SSR - December 6, 2024
Deloitte released its Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list, which recognizes innovative companies in the technology, health, life science, fintech, and energy industries. This year, the list had the highest number of privately held companies (82%) and included several companies based in the Southeast. Congratulations to all of the companies included on the list.
Louisiana
GNO, Inc. announced the launch of a new program, Startup Noir NOLA. The program was designed to promote and celebrate Black founders and to facilitate connections between those founders and investors. The program also offers an internship to HBCU students to expose them to venture capital and investments. GNO, Inc. reports that Greater New Orleans is in the Top Ten in the USA for women and African Americans in technology jobs per capita. Four minority founders were celebrated this month as HEINZ Black Kitchen Initiative recipients. The recipients, Addis Nola, The Blue Flamingo Sports Bar and Grill, Lagniappe Bakehouse, and Lil Dizzy's Cafe, were each awarded a $20,000 grant.
Alabama
Birmingham-based maintenance parts company Motion has signed an agreement to acquire Pennsylvania company International Conveyor and Rubber. The deal is set to close in December and will increase Motion's production and distribution capacity. The Region's Foundation has announced a $100K grant to Innovation Portal's TechAcademy. TechAcademy is an accelerator for under-resourced business owners along the Gulf Coast. Finally, mark your calendar for Alabama's first Founder Fest next week. Check out the full events calendar here.
Arkansas
Crunchbase featured Arkansas in a Crunchbase News story that recognized it as one of three "smaller states seeing big gains." The article reports that Arkansas startups have raised $175M this year, a nearly 50% increase from last year. The article highlights some of the state's bigger funding rounds, including Bentonville-based Laravel, which raised $57M, and Crisp, which raised $37M. The article also noted the uptick of healthcare startups raising funds in Arkansas.
Florida
Congratulations to Spines, Cat Labs, and Clean Skin Club, which announced funding rounds. Spines, an AI self-publishing platform for aspiring writers, closed a $16M Series A deal led by Zeev Ventures. Cat Labs, a company dedicated to fighting cybercrime, closed $5.4M in seed funding led by M13. Clean Skin Club, a skincare and hygiene company, announced a $32M Series C round. Florida Venture Forum celebrated a milestone, declaring that the companies involved in its programming and conferences have raised a collective $30 billion. Meanwhile, Tech Equity Miami released its impact report, finding that its members have deployed $63 million in funding across 14 initiatives to support entrepreneurs.
Georgia
Congratulations to ModifyHealth, a meal service and nutritional counseling company based in Alpharetta, on raising $13.5M in Series C financing. The Dohmen Impact Investment Fund led the round and will help the company expand its reach and develop its technology and tools. EvenFLow AI, an Atlanta-based revenue optimization solution for auto dealers, celebrated closing $1.5M in Seed funding. Automotive Ventures and FM Capital led the round.
Mississippi
Mississippi celebrated 25 years of innovation at its Accelerate 2024 event, bringing together the state's entrepreneurs. The three-day-long event featured several speakers, pitch contests, and an award ceremony. Food Scout, Home Tours Pro LLC, Automatic Mosquito Ovitrap LLC, and Reborn C all walked away with competition prizes and funding. Get a full recap of the event here.
North Carolina
Good news out of North Carolina as leaders from across the state reflect on NC IDEA's 2024 Ecosystem Summit. Chapel Hill-based biotech company Doron Therapeutics celebrated closing an $11M Series A round that will take its clinical-stage product into Phase 3. Meanwhile, Durham celebrated the CED's 8th GRO Incubator at a Demo Day, recognizing eight startups that had completed the 12-week program.
South Carolina
Following the announcement that South Carolina companies had recently raised $100M in venture capital financing, a new report on venture capital in the Southeast showed a 108% increase in funding in South Carolina compared to pre-Covid. Early-stage South Carolina companies that want to take advantage of new funding options can apply to the 2025 Harbor Accelerator Program.
Tennessee
LIS Technologies, a developer of advanced laser technology, announced an oversubscribed $22M Series A round. 28 Ventures, Innovating Capital, and Minetta Brook Capital led the round. The company will use the round for product development and to advance its leadership and regulatory standing. Is your startup looking for specialized labor or a fresh perspective? LaunchTN is helping entrepreneurs hire their following interns through their Summer Intern Program. Apply here to host an intern. Finally, a friendly reminder that applications for all of the Nashville Entrepreneurship Center's programs are open until December 14th.