In May, Austin startups raised nearly $80 million, down about $14 million from April. While the total dollar amount dropped slightly, the number of deals nearly doubled with 15 companies raising a total of $78.7 million. More than half of these fundings occurred by May 10 — including the top five largest of the month.
5. Bitfusion, $5M, May 2
Investors: Vanedge Capital, Sierra Ventures, Data Collective, Resonant VC, Emergent Ventures, INSEAD Angels and Geekdom
Bio: Founded in 2015, Bitfusion creates solutions that save time and money for AI developers to deploy deep learning applications. Its virtualization technology can be integrated with any data set to strengthen AI computing resources across major deep learning frameworks.
News: In conjunction with the funding announcement, Bitfusion released beta availability for its software product Bitfusion Flex, which manages elastic AI infrastructure.
4. eRelevance, $5.1M, May 4
Investors: Rally Ventures, Chicago Ventures, Miramar Venture Partners, Martin Investment Holdings and Capital Factory
Bio: Instead of building a marketing automation platform to generate new business, eRelevance targets repeat customers for SMBs. This approach has led to the company’s reputation as a standout in the industry.
News: eRelevance reported triple digit revenue growth the past six consecutive quarters, which had existing investors ready to throw more money their way. The funds will be used to expand their marketing and sales teams, increasing the company’s headcount from 58 to 80 by year’s end.
3. TreeHouse, $7.6M, May 5
Investors: 11 undisclosed investors
Bio: Jason Ballard opened TreeHouse in 2011, giving people the chance to live out a green lifestyle. The home improvement company includes a South Austin brick-and-mortar and an e-commerce site filled with items that encourage sustainable living. Its services also include consultations with professionals specializing in eco-friendly installations of flooring, kitchen remodeling, solar energy, insulation and air sealing.
News: TreeHouse did not release a statement regarding May’s influx in funding. When they last raised funding in 2015 worth $16 million, the company directed it toward new store openings, a product incubator, technology development and an e-commerce launch.
2. Dropoff, $8.5M, May 8
Investors: Fulcrum Equity Partners, Greycroft Partners and Correlation Ventures
Bio: Dropoff partners with businesses to provide on-demand, same-day delivery services in 15 cities with real-time tracking and confirmation notifications. Their clientele includes Sprinkles, Whole Foods, Neiman Marcus, Zazzle, Airbnb, JW Marriott and McKesson.
News: The company plans to use the funds to expand to 50 cities and increase its staffing by 50 percent over the next 18 months.
1. Opcity, $27M, May 10
Investors: Icon Ventures, Georgian Partners and LiveOak Venture Partners
Bio: Supporting more than 350 brokerages, Opcity connects transaction-ready buyers and sellers with a network of 4,000 real estate agents. Its payment model only charges brokerages when a referral converts to a sale.
News: This round marks the largest Series A in Austin for 2017. Opity founder and CEO Ben Rubenstein said the funds will be used to hire across sales, marketing, design, general counsel, IT, data science, business analytics, recruiting and service operations.
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