It was another busy week in the Austin tech world, marked by funding rounds, office expansions and a craving for backyard pizza parties. Keep reading to catch up on the Austin tech news you may have missed last week. This is the Built In Austin Weekly Refresh.
Astro pulled in $13M. Originally known as Austin Software, Astro helps companies hire developers in Latin America by automating the sourcing, vetting, procurement, payment and benefits administration. The new funding will be used to hire developers, improve its matching algorithm and develop a payroll solution for international employees outside of its network. [TechCrunch]
Tokenproof secured $5M. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) typically require users to connect their digital wallets to use their digital tokens. Tokenproof believes this creates unnecessary risk. After a one-time verification of a user’s wallet, tokenproof provides users with a proof of ownership credential that allows them to access NFTs without connecting their digital wallet. [PR Newswire]
Ooni moved its U.S. HQ to a larger office in Austin. The Scottish manufacturer of outdoor pizza ovens opened its first Austin office last year. Since opening that office, Ooni’s Austin team has grown from 15 to 60 employees. Its new 30,000-square-foot headquarters at 979 Springdale Road will provide more elbow room as the Austin team is expected to grow to 90 employees heading into 2023. [Built In Austin]
Austin Tech Quote of the Week
Vista Equity Partners launched an internship program for students from underrepresented backgrounds. The Rising Sophomore program, developed in partnership with the Knowledge Is Power Program and The Posse Foundation, consists of a six-week paid internship program that includes hands-on training, professional development and networking opportunities. [Business Wire]
Cart.com expanded its senior leadership team. E-commerce platform Cart.com added five new faces to its senior leadership team last week. Eric Erway is the company’s new vice president of product experience. Lee Kirk was named vice president of fulfillment operations. Collin Mariner will become the vice president of cloud infrastructure. Sara Moore was appointed vice president of sales and commerce services. Ryan Murden was named the senior vice president of partnerships. [Cart.com]
Austin’s five largest tech funding rounds tallied more than $113M. We commemorated the end of August with a look at the five largest venture funding rounds in the Austin tech scene. The top-funded companies spanned a wide range of industries, including AI voice assistants, a social gaming platform and a tech-enabled ring that tracks stress, mood and sleep data. [Built In Austin]
Effective Spend rebranded. Austin-based digital marketing agency Effective Spend recently partnered with Optimad Media, a tech-enabled performance marketing solutions firm based in LA, to form Optimal. The new firm offers a full scope of performance-based digital marketing services, including paid search and social, search engine optimization, performance creative and programmatic connected TV. Optimal has eight offices and more than 200 employees. [Optimal]
