The first half of 2023 has been filled with economic uncertainty, a funding slowdown and a few failed startups — but it's also brought plenty of wins.
Between acquisitions, launches from stealth mode and millions in funding, Tampa Bay's tech scene is proving it can weather a storm. We've gathered up the biggest deals you may have missed in the first half of the year below.
The deals
- Tampa-based Deepwatch, a technology firm focused on cybersecurity, raised $180 million in equity and strategic financing in February. The company announced the Series C was led by Springcoast Capital Partners. Get the full story.
Charlie Thomas, CEO of Deepwatch.
Deepwatch
- Telepathy Labs, a Tampa-based information technology company, raised $29.5 million in May, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, founded in 2016, has long been quiet when it comes to raising funds. Its previous funding round in August 2021 was for $17 million; before that, it raised $6.6 million in June 2020. Look at its latest funding here.
- Mad Mobile, a Tampa-based fintech company, closed a $20 million funding round in January. It was led by Massachusetts-based Eastward Capital Partners. The funding came 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.
- Clearwater-based Digital Media Solutions raised $14 million through a private placement stock offering in March. San Francisco-based venture capital firm Leo Investors participated in the transaction along with Lion Founders, which helped take Digital Media Solutions public back in 2020. The Tampa Bay Business Journal's got the story.
Digital Media Solutions in Clearwater
Jeremy Scott Photography www.jeremyscottphoto.com
- Tampa-based edtech startup Knack publicly announced in May the company closed a Series A in July 2022. While the company declined to disclose the amount, filings with the SEC stated Knack received $11.2 million. The funds will go toward sales and marketing efforts as the company continues to target large universities. Get the story.
The Knack team at an annual retreat in fall 2022.
Samyr Qureshi
- SKUx, a St. Petersburg-based startup focused on the financial technology sector, raised $11 million in its Series A funding round in March. The round was led by an undisclosed family office investor “focused on fintech and payments,” with participation from New York-based Advection Growth Capital and other undisclosed investors. Get the story.
Part of the SKUx team.
SKUx
- St. Petersburg-based 3D Cloud by Marxent, which offers a platform to visualize room designs in a 3D space, closed a $7.5 million Series D in May led by ConnectWise co-founder Arnie Bellini. The round is smaller than Marxent's previous raises (a $19 million Series B in 2016 and a $13.4 million Series C in 2021), but Marxent CEO Beck Besecker said that's intentional. Check out why here.
Marxent's 3D room planner software allows users to shop directly from a photo and place furniture into a 3D model of their own floor plan.
- TampaBay.Ventures, an investment firm solely focused on Tampa Bay early-stage startups, announced it closes its oversubscribed fund at $27 million in April. The firm has invested in 13 companies since its May 2021 launch, with another three deals set to close by the end of the month. Get the scoop.
- Tampa-based HCI Group Inc. called off a $100 million initial public offering in April for its insurtech subsidiary, TypTap. Instead, the insurance giant has launched a new subsidiary, Tailrow Insurance. HCI will issue $2.5 million shares of common stock on behalf of the new venture, at $1 per share. The Business Journal's got the story.
HCI Group corporate headquarters in Tampa
The launches
- Domm Holland, who became widely known after he had to abruptly close his company, Fast, launched a new startup. Holland announced in May the launch of Trady, which uses artificial intelligence to allow service-oriented jobs like contractors, plumbers and electricians to build a site within seconds. Get the story.
Domm Holland, CEO of Trady
Domm Holland
- Aaron White, best known for his edtech startup Script's exit in 2021, is in stealth mode for his next startup. He was tight-lipped on further details other than it will be a SaaS model in the sales and marketing space. But instead of building it solely alongside his co-founder, Patrick Cahill, the duo is joining TampaBay.Ventures in what White calls an attempt to create a "superteam." Get the story.
Aaron White and Patrick Cahill
Sara Ward
- Scholar, an education technology startup in stealth mode, first made headlines when Peerfit founder Ed Buckley announced in April he was the lead investor. In June, the company tapped Marlee Strawn as its head of school. Strawn previously was the first-ever principal at Patel High School and has served in the education sector for 15 years. Get the story.
