Financial deals, mergers and acquisitions in the tech ecosystem are mentioned daily in the Atlanta Inno Beat newsletter, along with insights on how personnel moves may impact a startup’s future. Sign up for the Beat to get it each day in your inbox.
Check out the most important mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and investments from Atlanta technology companies from August 2018. Know of a name that’s missing from this list? Email mhogan@americaninno.com
Accuitis, Inc., an Atlanta-based biotech startup and a participant in the Georgia Research Alliance Venture Lab program, raised $1 million in a funding round, according to a filing with the SEC. According to the company website, the startup’s technology was researched at Emory University. Accuitis engages in the acquisition and development of pharmaceuticals targeting niche, orphan and underserved disease states.
Nyoobe founder Derek Tippins, a real estate broker, is currently raising $5 million in a funding round. Tippins describes it as a “universal referral app,” where users refer their favorite businesses to friends via social media and receive a share of the purchase for any redeemed referral.
Flock Safety, a venture-backed Atlanta startup that designs 24-hour wireless security cameras for neighborhoods, has raised about $9.6 million in a recent funding round, according to a filing with the SEC. Data from Crunchbase states the startup has previously raised $120,000 from Y Combinator and Anorak Ventures.
Bark, originally based in Savannah and a member of Atlanta Tech Village, raised a $9 million Series A round. The investment was led by Signal Peak Ventures, with participation from Two Sigma Venturesand existing investors Symmetrical Ventures, Fuel Capital, Hallett Capital and Atlanta Seed Company. With the recent funding round, the company has raised a total of $10.9M in funding, according to Crunchbase.
Contino.io, a tech consulting firm with roots in London and major offices in Atlanta, reported raising $9 million in equity funding. No immediate word on who the investors were. The round follows last year’s $10 million round, as well as a $7.5 million round in 2016 and a $1.6 million round in 2015. The company currently has four openings in its Atlanta office. It also has offices in New York, Sydney and Melbourne.
Aprio, an Atlanta business advisory firm, teamed up with UK-based Kingston Smith to provide financial insights and mentorship to startups in Techstars‘ incubators around the globe. The new partnership will reside under the Techstars Global Accelerator Network Partner umbrella.
UPS announced the launch of Ware2Go. It’s a new Atlanta-based tech company spun out of the business that is focused on matching warehouse space with small- to medium-sized merchants that are trying to ship their goods to consumers ASAP. The idea is to help merchants position their goods closer to customers without doing all the research to find a good match. The new business launched in July after being incubated at BCG Digital Ventures.
Goodr, an Atlanta-based food rescue app that connects businesses with those in need, raised more than $1.1 million in a recent funding round, according to a filing with the SEC. Founded in January 2017, CEO and founder Jasmine Crowe created the app to reduce waste and feed the hungry. The company has raised a total of $1.4 million, according to Crunchbase.
Engage Ventures selected Peerfit, a Tampa tech company focused on wellness, to join its third cohort of investment companies. Peerfit will have access to funding and expertise from some of the most influential companies in Atlanta, including AT&T, Chick-fil-A, Cox Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Georgia-Pacific, Georgia Power Foundation, Goldman Sachs, Intercontinental Exchange, Invesco Ltd., Home Depot and United Parcel Service.
Nearly $70,000 was raised by more than 30 tech companies to provide 281,000 meals for state food banks during the 3rd Annual Bytes for Bites food and fund drive competition sponsored by the Georgia Food Bank Association and the Technology Association of Georgia. According to the GFBA, one in five children in the state are food insecure, meaning they might not know where their next meal is coming. Bytes for Bites is scheduled to help children who receive free and reduced school breakfast and lunches during the summer months.
