Several companies raised funds last week and other tech startups were prepping for South By Southwest, which is underway this week. A pitch competition at SXSW also took place this past weekend with four Austin tech companies participating. Read on to find out which companies were involved in the competition and who pulled in venture capital last week. This is the Built In Austin weekly refresh.
Colossal raised $60M. The Series A round was co-led by Thomas Tull and At One Ventures. Colossal focuses on biosciences and genetic engineering for extinct species restoration, including woolly mammoths, and endangered species protection. Colossal is planning to expand its team and labs with the new funding. [Business Wire]
Legion Health gained $2M. The Austin-based company allows digital health brands to hire mental health professionals through its B2B marketplace. Legion Health raised $2 million in seed funding from several investors, including funds from Y Combinator. The funding will go toward building out Legion Health’s product and expanding its network of organizations and clinicians. The company is also hiring with a focus on engineers. [Built In Austin]
Four companies pitched at SXSW. The SXSW Pitch event took place over the weekend and four Austin tech companies participated. These companies included MOD Tech Labs, Nephrodite, Kiro Action and Pinwheel. [Built In Austin]
AUSTIN TECH QUOTE OF THE WEEK
MDisrupt raised $6M. MDisrupt connects digital health companies to health experts and helps these enterprises obtain data to grow their business. MDisrupt raised $6 million to expand its platform. The company was co-founded by Ruby Gadelrab and Ragan Hart in 2019. [Built In Austin]
Chipper pulled in $5.6M. The Austin company is on a mission to help individuals with student loans pay down their balances faster by rounding up their everyday purchases and applying those roundups to their debt. The seed funding round was co-led by Freestyle Capital, Propel Venture and Slauson & Co. Launched in 2020, the platform has currently helped 80,000 users to date. [Chipper]
ICON’s 3D-printed homes were revealed at SXSW. ICON debuted a 3D-printed home in East Austin at SXSW this past weekend. The property, called “House Zero,” was built in partnership with San Antonio-based Lake Flato Architects and was shown during the annual tech and music event. ICON will continue to print 3D houses throughout the year. [Austin Inno]
AlertMedia gained a new CEO. Austin-based AlertMedia provides mass communications for companies alerting employees of threats and emergencies, such as weather or terrorist attacks. The company appointed Christopher Kenessey as its new CEO. AlertMedia founder and former CEO Brian Cruver was also appointed as executive chairman of the board. The announcement comes at a time of rapid growth for the company. [AlertMedia]
These 5 startups are some of the best employers in Austin. Forbes has partnered with research firm Statista to find the 500 best startup employers. Five Austin-based startups made the cut this year, including ICON, Outdoor Voices, SparkCognition, Homeward and Apty. [Built In Austin]
