTech reported raising nearly $1.1 million in equity funding from two investors. The company, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SMTI, also reported total revenue of about $15.6 million for the year ending on Dec. 31. That marked a 32 percent increase from the year before.
Fort Worth-based college-focused telehealth company TimelyMD announced landing a $60 million investment from JMI Equity. Like many in the telehealth industry, TimelyMD said it has been experiencing rapid growth during the pandemic. And it hopes to accommodate that growth with the new funding, using it to enhance its service offerings and expand its team.
Dogness (International) Corporation, a publicly traded maker of smart pet products with its U.S. HQ in Plano, closed on a share offering to institutional investors, bringing about $7.4 million in exchange for more than 5M shares. The company, which is listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol DOGZ, plans to use the new funding to expand its business and portfolio of pet tech products.
Plano-based Tyler Technologies, which focuses on government tech solutions, announced landing a $98 million five-year agreement for the Texas Office of Court Administration to extend the use of Tyler’s eFileTexas filing solution through 2027 – the largest deal in the company's history. Tyler has been working with the office since 2012 when it signed its first $72 million agreement.
After landing $7.5 million in funding in October, Dallas-based Gig Wage announced extending that Series A round to include new backer Foundry Group, bringing the round to about $10 million.
M-Files, a Finland-based data and content organization software company with offices in Austin and Plano, announced landing an $80 million funding round led by Bregal Milestone, bringing its total to about $127 million. Partech, Tesi and Draper Espirit joined the round. With the funding, M Files is looking to hire in Austin and remotely.
Dallas founder Fran Harris took the ‘Shark Tank’ stage in early January, pitching her sports drink startup Electra Beverages. Local investor Mark Cuban quickly backed out of a deal, citing partnerships the Dallas Mavericks have with other sports drink brands. Investors Lori Greiner also dropped out, as did Kevin O’Leary and Daymond John, who cited costs and competition associated with the sports drink market. That left only Shark Barbara Corcoran, who ended up offering Electra $100,000 upfront, along with a $250,000 line of credit in exchange for a 30 percent stake in the company – an offer Harris happily accepted.
According to Mandy Price, CEO and co-founder, Dallas-based Kanarys received $3 million in a seed round that brings the total backing for the firm to $4.6 million. The deal was led by Zeal Capital Partners, a Washington, D.C., firm whose focus includes companies specializing in the future of work. Morgan Stanley is a new investor in the funding and the Rise of the Rest Seed Fund at Steve Case’s Revolution effort.
Carrollton tech firm UniFocus, a provider of workforce management services, received new funding from PE firm The Riverside Company, which has one of its six U.S. offices in Dallas. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. With the funding, UniFocus plans to continue to develop software options for customers and hire in areas including product development and sales. David Jacob, senior associate and a member of Riverside’s investment team, said there could be potential acquisitions for UniFocus in the future.
According to a filing with the SEC, Southlake-based mindzie, an AI process optimization startup, reported raising $3 million in equity funding. Six investors joined the raise.
M&As
Richardson-based Visual Matrix, a property management systems provider focused on the hospitality industry, was acquired by ASG, a software company focused on acquiring and building SaaS companies and a portfolio company of Alpine Investors. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Dallas-based health care-focused data management startup Phynd Technologies was acquired by symplr, a Clearlake Capital Group- and SkyKnight Capital-backed health care GRC solutions company. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In an all Dallas deal, health care AI startup Pieces Technologies acquired Bowtie Business Intelligence, a data management and analytics company. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the move, Bowtie founder and CEO Peter Swanson will join Pieces as its new VP of strategic development.
Fort Worth-based Simpli.fi, a localized programmatic advertising solutions company, acquired North Carolina-based accounting, billing and project management firm The Advantage Software Company. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to the Dallas Business Journal, the move marks the first acquisition for Simpli.fi and brings its headcount to about 400.
Frisco-based residential real estate tech firm Elm Street Technology acquired North Carolina-based real estate transaction management software company Flow ROI. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move marks the second acquisition for the company in less than a month and its eighth since launching in 2016.
Dallas-based Black Box Intelligence, a data and insights provider focused on the restaurant industry, was acquired by Los Angeles-based buy-out firm Diversis Capital Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed. However, the deal represents a majority stake ownership of the company by Diversis. As part of the deal, Black Box founders Wallace Blair and Joni Thomas Doolin will remain involved in the business as investors, strategic advisors and board members. Black Box said the capital would help it penetrate new and existing segments of the broader food-service industry.
After entering the public market last year, Thryv Holdings, a tech tools provider to small businesses, is looking to expand its international reach with a new deal. The Grapevine-based company is in talks to acquire Australian marketing products provider Sensis Holding Limited. According to the Dallas Business Journal, the deal could be worth about $195 million. While Thryv noted nothing is guaranteed at the moment, it expects the deal to close in Q1.