Marlee Strawn, head of education at Scholar Education.
Scholar Education
- John Vo, formerly Tesla's Head of global manufacturing, launched his electric boat company Blue Innovations Group in January. He plans to have three iterations of his electric boat, ranging from the first model intended for short trips up to its third model, which he hopes people will use to live, work and play. Get the story.
The moves
- Virginia-based Ridgeline International expanded to the Westshore district in Tampa in February. The company specializes in digital signature management and plans to add 30 jobs over the next few years. The Business Journal's got the story.
Ridgeline opening
Ridgeline
- Czech Republic-based Sense Arena, which began an exclusive relationship with the University of South Florida tennis team at the start of the year, tapped the city for a U.S. office in March. It will be based in innovation hub Embarc Collective, where it expects to grow its team to up to 10 people. Get the story.
A USF tennis player demonstrating the Sense Arena virtual reality tennis technology.
Sense Arena
- Strive Sales, a U.K.- based staffing agency focused on the software industry, expanded to Tampa in March. The company's first international office will be in the Ybor City Industrious and serve as its North American headquarters. It expects to hire 11 employees in the next two years. Learn more.
Industrious has opened a 45,000-square-foot coworking facility in part of Centro Ybor's former movie theater.
NOLA LALEYE
- Germany-based vivenu tapped Tampa for its U.S. headquarters in April. The company dubs itself a "ticketing and experience" tech company and offers a platform to manage, market and analyze ticket sales. It will take up 700 square feet in the downtown Tampa WeWork space and plans to hire 30 people by the end of the year, according to the Business Journal.
- U.K.-based insurtech firm FloodFlash expanded across the pond and into Florida in April, along with four other states. Mark Hara, the company's North American CEO (and Naples, Florida resident) said the company will insure any flood zone, no matter how risky the location. The Business Journal's got that story.
![Mark H 3[8]](https://media.bizj.us/view/img/12491325/mark-h-38*540xx2805-3740-0-0.jpg)
Mark Hara, North America CEO for FloodFlash
FloodFlash
- Tampa-based fintech company Allison relocated to Birmingham, Alabama after it received an investment from an undisclosed amount from Alabama Futures Fund. But that doesn't mean Allison's founder, Brian Alvarez-Bailey, isn't still bullish on Tampa. Get the story.
Brian Alvarez-Bailey, founder of Tampa-based Allison
Brian Alvarez-Bailey
- WellnessLiving, a Toronto-based company, announced in June it would be opening its regional headquarters. It expects to hire 45 employees in an undisclosed time frame, focusing on information technology and operations roles. It will lease a 4,000-square-foot space in the former BioSpine building. Get the story.
The hirings
- Tampa-based telehealth company AccelEQ announced it hired Steve Ponce as its co-founder and chief product officer in March. Ponce has spent 18 years working at Tampa General Hospital, most recently as an IT manager. Get the story.
- St. Petersburg-based Squaremouth, a travel insurtech company, hired Rupa Mehta as its CEO in March. She replaced Jessica Burns, who had been with the company since 2010 and served in the CEO spot since 2019. No word on Burns’ next move. Squaremouth was recently acquired.
- Chargebacks911, a Clearwater-based chargeback remediation firm, tapped Monica Eaton as CEO in April. Eaton will replace Gary Cardone, who served in the spot for 10 years. Eaton is the co-founder of the company.
Monica Eaton
Chargebacks911
- Brian Kornfeld, who co-founded Synapse Florida and its eponymous Synapse Summit, left the nonprofit on April 30. Chief Strategy Officer Lauren Prager took over Kornfeld’s role in May. Get the story.
Lauren Prager, incoming CEO at Synapse Florida.
Lauren Prager
- Tampa-based biotech firm Aster Insights, formerly known as M2Gen, tapped Anand Shah as its new CEO in May. Shah replaced Jim Gabriele in the new role immediately. Gabriele served in the role since 2021.
