In late July, Abe Minkara, a former Mark Cuban Companies exec and Legacy Knight founding partner, told the Dallas Business Journal that “there's a lot of opportunity to become an entrepreneur in Dallas right now… there's still a lot of capital out there.” That statement seems prescient with all of the startup and investor funding that took place in August.
Last month at least 12 startups and tech companies raised funding totaling more than $135 million in investments. That amount was led by a $32.5 million private stock sale by Applied Blockchain and a $31.9 million Series A round for Veryable.
Investors mirrored the fundraising activity pulling in more than $396 million for investment vehicles. Other firms like Fort Worth’s biotech-focused Bios Partners and emerging tech firm Dallas Venture Partners announced new funds.
The exit activity was also hot, with at least 16 M&A deals involving local companies. Mexico-based SPAC LIV Capital Acquisition Corp. took Irving-based digital transformation and custom software firm AgileThought public on the Nasdaq. And TPG-backed blank check vehicle AfterNext HealthTech Acquisition Corp. announced plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
To help you keep track of what’s going on around DFW, NTX Inno put together a roundup of August’s financial activity.
Pro tip: You can check out daily updates on funding, M&A and VC activity in our daily newsletter, The Beat.
Funding
Already with products in thousands of stores across the country and with plans to go fully nationwide with companies like Target, Dallas-based apple cider vinegar-based beverage brand Poppi landed a $13.5 million funding round to fuel its expansion. It’s also relocating its headquarters to Austin later this year to be closer to longtime partner Whole Foods. The new funding brings Poppi’s total to $20 million, Co-founder Stephen Elsworth said. Investors include CPG-focused firm CAVU Ventures. Poppi’s relationship with CAVU founder Rohan Oza dates back to 2018 when the company – at the time going by Mother Beverage – landed a $400,000 deal while appearing on a “Shark Tank” episode. In that time, the company rebranded for its nationwide relaunch effort last year.
After launching and raising $2.9 million this spring, Recuro Health, a startup providing digital and virtual services to the health care industry, is at it again. The Richardson-based company landed a $15 million Series A round led by ARCH Ventures. Previous investors OLSF Ventures, Cortado Ventures, 1843 Capital and Sage Venture Partners also joined the round. The company, led by CEO Michael Gorton, plans to use the money to expand its marketing efforts and fuel its acquisitions strategy. In May, Recuro announced plans to acquire Minneapolis-based SupDoc, a telehealth company.
Indyfin, a Dallas-based fintech startup that describes itself as the “Shopify for financial services,” raised $2 million as it looks to grow. The funding was led by Leo Capital. The company, led by CEO Akshay Singh, has been finding growth as it provides an online platform that brings together independent financial advisers and new clients. With the funding, it's looking to hire engineers, operations staff and product specialists in the coming months. Indyfin’s tech helps connect financial advisors to potential new leads.
ShiftKey, a Dallas-based health care workforce solutions startup, announced receiving a growth capital investment from Michigan-based private investment firm Lorient Capital Management. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, Lorient’s website states it seeks opportunities with businesses requiring between $15 million and $40 million in equity capital. It also announced that Pete Harrison, founder and general partner at investment firm Sand Hill Capital, is joining its board as the new chair.
BreachQuest unveiled a $4.4 million effort raised from investors that include Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, founders of Tinder, which is part of Dallas’ Match Group. Others include Slow Ventures, a firm whose portfolio includes Robinhood, Venmo and Nextdoor. BreachQuest is building an incident response platform, PRIORI, which aims to pair industry talent with its new technology to make the scoping, remediation and recovery experience “intelligent and seamless,” according to the statement.
Centerbase, a Dallas cloud services company focused on midsized law firms, landed a “growth equity investment” from Mainsail Partners, which has offices in San Francisco and Austin. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Centerbase CEO John Forbes said he has always been against taking on outside investments. However, Mainsail’s reputation stood out. The company is planning to use the funds to add to its product lineup, as well as to its customer support and management teams. Centerbase currently has around 60 employees.
Dallas-based aerospace and defense supplier Alpine Advanced Materials, which holds an exclusive global license to lighter aluminum alternative HX5, attracted $5 million as part of an effort to raise $8 million. It follows the $8 million the company raised last year. Alpine is planning to use the money to fuel its growth, as it has been focusing on new markets like electric flight and commercial space. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works developed HX5. Alpine is part of the holding company Catalyze.
Adding on to a $3 million Seed Award from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas it received last year, Dallas biotech startup Dialectic Therapeutics announced landing a $14.4 million Texas Company Product Development Research Award from the organization. The cancer-focused company plans to use the funds for the clinical development of a product that helps degrade cancer cells and make them more receptive to chemotherapy.
