A lively week on the Austin tech scene yielded new developments across a variety of industries. With funding rounds of all sizes, learn what these companies have planned. This is the Built In Austin weekly refresh.
Firefly raised $75M. Following its massive Series A round led by DADA Holdings, the aerospace company is now valued at over $1 billion. The company is fueling continuous growth with plans to raise an even larger round following the launch of its Alpha rocket next month. The Cedar Park-based spacecraft manufacturer is looking to increase its headcount across 68 roles with several of them spanning its engineering team. [Built In Austin]
EnergyX secured $20M. Green energy company EnergyX is devising sustainable lithium extraction methods and storage systems for solid-state battery energy to implement in electric vehicles and personal electronics. Having received commitments from investors, it’s planning to further the development of its tech. [Austin American-Statesman]
Austin Tech Quote of the Week
National Instruments (NI) acquired monoDrive. The automotive industry vet announced its latest move and is welcoming monoDrive’s employees to its transportation business unit. NI designed a high-fidelity simulator for autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems. The company is currently hiring for 67 Austin-based roles. [Built In Austin]
Austin rises in national tech hiring ranking. In the wake of the pandemic, Austin’s tech scene grew significantly over last year’s growth figures, as recorded in a report by tech career hub Dice. The results showed that the city had 28 percent more tech job openings in Q1 2021 than it did before lockdowns last year, surpassing buzzy tech hubs like LA, Dallas and Houston and promising a brighter future for the U.S. economy. [Built In Austin]
Multicoin Capital secured $100M. As cryptocurrency continues to gain momentum, Multicoin Capital raised its Venture Fund II. It’s aiming to fuel continued investment within the crypto space for entrepreneurs building companies and tokens. The firm is looking to fund crypto-enabled platforms like OpenFinance and Web3 next. [Built In Austin]
CognitOps pulled in $11M. The AI company helps warehouses build out their supply chains with its operating applications. The fresh funding from its Firstmark Capital-led Series A round will allow CognitOps to fuel international expansion, grow its sales capacity and further its product development. It’s also opening a new global headquarters in Austin. The company previously raised a $3 million seed round last June. [Business Wire]
ClosedLoop.ai wins $1.6M prize. Having triumphed over 300 competitors, the healthtech company claimed the prize for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Artificial Intelligence Health Outcomes Challenge. Its AI-powered platform works to help doctors more accurately predict health outcomes, keep their patients healthy and find sparse resources. [Built In Austin]
