SSR - July 19, 2024

Pitchbook released its Q2 VC Dealmaker Indicator report. The report indicates that the investor-friendly climate may have peaked as high-growth startups see a higher valuation climb between rounds. This trend is in line with other trends that the report studies. However, while high-growth companies are seeing higher valuations and more company-favorable terms, middle-of-the-road startups still need help finding the capital they need. Read the full report here. 

Louisiana

Essence Fest wrapped up in New Orleans over the 4th of July holiday. The festival included an entrepreneurship summit highlighting the importance of black-owned businesses and providing resources to small business owners. The Louisiana Economic Development Center (LED) announced an expansion to its website, incorporating a directory of resources for startups in Louisiana. The Gulf South Angels announced they had invested more than $2.3M in nine companies and would continue investing through their members and sidecar fund. Finally, check out Baton Rouge Entrepreneur Week's (BREW) recap video for some Friday motivation. 

Alabama

Congratulations to the 10 finalists selected by Alabama Launchpad in partnership with Innovate Alabama to compete in Cycle 2 2024 for a combined $75K. Read about all 10 finalists here and stay tuned for the finale on August 15. Alabama telecommunications company SecureVision, LLC, announced it received a significant investment from Snowhawk, LP, a private equity firm. The investment will substantially expand SecureVision's services in the Southeast. Southern Research awarded $2.7M to eight biotech companies in an effort to enhance the state's biotech industry. Four of the selected companies, Southern Biological Solutions, Celestia Diagnostics, SCORE Pharmaceuticals, and Yuva Biosciences, are based in Alabama, and two are expected to move there as part of the grant. 

Arkansas

Kimbel Mechanical Systems announced an investment from Good Springs Capital, LP. Based in Fayetteville, Kimbel Mechanical Systems operates in 11 states working with single-family and multi-family builders with plumbing, HVAC and electrical services. Arkansas announced the Delta Innovator Search through which entrepreneurs, scientists, healthcare providers, agricultural leaders, and other innovators could receive up to $20,000 in awards to bring their idea for the region to life. And, ARise is seeking  innovators, startups, and entrepreneurs, to assist tech and tech-enabled companies reach a new level of success. Find out more about the program and apply here. Last but not least, check out the L2L Accelerator providing innovators seeking SBIR/STTR grants with an 8 week training course this summer. And see the how Arkansas young entrepreneurs are making waves with Pitch 'N Punch. 

Florida

In Miami, Escala, a CRM for marketing and sales in Latin America, announced a $12M funding round led by IGNIA and Alaya Capital, with participation from High Alpha and other investors. Escala will use the funds to advance its current features and incorporate AI into its technology. Medical device maker FloSpine announced $1.7M in funding for its spinal health device. Miami-based Slushy, the first venture-backed adult content platform, announced it had closed $10.2M in seed funding. In Fort Lauderdale, DataCore Software, a data infrastructure and management company, announced it raised $60M from Vistara Growth to expand operations. 

Innovate South Florida is celebrating the entrepreneurs and innovators in the region by publishing a book of the top 100 innovation success stories. Do you want to be featured or nominate someone? Submit their story here.

Georgia

Congratulations to the 10 companies selected for Techstars Atlanta's 2024 cohort. The cohort includes 5 Georgia companies: Aayats, an AI platform; Hearthmates, a mobile app for home searching; From Honey to Cocoa, an AT beauty platform; Nourish and Bloom, an AI cashier-less checkout company; and StageWing, an event production startup. Read more about the cohort here.

In fundraising news, Pindrop, a voice authenticator company, secured $100M in debt financing from Hercules Capital, CereTax, a sales tax solution that announced it had closed a $9M Series A, Rainforest, a payment processing company who closed a $20M Series A. Medicus IT announced it had secured an undisclosed investment from FFL Partners. 

On the investor side, Sovereign's Capital announced it had closed its largest venture capital fund to date, securing $50M in committed capital. The Atlanta-based fund invests in faith-driven entrepreneurs at the seed and series A stages. Finally, Georgia approved a new opportunity zone in Atlanta, allowing businesses in the southwest region of the city to receive the tax incentives associated with opportunity zone investments.

Mississippi

Congratulations to LaTonya Mark and Professional Response Agency on receiving a $10,000 grant designed to support female entrepreneurs. The Sister Accord Accelerator awarded the grant to further the Agency's mission of empowering healthcare professionals. 

Also, check out Innovate Mississippi's CoBuilder Partner Network, designed to bring the states entrepreneurial resources together. 

North Carolina

Several large transactions were reported in North Carolina. First, CData Sofware, a connectivity platform, received $350M in growth capital from Warburg Pincus with participation from Accel. Morrisville-based life science company Metabon announced it had secured an NIH grant to develop its diabetes detection product.

Finally, Lumos Technologies, a data analytics company, announced a multi-million dollar funding round. Lumos primarily works with financial institutions to increase small businesses' access to capital. Its success represents a growing fintech vertical in the Wilmington area. 

South Carolina

Schneider Electric announced an investment of $24M into South Carolina operations creating almost 300 new jobs in the state and expanding the company's Seneca facility. 

The South Carolina Research Authority awarded it's $50,000 acceleration grant to Greenville-based ThreatCaptain, LLC. ThreatCaptain is an information technology startup working on financial cyber risk.

Tennessee

Applications for LaunchTN's SBIS/STTR Matching Fund close tonight. The Fund, administered by LaunchTN (via the State of Tennessee), aims to advance the development and commercialization of innovative technologies by matching successful Tennessee applications to the SBIR/STTR programs and other competitive federal commercialization programs. If you'd like to participate in the program, apply here. 

Congratulations to Thyme Care, a company using technology to solve breast cancer, on announcing a $95M Series C Financing. Concord Health Partners funded the round with the support of the company's prior investors.