After reaching a $2.5 million funding milestone in June, Austin-based social music app EarBuds, which has part of its team in Dallas, closed a $3 million funding round led by Austin VC firm Ecliptic Capital. Others in on the round included the Andre Agassi Foundation and LFG Ventures. The startup, led by founder and CEO Jason Fox, a former NFL player, had previously raised $2.1 million from Techstars and a variety of well-known investors, including NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield. The new money is expected to help the company build new tools for its real-time social music app.
The McKinney EDC’s Innovation Fund, aimed at attracting early-stage startups launched by McKinney's EDC, has allowed close to 20 companies to relocate or expand in the city. One of the newest is Frisco company that has shifted its home base to the city. Xcelerate Auto, a financial technology company that focuses on electric vehicles, relocated its headquarters to McKinney. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Fort Worth-based Cx Precision Medicine, an Alzheimer's disease-focused biotech startup, reported raising $934,000 in debt funding from 12 investors on a $1.3 million offering. Cx was founded by Sid O’Bryant, the executive director of the Institute for Translational Research at the UNT Health Science Center, in 2016. The company is looking to bring to market a tech licensed from the UNT HSC that uses blood-based biomarkers to screen for neurodegenerative diseases. In an SEC filing from last year, Cx reported raising $600,000 in equity funding.
Dallas-based harassment and discrimination reporting, investigating and resolution platform Work Shield is aiming to raise $4 million with its current round, which is expected to close in the coming weeks. That would follow a $4.1 million Series A round led by Hoak & Co. the company landed in June last year. With the newest raise, Work Shield is looking to “fuel growth” and hire more salespeople. The effort comes as Work Shield has seen increased demand as online harassment has increased amid the pandemic.
According to an SEC filing, Dallas-based Evolon Technology, a surveillance software solution for critical infrastructure monitoring, reported raising nearly $10.5 million in equity funding out of a $16 million offering from 128 investors. Launched in 2001, the company previously went by Jemez Technology, landing a $7 million funding round from local firm ReignRock Capital Partners. Craig Jeffries and Mel Duran co-founded Evolon.
Veryable, which provides digital tools for the manufacturing sector, raised $31.9 million in a Series A round, it said in a statement. According to Mike Kinder, CEO of the company, it will go to areas that include product development and market expansion. Overall, the company has raised about $60 million. Gigafund, the leader of the Series A funding, counts among its investment portfolio SpaceX, which is working on rockets and spacecraft and where Musk is CEO, The Boring Co. and Neuralink.
Dallas startup ReadiVet, an on-demand veterinary services startup, is providing that with a $2.5 million Series A round led by Atlanta Seed Company, bringing the company’s total to $4 million. Martin Ventures, Jemison Capital and others joined the round. The company is a veterinary practice that provides on-demand, in-home veterinary care services. With the new funding, it’s looking to hire more veterinarians and invest in its tech. ReadiVet currently has sites in DFW and expects to expand both inside and outside of Texas in the coming months.
With a $32.5 million private stock sale led by Beijing-based crypto mining hardware and solutions company Bitmain, Dallas’ Applied Blockchain, a mining firm, is getting into the cryptocurrency hosting space with plans to develop new facilities to accommodate the move. Applied is looking to bring online 500MW of capacity through a five-year hosting agreement with Bitmain and partnerships with its other backers SparkPool and General Mining Research. The company said it would use the investment to purchase land and equipment to build hosting facilities for other crypto mining companies and their mining operations. Applied has identified three sites at undisclosed locations in the Upper Midwest.
M&A
After entering into a definitive agreement to acquire powersports dealer RideNow Powersports in March, RumbleOn finalized the deal in late August. The Arizona-based retailer combines its business with the Irving-based, publicly traded used vehicle e-commerce platform in a cash and stock deal valued at more than $575 million. When the deal was announced, the combined entity expected revenue between $1.45 billion to $1.55 billion had the transaction taken place on January 1. RumbleOn said the move would help consolidate the consumer powersport market while helping it improve monetization on its buying and selling platform. Long term, the company expects the deal to produce revenue of more than $5 billion and an adjusted EBITDA margin of more than 10%. As part of the deal, which will see RideNow operate under the RumbleOn brand, RideNow Co-founders Mark Tkach, CEO, and William Coulter will join RumbleOn’s board of directors. Senior management of both companies has entered into three-year executive employment agreements.
