Location: Cocoa
What it does: Uses blueprints, permitting records and architectural records to create 3D models of a building’s interior. The technology is used for emergency response, disaster relief and infrastructure protection.
Amount raised: $275,000
Type of deal: Equity
Details: IndoorGeo still seeks to raise $225,000, as it aims to raise $500,000 in total, according to the SEC filing.
Location: New Smyrna Beach
What it does: Sunglasses retail brand
Amount raised: $2.76M
Type of deal: Equity
Details: This money represents Bajío’s fourth round of fundraising, and it will be used to fund “significant growth,” founder and President Al Perkinson (pictured) told Orlando Inno via email. In 2021, Bajío doubled its local square footage to 15,000 and increased its staff from 15 people to 25.
Location: Kissimmee
What it does: Independent video game development studio
Amount raised: $4.15M
Type of deal: Pooled investment fund
Details: It’s unclear how this capital will be used. Sword & Wand executives could not be reached for comment. While the SEC filing lists Sword & Wand's headquarters as Kissimmee, the company on its website claims to be fully remote.
Location: Orlando
What it does: Venture firm that invests in aerospace companies, starting at the seed stage
Amount raised: $4.55M
Type of deal: Pooled investment fund
Details: E2MC executives could not be reached for comment, but the filing shows the money is for E2MC’s second and newest investment fund, E2MC Ventures 2 LP.
Halfway through November, Central Florida firms ranging from an aerospace venture firm to a sunglasses retailer have combined to raise nearly $11 million in capital, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents reveal.
Why this story matters: Investment rounds by local companies can result in high-tech, high-wage job creation. Plus, venture firms raising money mean the potential for investments into Central Florida businesses.
These documents, filed with the SEC between Nov. 1-16, give new insights to what companies are getting cash infusions to grow their businesses, develop their products or invest into other firms.
To see the startups fundraisings of the last two weeks, check out the slideshow above.
The top raise was by Orlando-based venture firm E2MC LLC, which invests in aerospace companies across the U.S. While E2MC executives could not be reached for comment about the firm's recent $4.55 million raise, Managing Partner Raphael Roettgen in December told Orlando Inno E2MC was rolling out its second investment fund.
E2MC's fundraising activity creates opportunities for aerospace startups in Central Florida looking for investment. E2MC invested in one local company in its first fund: space tourism company Space Perspective Inc., based at Kennedy Space Center.
E2MC is keeping its attention on Central Florida's Brevard County, Roettgen previously said. “We expect the Space Coast ecosystem to grow stronger.”
Meanwhile, metro Orlando venture capital activity recently decreased after a blockbuster first half of the year.
Local companies collectively raised $22.6 million in the third quarter, down 92.9% from $320.7 million in Q2 and down 85.8% compared to $159.9 million in Q3 2021, according to data released by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association on Oct. 13. It was the lowest amount of money invested in local companies in any quarter since Q1 2020.
Despite the decline in investment activity, some Florida investors are excited for 2023. For example, Las Olas Venture Capital closed a $50 million investment fund in the spring, with roughly two-thirds of that money left to invest, Founding Partner Mark Volchek told Orlando Inno. Las Olas is based in Fort Lauderdale, but there are multiple Orlando-area startups in its portfolio.
Capital-efficient startups will be in the best shape in 2023, and that bodes well for Central Florida companies, which generally are more efficient with their money than tech companies in other markets, Volchek said. "They may have to tighten their spending, grow less than they need to, but they still can get the capital."
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