Happy Sunday!

One of the biggest stories in Texas business this week involves Saronic, the Austin defense startup that builds autonomous naval vessels. The company announced it will build Port Alpha at the Port of Brownsville, which the company and Gov. Abbott are calling the largest shipyard in the country. The project represents more than $3 billion in investment and as many as 10,000 jobs over the next decade, with the state adding an $80 million grant to help land it.

Saronic, valued at $9.25 billion after a $1.75 billion round in March, is the same company whose autonomous Corsair vessel recently helped rescue two U.S. soldiers after their helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz.

More on this week’s deals below. First, our friends at pH Partners1 break down Frozen One’s new seed round and the surge of investor interest in high-protein frozen treats.

Austin

• Brevy Care, a developer of software that helps family caregivers access Medicaid reimbursements, raised $4.77M in a deal with participation from GreyMatter Capital. $4.92M raised to date.

• Neutral Ground, a provider of factory construction material sourcing for real-estate developers, raised $1.15M in a seed round from undisclosed investors. $1.15M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• Cardinal Data Power (Dallas), a developer of gigawatt-scale data centers powered by on-site generation, raised $70M in a Series A led by Hood River Capital Management with participation from Empery Digital. $70M raised to date.

• TYBR Health (Houston), a developer of hydrogel systems that protect healing tissues after orthopedic surgery, raised $30M in a Series A co-led by Vensana Capital and Mutual Capital Partners with participation from Neovate Capital Partners. $38.70M raised to date.

• Resolute Grid (Rockwall), a producer of American-made transformers and hardware for electrical transmission systems, raised $18.21M in a deal with participation from Stage 1 Ventures, Wave Function Ventures. $18.21M raised to date.

• Brava (Carrollton), a developer of hidden orthodontic braces placed behind the teeth, raised $5.04M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $51.24M raised to date.

• Piranha Holdings (Argyle), a holding company formed in Texas in 2026, raised $1.25M in a seed round from undisclosed investors. $1.25M raised to date.

See you next week!

—Mason & Joel

This edition was supported by Malik Osumah.

Subscribe to Joel Trammell’s CEO Newsletter, Managing the Future.

Austin’s startup funding is on pace for a record year. ATX companies raised about $5 billion in the first half of 2026, according to Dealroom’s running tally for the Greater Austin Chamber. That puts this year on track to reach roughly $9.9 billion, a 23% jump over 2025 and nearly ten times what Austin raised just five years ago!

Texas is also becoming the country’s data center capital. Crusoe and Lancium announced a 1-gigawatt AI data center campus in Childress, up in the Panhandle, a 270-acre site built to power a single hyperscale customer, with construction set to start next quarter. It’s one more entry in a building spree that has state grid operator ERCOT fielding requests for some 439 gigawatts of future power, roughly five times the all-time peak demand on the Texas grid. That surge showed up in this week’s deals too: Coppell-based Csquare, a colocation and interconnection provider, raised $1.05 billion in its IPO, the biggest deal on this week’s list.

With that, let’s get to this week’s deal activity:

Austin

• TerraFirma, a developer of semi-autonomous heavy equipment for construction projects, raised $100M in a Series A led by Kleiner Perkins with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Glade Brook Capital Partners, BANNER VC, Saga Ventures, and others. $115M raised to date.

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Two of every three public companies looking to leave Delaware this year want to set up shop in Texas instead. New data from Georgeson's early 2026 proxy season review shows that of the 17 shareholder proposals seeking to reincorporate out of Delaware, 11 (65%) named Texas as the destination, and nearly all that have gone to a vote have passed. The trend has a nickname now: "DExit."

The departures are driven in large part by frustration with Delaware's Court of Chancery, long the default venue for corporate law, whose recent rulings companies increasingly see as unpredictable. Tesla decamped for Texas in 2024 after a Delaware judge voided Elon Musk's pay package, and Coinbase followed, with its chief legal officer publicly citing the erosion of legal certainty in Delaware.