ResMan, a property management platform provider, became part of Tennessee's Inhabit IQ, according to a statement. Terms were not disclosed. ResMan is one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the region, according to research last year by the Dallas Business Journal. The firm reported a 142% expansion over three years. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Sherman awarded ResMan $62.45 million and permanently enjoined its courtroom opponents, Houston-based Karya Property Management and Expedien, from accessing and using confidential information at the local company.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Dot Esports reports Envy Gaming is in talks with NRG Esports and its Co-CEO Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez to merge its Call of Duty League team Dallas Empire with the Chicago franchise’s OpTic Gaming, a move that would leave the OpTic league slot open for sale. The report says that if finalize, Empire would likely adopt the OpTic brand and be controlled by Envy owner Mike Rufail and Rodriguez, who has been looking to part ways with NRG for some time. Adding to the speculation of a deal, Empire announced on Friday that players Ian "Crimsix" Porter and Reece "Vivid" Drost are now restricted free agents. OpTic has made similar moves.
After forming about five years ago, a Dallas virtual reality startup was bought by a firm with a nearly century-long history. SURVIVR, a VR training platform for first responders, was acquired by Georgia-based InVeris Training Solutions, a firm providing similar services with its virtual and live-fire weapons training system. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. With the mission of providing better de-escalation training for military and first responders during stressful interactions, InVeris said it intends to incorporate SURVIVR’s software into its existing simulated weapons training technology, which can be customized based on a user’s words and actions. As part of the deal, SURVIVR CEO Brian Hoang will join InVeris as its new director of VR and AR strategy.
Dallas- and Ontario-based residential real estate software company Lone Wolf Technologies has made its fifth acquisition of the year. The firm announced scooping up Massachusetts’ Propertybase, a real estate and mortgage software provider. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move follows Lone Wolf’s acquisitions of W+R Studios, LionDesk, Homespotter and Terradatum. The company said it’s looking to expand its investments in the areas of AI and machine learning.
Selerix Systems was acquired by New York firm NexPhase Capital. Selerix Systems is a McKinney-based benefits administration, employee engagement and ACA reporting software company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the move, Selerix Co-founder and President Lyle Griffin will take a seat on the company’s board, while remaining in the president role. NexPhase Operating Partner Michael Roe and Principal Robert Garland will also join Selerix’s board.
After landing a $500 million investment from Koch Strategic Platforms in April, Mavenir, a Richardson-based wireless tech software provider, announced the acquisition of Austin communication-platform-as-a-service company Telestax. Mavenir said the deal will boost its omni-channel messaging monetization and customer engagement offering, Mavenir Engage. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A Plano start-up that works on video streaming is selling to a public company in New Zealand. Pushpay, a payments and engagement services provider for faith-based and nonprofit groups, has made an agreement to acquire Resi Media LLC for $150 million, according to a statement Monday.
Dallas-based Academic Partnerships, a Vistra Group-backed company focused on facilitating online higher education, acquired edtech company Coursetune, a curriculum mapping software firm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Coursetune will continue to operate as a distinct brand.
COMSovereign Holding Corp., a public Dallas-based communications systems and solutions developer, acquired Israeli cloud software developer SAGUNA Networks LTD in a $13.6 million restricted common stock deal. COMSovereign CTO Dustin McIntire said the move marks the "most significant and transformative acquisitions” the company has made, allowing it to expand its 5G capabilities.
Six companies now make up Plano-based business and technology services provider Argano, which acquired aMind Solutions, a California-based Salesforce CPQ and billing solutions company. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Argano was formed in May via the combination of Keste in Plano, InterRel Consulting in Arlington and United Virtualities, which has offices in New York, Mexico and Argentina. The more than 400-person Trinity Hunt Partners-backed company has since acquired Arabela Technologies and SCMO2.
GovOS, which announced it is moving its HQ from Dallas to Austin last week, said it acquired Colorado-based MUNIRevs | LODGINGRevs, which has tax, licensing and compliance software used by local governments. The terms of the deal weren't announced. GovOS, operated by Dallas-based parent company Kofile, plans to build its Austin team to about 60 in the coming months and grow to about 100 total by the end of the year.
Irving-based security and automation services provider Twenty20 Solutions merged with Skyhawk, a Houston- and Baton Rouge-based provider of security tech solutions. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies said the move would allow the combined entity to provide on- and off-grid customer solutions. The combined company will use Irving as its HQ, with other offices in Midland and Bakersfield, Calif.
Flower Mound anime-focused streaming platform Funimation, a joint venture of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment, finished its acquisition of AT&T-owned anime content platform Crunchyroll in a nearly $1.2 billion deal. AT&T said it is planning on using the proceeds of the deal to help reduce its debt.
