While funding rounds may have slowed in September, massive deals were still peppered throughout the Tampa Bay region.
September brought in unicorn status, public filings, billion-dollar acquisitions and more to the local ecosystem. We've got the roundup of what you may have missed below.
The new unicorns
• Boston-based Drift allegedly hit the $1 billion unicorn status when it received an investment for an undisclosed amount from private equity firm Vista Equity Partners. Drift expanded to Tampa in 2019 with the move of its co-founder, Elias Torres. Learn more.
• PandaDoc, the San Francisco-based e-signature company that has a majority of its employees working in St. Pete, also allegedly hit the 41 billion valuation. It closed its Series C Wednesday for an undisclosed amount, but stated the latest investment brings its valuation to $1 billion. We've got the full story on what's next for the company.
Out of state fundings bring local wins
• San Francisco HomeLight, which opened an office in Tampa in July, received a $363 million investment putting its valuation at $1.6 billion. HomeLight officials told us Tampa is one of the company's "key growth markets" and it expects to hire hundreds in the state. Get the full story.
• ID.me, the Virginia-based identity security company that recently opened a large office in Tampa, has raised more than $120 million. The company, which has racked up more than 500 local employees since coming to the region in May, received the investment Wednesday from New York-based Fortress Investment Group LLC. See how it plans to deploy the funds locally here.
Schools see new funds
• Lakeland-based Florida Southern College received a $250,000 grant from the Truist Foundation to launch a new "Cybersecurity Innovation and Entrepreneurship" program. The grant will help the school create a state-of-the-art lab for students, offer a cyber entrepreneurship accelerator program, and host Cybersecurity Forum to talk the best practices in cyber.
• The University of South Florida received part of a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to form a cyber powerhouse group across the state. USF will work with the University of Central Florida and Florida International University to create a program awarding $10,000 scholarships to up to 50 students across the three schools. It will focus specifically on underrepresented students in the computing field. Get the full story.
• Diamond View Studios and its sister company Vū Technologies donated roughly $500,000 worth of state-of-the-art virtual production technology and camera equipment to the University of South Florida. They're planning to donate $5 million more to universities and colleges across the state in the next three years. We've got the details.
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave more than $50,000 in new tech to teachers at East Tampa-based Young Middle Magnet School. The Bucs and the school began their relationship last year, with the "Buccaneers Youth Leadership Program" that allows players and staffers to serve as mentors to students. The latest donation brings more than 100 devices to students.
The public filings
• First Watch, the Bradenton-based chain best known for its standard breakfast food, is filing an IPO and raising up to $100 million in the process. Officials said it plans to use the funds to pay off outstanding debt, which totals more than $294 million as of June. The Business Journal has the full story.
Other deals to know
• HOMEE, the on-demand home repair service working with insurance companies, raised $17 million. The company expects to raise a Series C in mid to late 2022, but will focus on hiring for now. Learn about the change to the company that catapulted it to success here.
• Tampa-based Florida Funders and Omar Soliman, founder of College Hunks Hauling Junk both participated in funding New York-based Grow Credit. The $106 million funding also had participation from DraftKings CEO Jason Robins, NBA All-Star Baron Davis and Miami Dolphin's vice-chair Matt Higgins. Get the full story.