Texas has courted the exodus, standing up a dedicated business court and codifying friendlier governance rules. The companies in this week's roundup are mostly new and private, but the throughline is the same: more and more, when a business decides where to plant its flag, the answer is Texas.

With that, let’s get to this week’s deal activity:

Austin

• Haven Advisors Holdings raised $10M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $10M raised to date.

• Legible, a developer of an AI-native policy intelligence platform for government affairs professionals, raised $3.5M in a deal led by Acadian Software. $3.5M raised to date.

• BistroCat, a developer of an automated wet cat food feeder for pet owners, raised $2.06M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $4.11M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• Venus Aerospace (Houston), a developer of rotating detonation rocket engine technology for defense and space propulsion systems, raised $91M in a Series B led by Mercury Fund with participation from Airbus Ventures, America’s Frontier Fund, Auxilium Partners, BroadVision Group, and others. $139.28M raised to date.

• Hephae Energy Technology (Spring), a developer of ultra-high-temperature robotics for next-generation geothermal drilling, raised $17.8M in a Series A led by Susquehanna Sustainable Investments and Underground Ventures with participation from Alfa8, Baruch Future Ventures, Centaurus Capital, Elemental Impact, and others. $24.15M raised to date.

• Otovo (Houston), a provider of AI-driven home energy services spanning solar, storage, and EV charging, raised $7.25M in a deal led by EIC Rose Rock with participation from Energy Innovation Capital. $7.25M raised to date.

• Adaptive Insurance (Bee Cave), a provider of parametric specialty insurance products addressing climate and weather risks, raised $5M in a deal led by Congruent Ventures and Peconic Partners with participation from Connecticut Innovations, Firemark Ventures, Montauk Capital, Room & Pillar, and others. $10M raised to date.

• Frontlands (Dallas), a provider of asset-backed lines of credit secured by mineral and royalty rights, raised $4M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $65.43M raised to date.

• The Boardroom Mastermind (Grapevine), a real estate education company operating peer groups for investors, raised $1.73M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $1.73M raised to date.

• Climb Group (Dallas), a provider of Databricks-focused data and AI consulting services for enterprises, raised $1.4M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $1.4M raised to date.

• Skybound Medtech (Houston), a developer of dual-use medical technologies for space medicine and defense applications, raised $1.25M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $1.25M raised to date.

See you next week!

—Mason & Joel

This edition was supported by Malik Osumah.

Subscribe to Joel Trammell’s CEO Newsletter, Managing the Future.

According to a report by ABJ this week, Austin is cleaning up when it comes to state incentives for semiconductor manufacturing and design.

Companies in the capital and its environs account for 82% of the $413 million in grants announced to date by the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF). Much of that chunk comes from Samsung's $250 million award for a fabrication plant in Taylor, but it also includes a vibrant group of Austin-based chip designers, materials suppliers, workforce programs, and research facilities.

Up in Dallas, the startup known as the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) is poised for its big debut tomorrow. “Y’all Street” will begin with a phased rollout, advancing from limited tests to broader trading activity over this month. The exchange plans to make corporate listings available by the fourth quarter.

With that, let’s get to this week’s deal activity:

Austin

• Wander, a provider of luxury vacation home rentals with hotel-grade amenities, raised $64.1M in a Series B led by QED Investors and Fifth Wall with participation from Snow Leopard Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Authentic Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and others. $222.26M raised to date.

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It’s World Cup time, and Texas has a big part of the action. Dallas and Houston are hosting a total of 16 matches, with major economic impact for the host cities.

According to the Texas Economic Development Corporation, North Texas will welcome 100,000 visitors on each match day, which is expected to generate about $1.5 to $2.1 billion. Houston expects to see 500,000 total and generate $1.5 billion. We also get to see international travelers experience Texas for the first time, from Buc-ee’s to Terry Black’s to Tito’s.

But deal activity didn’t take a break for the games. Here is this week’s activity:

Austin

• Radiology Partners, a provider of physician-led radiology practice management services for hospitals and health systems, raised $268.51M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $6,812.38M raised to date.