Predikto, a predictive analytics software startup based in Atlanta that detects when plane engines will malfunction, was acquired by United Technologies Corporation, a Farmington, Connecticut-based aircraft manufacturer. Predikto CEO Mario Montag said the company will partner with the United Technologies Digital accelerator in Brooklyn, as well as each of UTC’s business units. Montag himself will join UTC as vice president, chief data and analytics officer of United Technologies Digital. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “In the near term, the team will build on the pilot project looking at engine failure prediction that we began with Pratt & Whitney prior to this acquisition,” he said. “Longer term, the team will look at opportunities to expand its predictive analytics expertise and capabilities across each of UTC’s businesses.”
GigaMonster, an Atlanta-based fiber optic internet provider to multi-family residential communities, raised $45 million in a recent funding round from Post Road Group. In addition to the money raised, the company also announced a merger with Portland, Oregon-based competitor Fibersphere. Bill Dodd, chairman and CEO of GigaMonster, said the investment from Post Road Group was the perfect strategic move for the company’s next investment partner. “We selected Post Road as a partner because of their in-depth knowledge of the multi-family (market,)” he said.
The Coca-Cola Company has teamed up with a Kobe Bryant-backed sports drink startup in an effort to take on Gatorade. Our local soft drink giant has bought a minority ownership stake in BodyArmor, a startup line of healthier sports drinks that is backed and marketed by big-name athletes. BodyArmor will remain an independent company and gain access to Coca-Cola’s expansive bottling and distribution system. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cox Business, the commercial division of Atlanta’s Cox Communications, acquired Irvine, Calif.-based hybrid managed cloud services provider RapidScale, according to a press release. The acquisition was made in part because managed cloud services are a rapidly growing market that has been a part of Cox Business’ long-term product roadmap for several quarters.
FI Navigator, an Atlanta-based web-based bank data and analytics platform, raised nearly $2.5 million in equity funding, according to a filing with the SEC.
PowerSpike, an Atlanta startup geared to helping content creators and advertisers connect, acquired $500,000 in funding from notable investors including Techstars Atlanta – in partnership with Cox Enterprises, The Sixers Innovation Lab Crafted by Kimball, Dorm Room Fund and other angel investors.
BWHealth, a local startup developing patent-pending compression technology to prevent sports injury and aid in rehabilitation, scored former NFL cornerback Champ Bailey as an investor, board member and new Head of Athlete Relations for the company’s Lasso branch. Champ will grow engagement with current and retired professional athletes in his new role with Lasso, while guiding Lasso’s youth athletics outreach efforts.
A local medical marijuana therapeutics startup raised $65 million in a Series C equity round led by chewing gum billionaire William “Beau” Wrigley, Jr. II. Surterra Wellness, a medical cannabis company founded in 2014, has raised a total of $100 million with the new round since 2015.
Steady, an “income-building” platform that provides workers in the gig economy with flexible on-demand jobs and financial services that fit their needs, raised $9 million in Series A financing round led by Propel Venture Partners and has attracted notable backers, including former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal.
Insight, an Arizona-based publicly traded global technology company that focuses on B2B tech, acquired Cincinnati-based digital solutions firm Cardinal Solutions for $79 million, as covered by Cincy Inno. The companies currently have offices in Tampa and Atlanta and word is, the newly formed company will examine logistics on bringing those offices together. There are about 70 employees total in Atlanta.
Global Payments, a fintech services company in Atlanta, acquired AdvancedMD, a Utah-based software provider for small-to-medium sized physician practices. The acquisition will assist shifting the company toward technology enablement, future growth and competitive differentiation, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle [Subscriber Content].
Access, a provider of records and information management services backed by Berkshire Partners and GI Partners, acquired Arkive, an Atlanta-based provider of records management solutions. Financial terms of the deal are unknown.
Atlanta’s recycling unicorn Rubicon Global acquired Charter Waste Management, Inc., the parent company of RiverRoad Waste Solutions, a waste and recycling company based in New Jersey, on June 30, according to company representatives. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to Fortune’s newsletter Term Sheet, the company has acquired two more waste brokers: Computerized Waste Systems and WestRock’s waste services division. Rubicon told Fortune the acquisitions “fit squarely into our portfolio and roadmap.”
