Believe it or not, we're halfway through 2016.
Back in January, we brought you Austin's top 50 startups to watch, highlighting young startups (less the five years old) that we expected to make waves this year.
We're taking a look back at those we named in January to see who's living up to the title.
Funded this year
IdealSpot, a web-based commercial real estate mapping and analysis solution, launched their initial site in February and raised $1 million in venture capital. The seed round was led by ATX Seed Ventures and several angel investors to fuel the company's launch and market-expansion across the United States. Read more about Idealspot here.
In January, Silvercar announced a $28 million round led by Audi, the maker of the sleek sedans that lend Silvercar its luxury cachet. Other investors included Austin Ventures and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, both of whom participated in previous rounds. Audi North America President Scott Keogh joined Silvercar’s board of directors as it partnered with the German automaker to develop a fleet solution for companies who wish to provide accessible transportation to employees on corporate campuses. Read more about the partnership here.
In February, the Austin-based student loan benefits provider raised $3 million in seed funding to continue its growth and to roll out new products. The round was Capital Factory's largest follow-on seed investment to date. Read more here. Fellow Austin company Trendkite also began using Student Loan Genius this week, offering the benefit to every employee and their immediate family members who have student loans.
In February, WigWag announced $3.175 million in a seed round led by CSC Venture Capital, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based American arm of a Chinese private investment firm. The three-year-old Austin startup produces open-source software and hardware to standardize the protocols connecting the category of home and lifestyle consumer electronic devices known as the Internet of Things. Last year, it was the most successful Kickstarter campaign in Austin tech. Read more here.
In January, Waldo Photos, which allows professional photographers to upload photos directly from their cameras as they shoot using WiFi-enabled SD cards, announced a $5 million seed round led by Upfront Ventures to continue preparing the product for market. Read more here.
Acquisitions
In March, Honest Dollar was acquired by finance giant Goldman Sachs. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but the company will remain under the leadership of CEO and co-founder Whurley. The fintech startup had raised $3 million to offer alternative, streamlined retirement savings plans directly to workers. Read about it here.
After raising $6.5 million last November, Shelfbucks acquired Emmoco in January of this year. The company acquired Emmoco’s assets, intellectual property and product solutions, including Emmoco’s proprietary BlueJoule software platform. Financial details were not disclosed.
New offices
Favor, which expanded its service in the Austin area in March, opened up a new downtown office in May. The 12,000-square-foot office space, located at 1705 Guadalupe Street, will be home to the company’s 120 Austin employees and has plenty of room for future expansion. Take a virtual look here.
Graduates
PopUp Play graduated from Techstars' Spring 2016 class. While in the program, the company expanded its team and product line, took home the win at the 2016 SXSW Accelerator, garnered interest from some of the world's largest brands and focused on growth strategy. Now, they're working on building new partnerships and projects, expanding the team even more and growing their customer base. Read more here.
Partnerships
The nightlife recommendations community that connects locals and travelers now connects with JetBlue passengers, too. Localeur and the discount airline announced a partnership in February wherein Localeur will produce and curate content tailored to passengers’ destinations.
Expansions
On-demand lawn care service Lawnstarter expanded its lawn care services to customers in four additional Texas markets — Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio — along with Jacksonville, Florida.
Record revenue
Datical, a provider of agile database automation solutions, saw a record surge in revenue and customer growth over the course of 2015 and into 2016, complemented by executive additions and an infusion of venture capital.
Achievements
Hypori was named the first virtual mobile device approved by the National Security Agency for U.S. Government Classified Use. The Hypori platform is now listed as a validated component on the NSA Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) Program Components List in the TLS Software Applications category.
Jackrabbit Mobile published the Jackrabbit Mobile Playbook recently with content on designing and developing mobile products. We also heard they're moving into an awesome new office soon.
Hiring now:
Have a news tip for us or know of a company that deserves coverage? Tell us or tweet @BuiltInAustin.