• Ollin Biosciences, a developer of bispecific antibody treatments for retinal eye diseases, raised $156.25M in a Series B led by ARCH Venture Partners and TCG Crossover Management with participation from Andreessen Horowitz. $256.25M raised to date.

• Nuclein, a developer of rapid point-of-care PCR diagnostic systems for infectious diseases, raised $20.36M in a convertible debt from undisclosed investors. $63.97M raised to date.

• Solar Simplified, a provider of community solar farm subscriptions for homeowners and renters, raised $1.50M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $1.50M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• mCards (Houston), a provider of branded payment card and rewards solutions for businesses, raised $11.13M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $19.98M raised to date.

• Long Angle (Dallas), a provider of community and investment resources for high-net-worth individuals, raised $7.05M in a Series A led by Collins Resources. $7.05M raised to date.

• Cambrian (Houston), a developer of blockchain data oracle infrastructure for institutions and AI agents, raised $6.00M in a Seed led by Polychain Capital and Franklin Resources with participation from Alumni Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Others. $11.90M raised to date.

• RE-OPS (Cross Roads), a provider of AI-powered procurement marketplace solutions for multifamily real estate operators, raised $2.44M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $5.84M raised to date.

• nuKudo (San Antonio), a developer of cybersecurity workforce training and talent development programs, raised $1.78M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $1.78M raised to date.

• Plotsy (Dallas), a developer of AI-powered streaming entertainment for independent fiction stories, raised $1.50M in a Seed led by Pier 88 Investment Partners. $1.50M raised to date.

See you next week.

—Joel & Mason

This edition was supported by Malik Osumah.

Subscribe to Joel Trammell’s CEO Newsletter, Managing the Future.

On Tuesday night, Texas faced an unthinkable loss with the passing of Joshua Baer. Josh was the founder and CEO of Capital Factory. I was proud to call him a friend.

It’s hard to overstate Josh’s impact on Austin and on the founders he worked with. He was a tireless force in connecting people and championing big ideas. He really did “help people quit their jobs.” I know so many of those people, and I saw the way Josh was instrumental in kickstarting their entrepreneurial journeys.

The tributes to Josh we’ve seen this week are a testament to who he was. He will be sorely missed.

—Joel

Austin

• Traysar Industries, a developer of autonomous subterranean systems for underground defense operations, raised $25M in a Seed led by Silent Ventures with participation from Lux Capital, Ora Global, NeverLift Ventures, Mana Ventures, Impatient Ventures, New Vista Acquisition, Entrée Capital. $25M raised to date.

• MaverickX, a developer of chemistry-based production enhancement technology for shale oil recovery, raised $8M in a deal led by Chord Energy with participation from Olive Tree Capital. $27.50M raised to date.

• Return Valets, a provider of valet and vehicle return services, raised $2.44M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $2.44M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• Principal Mineral (Southlake), a producer of critical mineral and material inputs for electronics and defense, raised $280M in a Series A co-led by Overmatch Ventures and The New Industrial Corporation with participation from J2 Ventures, Ensemble VC. $280M raised to date.

• Texas Ventures Acquisition IV (Houston), a special purpose acquisition company, raised $150M in its IPO. $150M raised to date.

  Wash42 (Irving), a provider of high-speed truck and vehicle washing services, raised $6.28M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $6.28M raised to date.

• Mantle (Dallas), a developer of geothermal energy technology using oil and gas formations, raised $5M in a Seed led by 17Shoals. $5M raised to date.

• Howdy 12.0 (Irving), a company operating in stealth raised $1.37M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $1.37M raised to date.

See you next week.

This edition was supported by Malik Osumah.

Subscribe to Joel Trammell’s CEO Newsletter, Managing the Future.

This week's Texas deal activity will be remembered for one reason: SpaceX went public.

The rocket company (and satellite and AI company), headquartered at Starbase, near Brownsville, raised $75 billion in its IPO, the largest in U.S. history. SpaceX is now valued at roughly $1.77 trillion, though the market cap was briefly pushed past $2 trillion on the first day of trading.

