Last year was filled with many ups and downs for tech companies across the globe. Despite the hardships, several businesses still raised high-dollar funding rounds. In Austin, the 10 largest funding round were spread amongst tech companies in different industries, including artificial intelligence, climate tech, e-commerce and much more. Some even hit tech unicorn status with valuations well over the $1 billion threshold.
Read on to find out which Austin tech company raised the most venture capital last year and what they plan to do in 2023.
Largest Austin Tech Funding Rounds of 2022
- The Boring Company
- EnergyX
- FLASH
- Cart.com
- ICON
- Wheel
- Jasper
- SparkCognition
- Infinitum
- NovaSource Power Services
#10. NovaSource Power Services: $100 million, August 9
NovaSource Power Services is a solar operations and maintenance provider that services utility, commercial, industrial and residential customers. In August, NovaSource secured $100 million in funding from OMERS Private Equity. The solar company put the new capital toward fueling additional growth.
#9. Infinitum: $110 million, May 17 and November 8
Infinitum manufactures air core motors that offer greater energy efficiency than conventional motors. The Austin-based company raised $110 million across two funding rounds last year, including an $80 million Series D round and a $30 million round. With the funding, Infinitum said it planned to increase the production of its motors to meet growing demand.
#8. SparkCognition: $123 million, January 25
Austin-based SparkCognition develops artificial intelligence-enabled technology for various industries such as gas, oil and transportation. In January, the company secured $123 million in a Series D round and became a tech unicorn with a valuation of $1.4 billion. The new funding came after SparkCognition acquired several startups. The company also planned to hire 150 employees in 2022.
#7. Jasper: $125 million, October 18
In under a year, generative AI startup Jasper achieved unicorn status after raising $125 million in funding at a $1.5 billion valuation. Jasper’s platform generates text based on prompts or ideas inputted by the user. The company planned to use the new funding to further develop its products and improve its customer experience.
#6. Wheel: $150 million, January 19
Wheel provides infrastructure for healthcare companies to offer telehealth visits and other digital health solutions. Early into 2022, the company raised $150 million in a Series C round co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Tiger Global. The company planned to use the investment to double its headcount to 300 employees by the end of 2022.
#5. ICON: $185 million, February 18
In February, ICON raised $185 million from investors as an addendum to its Series B round announced in August 2021. The Austin-based company develops technology to create 3D-printed homes and structures and has gained popularity for its viral videos showcasing its technology. ICON is also working to develop 3D-printed habitable structures in space.
#4. Cart.com: $240 million, February 3
Cart.com is an e-commerce company that provides brands with many services, including digital storefront software and delivery fulfillment services. In a combined equity and debt round last year, the Austin-based company raised $240 million. Legacy Knight Capital Partners led the equity portion of the raise.
#3. FLASH: $250 million, March 16
FLASH is a cloud-native startup that provides technology for parking garages across the U.S. and Canada. In March, the company secured $250 million in a strategic investment led by Vista Equity Partners. This round also led FLASH’s valuation to exceed $1 billion. FLASH planned on hiring an additional 200 employees throughout 2022 to add to its 600-plus workforce.
#2. EnergyX: $450 million, July 15
Based in Austin, EnergyX is a battery company building technology for lithium extraction, processing and refinement. The company was founded in 2018 and has an agreement to extract lithium from a mine in Bolivia. EnergyX secured a $450 million investment from Global Emerging Markets in July.
#1. The Boring Company: $675 million, April 10
Elon Musk’s the Boring Company raised $675 million in a Series C round co-led by Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital. The company, which was valued at $5.675 billion in April, aims to solve city traffic congestion by creating a network of underground tunnels. A release from the company in April stated that the funds would go to hiring engineering, operation and production talent.
