Tampa Bay kicked off 2023 strongly, with more than $25 million raised, acquisitions across the board and new hires to bulk up C-suites.
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The beginning of 2023 started strong in Tampa Bay, with more than $25 million raised, companies growing through acquisitions and new hires bulking up C-suites.
Tampa Bay Inno rounded up all the hires, moves and fundings you may have missed last month below.
The deals
- LunaJoy Health, a St. Petersburg telehealth company focused on female health, closed an oversubscribed $2.4 million seed round. All the investors, including the lead investor, were undisclosed. The company launched its online platform in October 2021. We've got the story.
Sipra Laddha (left) and Shama Rathi (right), the co-founders of LunaJoy
LunaJoy
- Mad Mobile, a Tampa-based fintech company, closed a $20 million funding round. It was led by Massachusetts-based Eastward Capital Partners. The funding comes just six months after the company announced it would take over more than 50,000 square feet of space previously used by PwC. See what the company's got planned next.
Mad Mobile's crew at the National Retail Federation's BIG Show in New York in January.
- St. Pete-based Blue, which focuses on decentralized-finance protocols, emerged from stealth mode with a $3.2 million raise. The seed round was co-led by New York-based Blockchange Ventures and Shangai-based Fenbushi Capital. It follows a $100,000 pre-seed round the company previously raised. Get the full story.
- The Tampa Bay Wave received federal funding to launch the region’s first program focused on Latinx entrepreneurs. The nonprofit announced it received $500,000, largely championed by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor. The funding will create the “LatinTech Accelerator” that's poised to kick off at the end of the year. Get the full story.
A Tampa Bay Wave pitch night with CEO Linda Olson.
Tampa Bay Wave
The acquisitions
- New Tampa transplant Black Dog Ventures acquired a stake in a St. Pete-based beauty brand — and with that, promoted Black Dog's head as the beauty brand's new CEO. Scott Kelly, head of Black Dog Ventures, acquired a 20% stake in the beauty brand Sober Roots. With the deal, Kelly becomes Sober Roots' interim CEO and chairman of the board. Get the full story.
Scott Kelly, CEO and founder of Black Dog Venture Partners.
Scott Kelly
- Tampa-based tech company AVI-SPL acquired a Massachusetts-based audiovisual company for an undisclosed amount. AVI-SPL, an audiovisual company and one of Tampa Bay's largest companies, announced the deal with Adtech Systems. It follows the acquisition of Multimedia, a Mexico City-based company, for an undisclosed amount in December.
John Zettel, CEO, AVI-SPL
Nola Laleye
- Tampa-based Hivelocity acquired U.K.-based Heficed for an undisclosed amount. Both companies are in the infrastructure solutions space. Heficed's staff, customers and nine data centers will all be folded into Hivelocity.
The server cabinets at Hivelocity.
Margie Manning
- Tampa-based TSOLife acquired Tampa-based Fit Minds for an undisclosed amount. TSOLife uses data collection and AI to give senior living facilities better insight into its residents, while Fit Minds is a provider of brain fitness and cognitive training programs.
TSOLife LLC's David Sayer.
Alexis Muellner
- Tampa-based A-LIGN acquired South Carolina-based Assure Professional for an undisclosed amount. Both companies are in the cybersecurity and compliance space. A-LIGN has amped up its growth over the last year; it opened its fourth office at the end of 2022, and CEO Scott Price previously hinted at acquisitions as the next step toward success.
A-LIGN's first international office, which is in a Bulgarian chocolate factory.
(Provided/A-LIGN)
(Provided/A-LIGN)
The hires
- Tampa-based PowerChord, a SaaS marketing tech company, hired Stephanie Shreve as its chief marketing officer. Shreve has been with the company since 2012, most recently serving as VP of partner engagement.
- The region's largest private equity firm has expanded beyond its family ties. Weatherford Capital, which is headed up by three brothers, promoted David Seider to partner. Seider joined the firm as vice president in 2019. In the new role, he'll help the Weatherford brothers manage close to $1 billion in assets. The Business Journal's got the scoop.
Weatherford Capital Partner David Seider
Jeremy Scott
- Florida Funders tapped Saxon Baum, Ryan Whittemore and Michael Kadow as partners, the Tampa firm announced late last month. Baum previously served as VP of investor relations; Whittemore was the chief investment officer; and Kadow was VP of finance and operations. Get the full story.
The moves
- Tampa-based nursing tech company Gale Healthcare Solutions nearly quintupled its space as it becomes one of the fastest-growing companies in the region. The company recently subleased a 39,000-square-foot space, up from its prior 8,000-square-foot space, also in Tampa. That same month, the company CEO Tony Braswell announced the company was "realigning," which included layoffs for an undisclosed amount of jobs.
Gale Healthcare Solutions new office space
Gale Healthcare Solutions