For Texas, which has been SpaceX's home base through the buildout of Starbase on the Gulf Coast, the listing is a defining moment. Our state has been tied to America's space ambitions since 1961, when NASA established the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, the command hub that guided the Gemini and Apollo programs and put men on the moon. Now we have a Texas-based private company, built from the ground up on the Gulf Coast, that has become one of the most valuable enterprises on Earth.

But SpaceX isn’t the whole story this week. Here are this week’s deal highlights, in Austin and beyond.

Austin

• NinjaOne, a developer of unified IT operations and endpoint management software, raised $400M in a Series C led by CapitalG with participation from Teachers’ Venture Growth, Pinegrove Venture Partners, Lead Edge Capital, NEA, Sequoia Capital, and others. $1.17B raised to date.

• Zellerfeld, a producer of 3D-printed footwear made without traditional factories, raised $30M in a Series A-3 led by OMR X. $100.07M raised to date.

• Dyme, a developer of commercial medical products and devices for healthcare providers, raised $10M in a Series A led by Umami Capital. $12.85M raised to date.

• Artis, a provider of AI-powered branding and marketing services for residential architecture firms, raised $7.3M in a Seed led by LiveOak Ventures with participation from Capital Factory, mark vc. $7.30M raised to date.

• InfoHawk, a developer of AI software to detect and neutralize online deception and scams, raised $2.25M in a Seed led by Moonshots Capital with participation from Others. $2.25M raised to date.

• LIFT Aircraft, a developer of single-passenger electric VTOL aircraft for personal flight experiences, raised $1.20M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $35.16M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• SpaceX (Starbase - near Brownsville), a developer of orbital launch vehicles and satellite internet services, raised $75B in its IPO. $105.83B raised to date.

• ERock (Houston), a provider of distributed natural gas power systems for data centers and utilities, raised $600M in its IPO. $619.33M raised to date.

• Apogee Semiconductor (Plano), a developer of radiation-hardened semiconductors for aerospace and high-reliability applications, raised $16.20M in a Series A-4 led by LDV Partners. $30.45M raised to date.

• Waldo (Dallas), a developer of AI-powered research and automation tools for knowledge workers, raised $10.36M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $25.80M raised to date.

• AmPd Labs (Houston), a provider of additive manufacturing and industrial 3D printing services, raised $3.53M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $8.53M raised to date.

• Haast Autonomous (Dallas), a developer of autonomous VTOL aircraft for medical cargo transport, raised $1.85M in a Pre-seed from undisclosed investors. $1.87M raised to date.

• Arovia (Houston), a producer of portable display screens and projectors for mobile professionals, raised $1.01M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $2.17M raised to date.

See you next week! —Mason & Joel

This edition was supported by Malik Osumah.

Subscribe to Joel Trammell’s CEO Newsletter, Managing the Future.

We’re back for another week of deals!

Austin's biggest this week came from the city’s growing defense tech corridor. Allen Control Systems closed a $200 million Series B at a $2.2 billion valuation to scale manufacturing of Bullfrog, its autonomous counter-drone weapon station. Bullfrog is already deployed with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, and posted a 100% success rate at T-REX 26-1, one of the Pentagon's premier counter-drone testing events. The company currently holds over $120 million in U.S. government contracts across multiple Bullfrog variants.

Lead investor Smash Capital was co-founded by Kevin Mayer, who studied mechanical engineering at MIT and spent time working on battlefield radar systems before going on to help Disney acquire Marvel and Star Wars and launch Disney+. His recent roles include CEO of TikTok and COO of its parent, ByteDance.

And now, this week’s deals.

Austin

• Allen Control Systems, a developer of autonomous precision weapon systems for defense applications, raised $200M in a Series B led by Smash Capital with participation from Rally Ventures, Craft Ventures, Inspired Capital. $242M raised to date.

Read more

Austin leads a quieter week for deals. Today we’ve got AI, more AI, cookies (the kind you eat), and antibody therapeutics.

Meanwhile, up in Dallas, the Texas Stock Exchange is preparing to open later this year. The exchange has now signed a lease for space at the Bank of America Tower at Parkside. The plan is to include a placing stock ticker at the base of the building. And instead of ringing a bell, TXSE hopes to shoot off a cannon.

