Companies making 3D printing, AI and payment processing software products saw more than $20 million in investments in September.
Some investments were unannounced million-dollar-plus investment rounds, while others were updates or amendments to previous funding rounds in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The month saw more than $40 million when factoring in the other companies that announced funding, like Phospholutions (listed below), Proven and 3D Cloud by Marxent.
To keep the Tampa Bay area up to speed on the green, Tampa Bay Inno has the deals that didn't make headlines in September.
The deals:
Haddy Inc.
Haddy Inc., the micro-factory 3D printing lab for furniture in St. Petersburg, raised $3.5 million in funding for debt in September through 21 investors, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Haddy's machines use robot arms to print furniture like chairs or tables using "reusable composite" material, according to its website.
Reuben Pressman, a local entrepreneur and Tampa business creator, previously invested in Haddy, according to reporting from the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
John Rogers, the CEO and founder, did not respond to a request for comment.
Telepathy Labs Inc.
Tampa-based Telepathy Labs received $4.9 million in funding for debt from 48 undisclosed investors in September, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Telepathy Labs builds “AI-based technologies to turn data and queries into business value using its multi-intelligent platform, STELLA,” according to its website.
Stella Automotive AI — an AI company led by Telepathy Labs and Josselyn Boudett, the CEO of Telepathy Labs and the chairman of both companies — closed a $4 million funding round in June.
The company has not previously announced its fundraisings, such as when it quietly raised $29.5 million in May, which is one of the largest deals of 2023 for the Tampa Bay area.
It also raised $17 million in August 2021 and $6.6 million in June 2020.
Telepathy did not respond to requests for comment.
SKUxchange Inc
SKUxchange, a St. Petersburg-based financial technology company, amended a previous Series A funding round of $11 million from March 2023. It expanded the round to a more than $12 million round in September, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
$2 million of the net proceeds of the Series A offering have been used for shareholder capital reorganizations and "an additional $4 million will be reserved for potential use for such purposes, assuming the offering is fully subscribed," according to the SEC filing.
SKUxchange declined to comment on the added funds.
The company announced the $11 million Series A round in March. An undisclosed family office investor “focused on fintech and payments” led the round with participation from New York-based Advection Growth Capital and other undisclosed investors, according to the previous reporting from the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Phospholutions
Phospholutions publicly announced a more than $10 million investment from fertilizer companies and investors in early September.
Advantage Capital led the investment round. Other investors include agricultural companies Conti Ventures, Tekfen Ventures, Maumee Ventures, Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Keytrade.
Advantage Capital invests in “established and emerging companies” in “communities underserved by conventional sources of capital,” according to a release.
Phospholutions offers a technology that boosts the efficiency of phosphorus fertilizers. The company opened shop in St. Petersburg in May, moving from Pennsylvania. The company is now focusing on growing its customer base and will conduct field trials in China, Brazil, and Canada throughout the 2024 growing season, according to the release.
