Software startups in Houston closed seed rounds this week, while other tech companies reported equity funding via Form D filings. Here’s a look at where the money is going in the Bayou City.
Velostics Inc.'s seed funding
Houston-based software-as-a-service company Velostics raised $1.95 million in a seed funding round led by local venture capital firm Starboard Star Venture Capital. Other investors in the round included Kansas City, Missouri-based Flyover Capital; Houston-based Small Ventures USA; and new investor Capital Mazapil, based in Mexico City, Mexico. Velostics will use the money to expand its platform, which provides unified scheduling for shippers at all stages of the supply chain.
Velostics founder and CEO Gaurav Khandelwal said in the company's announcement that clients who could benefit from the company's technology included carriers, brokers and freight forwarders.
Konect.ai's seed round
Houston-based Konect.ai, an artificial intelligence software-as-a-service company, closed a $5.5 million seed round led by Austin-based Silverton Partners this week. Konect said it plans to use the funds to expand its footprint and its product.
The company's AI offerings target automotive dealerships and tech businesses that are looking to upgrade their contact rates and communication with customers.
Graylog Inc.'s equity funding
A Form D filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week showed that Houston-based log management software provider Graylog Inc. raised nearly $9 million in equity funding. The form lists a date of first sale on Sept. 18.
The funding follows Graylog's recent acquisition of Resurface.io’s security platform in July. Graylog, which was founded in Hamburg, Germany, moved to the U.S. in 2015. Last year, founder Lennart Koopmann stepped into a new role as chief product officer, allowing Graylog to hire SaaS veteran Robert Rea as chief technology officer. Graylog raised $18 million in equity funding in 2021, and the company was honored in the 2022 Houston Inno Fire Awards in the technology and software category.
Nauticus Robotics Inc.'s equity funding
Local robotics company Nauticus Robotics Inc. (Nasdaq: KITT) filed a Form D disclosing its raise of $11.6 million in equity funding. According to a note on the offering, Nauticus put $20 million in term loans that are convertible to common stock, and the $11.6 million reflects the loans that have been funded to date.
Nauticus Robotics went public at the end of last year following a merger with CleanTech Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company. The company confirmed at the beginning of 2023 it had opened its first European offices in Norway and Scotland. It later reached offshore service deals with Shell PLC (NYSE: SHEL) — whose U.S. office is based in Houston — and Brazil's state-owned Petrobras.
Nauticus produces the Aquanaut, an autonomous undersea drone that can be used to maintain offshore installations for both oil and gas rigs as well as renewable energy generators such as wind farms and hydroelectric turbines. CEO Nicolaus Radford said in a 2023 interview that he saw the ocean as the next frontier for investment and employment.
In case you missed it: Amperon had largest funding round of the week
The largest funding round of the week went to AI power-forecasting company Amperon, which landed a $20 million Series B. Energize Capital led the round, which also included investors HSBC Asset Management, the D.E. Shaw Group and Veriten. Additionally, Amperon said two of its customers, including Denmark-based energy company Ørsted, were involved in the funding.
Amperon plans to use this round of funding to transition its AI-powered platforms from solely offering electricity-demand forecasting to incorporating data analytics and grid decarbonization. The company did not specify whether it would use the funds to expand its team further, following a wave of hires in 2022 after Amperon closed a $7 million Series A round.
The largest rounds of funding that Houston has seen this year include a $350 million Series C round for Axiom Space, which completed its second space mission earlier in 2023. Notably, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia partnered with Axiom for the mission, and the funding round was led by the Saudi Arabian investment firm Aljazira Capital.
Two members of the Houston arm of climate tech incubator Greentown Labs saw significant funding rounds in 2023. Texas-based investors, including Energy Transition Ventures, boosted green hydrogen technology company Ohmium to unicorn status with a $250 million Series C, which the California-based company said would be used to open a Houston office.
Meanwhile, New York-based Ambient Fuels scored a commitment of up to $250 million from San Francisco-based Generate Capital in May. Ambient CEO Jacob Susman said the funding would allow Ambient to create its green hydrogen electrolyzer systems for existing clients rather than betting on demand. The money would also allow Ambient to continue investment on its 10-acre site in Corpus Christi, which is set to begin producing green hydrogen in 2026, Susman said.