More recently, this week S&P Dow Jones Indices announced a shift in methodology that will allow for TXSE-listed securities to be included in its own indices. “Y’all Street” is almost here.

Now on to the deals.

Austin

• CasaPerks, a provider of AI-powered resident rewards and workplace recognition platforms, raised $15.80M in a Seed led by Longevity Equity. $17.10M raised to date.

• Tern, a developer of AI-powered satellite-free vehicle positioning and navigation technology, raised $11.74M in a Seed led by Shadow Capital with participation from The Veteran Fund, BVVC, Scout Ventures. $11.85M raised to date.

• Fields Good, a maker of functional ready-to-eat cookies formulated for focus, sleep, and protein intake, raised $1.80M in a Pre-Seed led by Female Founders Fund. $1.80M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• Kayak Therapeutics (Houston), a developer of antibody therapeutics targeting cancer and immune-related diseases, raised $11.94M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $18.57M raised to date.

See you next week! —Mason & Joel

This edition was supported by Bradford Martin.

Subscribe to Joel Trammell’s CEO Newsletter, Managing the Future.

Last week, Texas CEO Magazine’s own Joel Trammell was inducted into the Austin Tech Hall of Fame!

The award honors “the people who made Austin’s tech ecosystem what it is today.” Joel is certainly one of them, having not only been a standout tech entrepreneur for 30+ years but also having dedicated himself to training CEOs across Texas and beyond.

The Hall of Fame membership puts him alongside Austin luminaries like Michael Dell, George Kozmetsky, and Jim Truchard.

Since the time Joel served as chair of the Austin Technology Council, Austin has continued its evolution into a proper tech hub. And as you see in this newsletter every Sunday, Austin boasts a steady stream of deal activity, and it’s increasingly joined by big deals all across the state.

Check out the full Austin Tech Hall of Fame here. And now, this week’s deals:

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This week, six companies with Texas HQs (including two SPACs) priced public offerings. The headliner was Houston's Fervo Energy, whose $1.89B upsized debut became the largest clean energy IPO ever and pushed the geothermal developer past a $10B valuation on its first day of trading. That deal was fueled, like so much else in this market, by AI data center power demand.

Here’s the rundown on this week’s deals:

Austin

• GSR V Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, raised $200M in its IPO. $200M raised to date.

• Equal Parts, a developer of an AI-driven operating platform for independent insurance agencies, raised $27.90M in a Series A led by Inspired Capital with participation from Equal Ventures Management, Genius Ventures, Max Ventures. $27.90M raised to date.

• Honest Mary’s, an operator of fast-casual restaurants specializing in fresh grain bowls, raised $1.30M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $2.75M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• Fervo Energy (Houston), a developer of enhanced geothermal energy systems for carbon-free electricity, raised $1.89B in its IPO. $3.94B raised to date.

• Global Medical Response (Lewisville), a provider of air and ground ambulance, mobile healthcare, and disaster response services, raised $478.72M in its IPO. $10.80B raised to date.

• EagleRock Land (Houston), a land and resource management company collecting royalties from Permian Basin oil and gas production, raised $320.05M in its IPO. $320.05M raised to date.

• Breeze Acquisition II (Irving), a special purpose acquisition company, raised $125M in its IPO. $125M raised to date.

• Frontier Bank of Texas (Elgin), a community bank providing commercial and consumer banking services in central Texas, raised $29M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $59M raised to date.

• Vida (Cedar Park), a developer of an AI agent operating system for enterprise workflow automation, raised $15M in its IPO. $21.53M raised to date.

• Onramp Bitcoin (Dallas), a provider of multi-institution Bitcoin custody and financial services, raised $12.5M in a Series A led by Early Riders. $12.50M raised to date.

• Casimir (Houston), a developer of semiconductor chips that harvest energy from quantum vacuum fields, raised $12M in a Seed led by Scout Ventures with participation from Lavrock Ventures, Cottonwood Technology Fund, Capital Factory, and others. $14.50M raised to date.