Dallas’ 272 Capital, founded by Wes Cummins, who also heads up local cryptocurrency mining company Applied Blockchain, was acquired by fellow Los Angeles-based investment advisory business B. Riley Financial.
Dallas digital service company Improving acquired Tahoe Partners, a Chicago-based professional services firm focusing on cloud and Microsoft services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Improving is expecting it to result in a collective annualized revenue of more than $185 million. Improving said the move would help it expand its reach in the Midwest.
When Zabo landed its Seed round last year, its co-founder Alex Treece said the cryptocurrency API startup planned to expand to include every crypto asset, account and wallet. Now, the Dallas-based company is on its way to doing that. It was acquired by public firm Coinbase – one of the largest crypto exchanges in the country by trading volume. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Treece also declined to say if Zabo will continue to operate as an independent entity. However, since Coinbase is a fully remote company with no physical headquarters, Zabo’s leadership will remain in DFW.
Investor Activity
Dallas entrepreneur and billionaire Mark Cuban was one of a handful of investors on New York-based Ethereum-focused rollup network builder Offchain Labs’ $100 million Series B round. The round, which follows a $20 million Series A in April, was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Other investors included Polychain Capital, Ribbit Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Alameda Research and Pantera Capital. The funding values the company at $1.2 billion.
Denton-based investment firm KMF Investment Group led a $3 million Series B funding round for Arkansas medical device startup Lineus Medical. Since launching in 2015, the company has raised $6.4 million for its technology, focused on vascular access. Connecticut’s Hartford HealthCare Corp. joined the round. According to its website, KMF has offices in Washington, D.C., New York and India.
Dallas VC firm Goldcrest Capital raised more than $6.5 million in pooled investment fund interests from nine investors for a new fund titled, “Goldcrest Capital Sourcegraph-D SPV, LLC," per an SEC document. In December, the firm, which focuses on industries ranging from travel to cryptocurrency, invested as part of a $50 million Series C round investment in Sourcegraph, a startup that provides a code search platform for companies. This summer, Sourcegraph announced it had raised a $125 million Series D investment from many existing investors, totaling about $225 million raised. Goldcrest is led by co-founder and managing directors Daniel Friedland and Adam Ross.
Last fall local VC firm Naya Ventures, which has offices in Irving and India, relaunched as Dallas Venture Partners (DVP) with a focus on new, emerging technology. Now, DVP is launching its second fund, according to a filing with the SEC. While it hasn’t reported raising any funding, DVP is looking to raise $75 million for the investment vehicle. With its eyes on cloud infrastructure, AI, machine learning, mobile and other emerging technologies, DVP said it makes investments between $2 million and $10 million in early- and growth-stage companies. The firm is led by Naya Co-founder Dayakar Puskoor.
Pooled investment and private equity fund eSports Funding Partners LLC, which lists Westlake alternative investment firm Double Eagle Capital Management as its investment manager, amended an SEC filing to report raising $7.1 million in equity funding. According to the filing, 14 investors participated on the $10 million offering. Funds will be used to support Los Angeles esports franchise Team Liquid. Double Eagle was founded in 2005 by Ernest Kuehne III, a former hedge fund manager for Legg Mason.
Southlake health care- and tech-focused PE firm Gauge Capital made an investment in Atlanta emergency tech company CENTEGIX. The company makes location-aware badges for first responders and uses a SaaS platform to direct users to emergency services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Gauge Co-founder and Managing Partner Tom McKelvey and Senior VP Sam Smith are joining CENTEGIX’s board. The move follows Gauge’s investment in California cybersecurity training company NINJIO last month.
Local investor and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith was one of a handful of investors on a $2.2 million pre-Series A round for Orlando-based Home Lending Pal, which helps users find affordable mortgages. The round was led by San Diego-based The Mortgage Collaborative, a network of mortgage firms, banks and credit unions. The funding, which was joined by BlueWave Investment Partners and CUNA Mutual Group, brings the company’s total to $3.5 million. It’s planning to use the funds to make new hires and build out its platform.
A startup-investing PE firm with North Texas ties closed on its $355 million inaugural fund, with plans to deploy more than a fourth of that to local companies. Weatherford Capital, which has offices in Dallas and Tampa Bay, is looking to invest in 12 to 15 businesses over the next 18 to 24 months. Weatherford has about $700 million in assets and has invested in 18 companies, including Austin's The Zebra, since launching six years ago. In an exclusive with the Tampa Bay Business Journal, Weatherford announced making the first deployment of that fund, leading a $32.5 million Series B round for Chicago-based insurance tech company High Definition Vehicle Insurance Group. As part of the deal, David Seider, a principal with Weatherford, will take a seat on HDVI's directors.
