Austin’s booming tech industry experienced a slight cooldown in July, with the largest funding rounds totaling $100 million less than they did in June. However, a handful of companies made a big splash, including Foundry’s $100 million round and Fetch Package’s $60 million in funding. Elsewhere, Squire’s barbershop tech platform raised $60 million in a funding round led by Tiger Capital, tripling its valuation.
In other news, two vastly different Austin tech companies are not only making large inroads toward local growth, but are hiring for a variety of exciting new positions. Read on to hear about what Adobe and Saatva are up to this summer and beyond.
What they do: Adobe is a multinational software company that specializes in document management, creative design, marketing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence and more. They have over 22,000 worldwide employees, a net worth of nearly $300 billion and a growing team based at the beautiful, park-like Domain area of Austin.
AI-powered: Adobe Sensei, Adobe’s proprietary technology, implements AI and machine learning to help deliver an ideal customer experience. This advanced tech is used to assist in personalization efforts with e-commerce, data insights with analytics, creative assistance, advertising forecasts, content intelligence in documentation and more.
Diversity and inclusion: Adobe recently hired Brian Miller as chief talent, D&I officer, the first Adobe C-suite executive focused on talent, diversity and inclusion. Miller, who came from Impossible Foods, said, “You have to believe that inclusion and diversity and equity truly is a behavior change.”
Notable perks: Adobe provides employees with a host of unique benefits, including up to 16 weeks of parental leave for both primary and non-primary caregivers, a dedicated diversity and inclusion staff and a sabbatical system that allows four-week sabbaticals for five-year employees, five-week sabbaticals for 10-year employees and six-week sabbaticals for every five-year increment afterward.
What they do: Saatva is a direct-to-consumer luxury mattress and home furnishings platform that aspires to help every consumer get a great night’s sleep. Saatva focuses on premium material, back support and quality customer service to meet their high standards.
Working together: “Collaboration is the name of the game here,” said one of Saatva’s senior software engineers. “We find the right solutions through planning sessions, pair programming and code reviews. You’ll see that collaboration manifest in your own success as well as the team’s.”
Diversity and inclusion: In May, Saatva partnered with 23 interior designers in The Kaleidoscope Project Designer Showhouse, a celebration of diversity and inclusion in interior design. Saatva provided made-to-order mattresses, foundations and pillows to help mirror the bedroom concepts of Black, Indigenous, and people of color designers.
Notable perks: Saatva offers a wide range of unique benefits, including pay for 100 percent of employee fitness services.
