Despite concerns over economic uncertainty, Austin startups showed their resilience last week by raising funds, hitting user milestones and announcing hiring plans. Keep reading to learn about the latest in the Austin tech scene. This is the Built In Austin Weekly Refresh.
CrowdStreet raised $43M. CrowdStreet is a real estate investment platform where investors can access financial documents and meet project developers before committing capital for a new development. The $43 million round was a mix of equity and debt financing. With the new capital, the company plans to create products to further help people invest their money. [Built In Austin]
LoudCrowd announced new hiring plans. With $5 million in seed funding, influencer marketing platform LoudCrowd will hire engineers to expand its platform. The company connects brands to micro-influencers and also provides tools to analyze user-generated content (UGC). The platform has become popular in recent months, which led LoudCrowd to double its workforce. [Built In Austin]
Canva hit 100M users. The online graphic design and communication platform announced that it surpassed 100 million monthly users early last week. According to the company, over 200 designs are created using the platform every second. Canva was founded around 10 years ago and opened its U.S. headquarters in Austin in 2020. Since then, the company has closed several large dollar funding rounds and has grown its presence in Austin. [Canva]
Austin Tech Quote of the Week
Nudge Security emerged from stealth. Nudge Security wants to protect against SaaS sprawl and the security risks posed by employees using new applications on their work devices. When the company detects a new app on a device, it guide the user to seek third-party help or adopt optimal security practices. Prior to this announcement, the company had raised $7 million in funding. [Built In Austin]
Flueid secured $15M. Flueid is a real estate startup that helps speed up deal closings by providing data. The Series B round was led by Aquiline Technology Growth and consisted of $15 million in equity financing and $5 million in debt financing. [Built In Austin]
Simpler Trading appointed new CEO. Christina Komporlis was appointed as the new CEO for Simpler Trading, an education platform for investors. Komporlis brings over 20 years of experience to the team and has previously worked at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post. With her new post as CEO, Komporlis will work on increasing subscription revenue and also expanding Simpler Trading’s product line. [Business Wire]