New Dallas faith-based exchange-traded fund issuer Faith Investor Services teamed up with Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors to place its first fund on the NYSE with more than $20 million in assets. Like environmental, social and governance and impact investing, the FIS Knights of Columbus Global Belief ETF adheres to investment guidelines outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Faith Investor Services was launched last year by Joe Valdman, managing partner of the firm’s parent company, Slate Hill Partners, a VC firm focused on supporting niche investment managers. The company's goal is to create three fund partnerships by the end of the year and eventually offer about a dozen.
Fort Worth biotech-focused VC firm Bios Partners launched a new fund titled Bios Tech Opportunities Fund, per an SEC filing. So far, the firm hasn’t reported any investors in the pooled investment fund. Last year, Bios raised $52 million for its Bios Fund III, with plans to deploy it over the next three years. Bios has 14 companies in its portfolio, according to its website, including local names like Taysha Gene Therapies, Lantern Pharma and Actuate Therapeutics.
Recent SEC filings show that Unbounded Capital added capital to three existing investment vehicles, totaling about $4.5 million in pooled investment interests and limited liability company interests. The blockchain-focused venture fund invests early-stage equity in companies around the Bitcoin Satoshi Vision space. Managing Partner Zach Resnick co-founded the firm in 2018. While Unbounded’s partners work across the country, the firm lists a private mailbox in Dallas for its fundraising vehicles and affiliates.
Omnimed Capital updated its Omnimed Equity Partners CoInvest LP fund, which has raised more than $2.6 million in pooled investment interests from 10 investors. The fund was initially looking to raise $2 million when it was launched in 2019. The local VC group recently led Series A and Series B funding rounds for bacterial infection diagnostic device company Pattern Bioscience, totaling about a $10 million commitment.
The Rise Fund, Fort Worth- and San Francisco-based investment firm TPG’s impact-focused platform, led a $200 million Series D round for small business 401(k) provider Human Interest. SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Crosslink Capital, NewView Capital and others joined the round. The news comes just six months after the company closed a $105 million Series C round, valued at $1 billion. With the new funding, Human Interest is looking to hire about 200 employees nationwide and continue to invest in its technology platform.
Fort Worth’s Harvest Returns, a crowdfunding investment platform focused on agricultural innovation, is raising two new funds. In one SEC filing, the firm reported raising $385,000 in equity funding on a $1.6 million effort from 32 investors for its fund Harvest Invest-027 LLC. On the other, Harvest reported raising $545,000 in equity on a $1.07 million offering from 27 investors for its Harvest Invest-028 fund. According to Harvest, the firm has raised more than $14 million for ag-related businesses since its launch in 2016.
Making his latest deal, Mark Cuban’s Radical Ventures joined a $6 million Series A round for Seattle-based ZenLedger, a crypto tax software and blockchain analytics firm. The round was led by Bloccelerate VC and joined by others, including G1 VC, Borderless Capital and 4RC. With the funding, ZenLedger is looking to grow its team while releasing a cryptocurrency portfolio management solution.
IPO/SPAC ACTIVITY
Amazon- and Ford-backed electric vehicle company Rivian, which is eyeing Fort Worth has a potential manufacturing and development center, confidentially filed to go public. The size and pricing of its proposed offering was not disclosed. It hopes to go public in November. According to Bloomberg, the company is valued at $80 billion. Since launching in 2009, Rivian has raised about $10.5 billion.
After approving the merger earlier this August, Mexico-based SPAC LIV Capital Acquisition Corp. took Irving-based digital transformation and custom software firm AgileThought public on the Nasdaq. The combined company, which will operate as AgileThought, will trade under the tickers AGIL and AGILW. The company debuted with a market capitalization of roughly $420 million, at $10 per share. According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the company is in “hyper-growth” mode, with plans to hire around 1K employees by the end of the year.
A health care technology-focused SPAC in Fort Worth announced the pricing of its IPO. Called AfterNext HealthTech Acquisition Corp. and backed by investment giant TPG, the company is looking to raise $250 million via the sale of 25 million unit at $10 per unit. As of today, AfterNext will trade on the NYSE under the ticker AFTR.U. Led by Halsey Wise and Anthony Colaluca, the company will focus on merging with a business at the “intersection of health care and technology.” When AfterNext initially announced its plans in July, its SEC filing said it was looking to raise $300 million through its IPO, according to Renaissance Capital.