Making its seventh acquisition since launching in 2016, Frisco-based real estate tech company Elm Street Technology acquired Kentucky based VoicePad, an automated lead generation, and property marketing systems provider. Financial terms were not disclosed. Elm Street plans to incorporate VoicePad’s technology into its Elevate end-to-end real estate solutions platform.
After being acquired in December by Thoma Bravo in a more than $10 billion deal, Richardson-based real estate tech company RealPage acquired Alabama-based WhiteSky Communications, a telecom and VOIP service provider. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Investor Activity
Fort Worth PE and investment firm Satori Capital amended filings with the SEC to show it has raised nearly $636 million from 112 investors in a pooled investment fund for its alternative investment platform. The firm reported raising $470.5 million from 116 investors for a different alternative investment fund in another filing.
New Age Capital, a Dallas-based seed-stage VC firm launched in 2016 by co-managing partners Ivan Alo and LaDante McMillon, raised $50M for its New Age Capital Fund I, according to a filing with the SEC.
Maverick Ventures, a San Francisco-based VC firm launched by Dallas hedge fund giant Maverick Capital, reported raising more than $116 million for its Maverick Ventures Investment Fund. According to a filing with the SEC, 38 investors joined the raise.
New York-based HR software startup Greenhouse boosted a $500 million investment from Fort Worth- and San Francisco-based investment firm TPG, Forbes reports. As part of the deal, TPG used its Growth fund and its Rise Fund to invest $47 million into the company and spend around $450 million to buy shares from Greenhouse's existing investors, including Thrive Capital. Also, TPG Growth partner Mike Zappert will join Greenhouse’s board. According to the report, TPG was prompted to take up a majority stake in the company after it posted 30 percent year-over-year revenue growth. It expects Greenhouse to be ready for an IPO within the next two years.
According to a filing with the SEC, newly formed Dallas-based mid-market PE firm Rise Run Capital reported raising nearly $10 million in equity for a new fund called Rise Run Investment 2020. Sixty-one investors joined the raise. According to its website, Rise Run focuses on health care, CPG and logistics companies, among other things.
Crunchbase reports TPG Capital was the lead investor on a $300 million Series C round for Utah-based fintech software company MX, which helps aggregate and analyze bank and credit union data.
TPG Growth led a $125 million Series B funding round for Canadian edtech startup Prodigy Education. The Canadian Business Growth Fund, a prior investor in Prodigy, also joined the round. As part of the deal, TPG partner David Trujillo and TPG Growth Principal Jacqui Hawwa will join Prodigy’s board.
Fort Worth- and San Francisco-based investment firm TPG is raising a new climate-focused fund. According to Axios, no fund size or structure has been set. However, it will likely be larger than its previous social impact-focused Rise funds since the report notes TPG feels climate opportunities have "exceeded Rise's allocation limits." Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has been brought on to run the new fund.
According to a filing with the SEC, Fort Worth-based crowdsourcing agriculture investment firm Harvest Returns reported raising $655,000 in debt funding out of more than $1 million raised for its fund Harvest Invest-018. Forty-one investors joined the raise.
While the Houston-based blockchain startup Topl announced its seed round late last year, more detail has come out about the size of the round, which was joined by Dallas-based VC firm RevTech Ventures. The firm was one of seven investors on a $3 million seed round for Topl, which focuses on implement ethical and sustainable practices. Mercury Fund led the round, joined by GOOSE Capital, Chinagona Ventures, Beni Venture Capital, Blue Collective, RevTech and Social Impact Capital.
IPO/SPAC Activity
A Plano-based snack maker is planning to go public. Stryve Foods, known for flavored biltong, agreed to a reverse merger with SPAC Andina Acquisition Corp. III, taking Stryve public with an initial valuation of $170 million. Previous backers of Stryve include Murano Group, Meaningful Partners and Pendyne Group. According to a release, the company has secured a $10.6 million bridge note offering. Stryve will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SNAX.
Dallas- and Connecticut-based Signify Health, a health care technology platform, is looking to go public. The company filed a Form S-1 with the SEC this week, with plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SGFY. In the filing, the company said it hopes to raise $100 million. However, that number is often a placeholder until pricing and shares are decided. In the year ending last September, Signify reported about $550 million in revenue.
Bankruptcy
Richardson-based GoFind Inc., a GPS development and manufacturing startup, filed for voluntary dissolution. According to its LinkedIn page, the company, led by CEO and co-founder Ronald Kasper, launched in 2015. In its filing, GoFind said it was in "development mode, and all financing has been depleted.” The company previously reported raising $200,000 in seed funding, according to a WeFunder page for GoFind.