• Absolute Recomp (North Richland Hills), an operator of fitness centers offering 24/7 access and strength training across DFW, raised $10M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $10.20M raised to date.

• Oaklin Lane (Plano), a provider of pediatric speech, occupational, and physical therapy services, raised $3.24M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $3.24M raised to date.

• EtiraRx (Dallas), a developer of small-molecule therapeutics for therapy-resistant cancers, raised $2.28M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $9.50M raised to date.

• OnePoint Dialysis (The Woodlands), a provider of dialysis services for kidney patients, raised $2.25M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $2.25M raised to date.

See you next week! —Mason & Joel

This edition was supported by Bradford Martin.

Subscribe to Joel Trammell’s CEO Newsletter, Managing the Future.

Break out the champagne: Texas has snagged its second annual Prosperity Cup. The award, given out by Site Selection magazine last week, recognized ours as the top-performing state for job-creating business investment.

Oh yeah, and Texas also got its third recognition from Site Selection as the state with the #1 business climate in the U.S.

As if to further prove it, Texas turned in a healthy week of deal activity. Here’s the rundown.

Austin

• Mobia Medical, a developer of vagus nerve stimulation devices for chronic ischemic stroke recovery, raised $150M in its IPO. $357.26M raised to date.

• Modicus Prime, a developer of an AI compliance platform for regulated pharmaceutical environments, raised $4.5M in a deal led by Frist Cressey Ventures with participation from Silverton Partners, Oncology Ventures. $8.01M raised to date.

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It's official: Texas outraised Massachusetts in venture capital for the first time in at least 12 years.

In Q1 2026, Texas startups pulled in $5.8 billion versus Massachusetts' $5.3 billion, driven by a handful of blockbusters: autonomous boat builder Saronic ($1.75B), humanoid robot maker Apptronik ($935M), satellite comms firm CesiumAstro ($470M), and restaurant software company inKind ($450M).

Against that backdrop, here's what's been happening on the ground this week.

Austin

• DAO Card, a developer of decentralized finance payment card products, raised $3.53M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $3.53M raised to date.

• TIES, a producer of doctor-formulated supplements for men’s fertility and reproductive health, raised $1.5M in a Seed led by HumanCo. $1.50M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• Highway Data Systems (New Braunfels), a developer of automated quality assurance technology for road construction and asphalt testing, raised $1.68M in a Seed led by British Business Bank. $1.68M raised to date.

• ANSpect Technologies (Irving), a developer of signal processing semiconductors for digital communication networks, raised $1.025M in a Seed from undisclosed investors. $1.02M raised to date.

See you next week! —Mason & Joel

This edition was supported by Bradford Martin.

Subscribe to Joel Trammell’s CEO Newsletter, Managing the Future.

In Texas deal news, Fort Worth’s Yesway took the week with a $280M IPO, pushing the convenience store operator’s lifetime raise past $1.8B.

Meanwhile, Austin chipped in two early-stage deals across consumer health and telehealth, while Dallas and San Antonio rounded out the slate with some seed-stage activity of their own.

Here’s the rundown.

Austin

• Frozen One, a high-protein ice cream maker, raised $2M in a Seed round led by Supernatural Ventures and The Angel Group with participation from Tonic Ventures and Lucinda Capital. $2M raised to date.

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Happy Sunday! Hope tax weekend treated you gently.

Just one Austin deal this week, but it’s an interesting one. Parachute’s premise is “get paid for your plasma, and book it in our app.” The company pulled in $38M and is now up to $148M in total funding.

Meanwhile, Greater Texas stayed on brand: three Houston-area deals, all industrial or energy tech, led by a $29M Series A for Nanotech Materials in Katy.

Ont

Austin

• Parachute, a consumer marketplace that lets people book plasma donations through an app and get paid, raised $38.15M in a deal from undisclosed investors. $148.75M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• Algo8 (Houston), a developer of AI-powered optimization solutions for industrial operations, raised $2.02M in a deal led by Chemelex. $2.92M raised to date.

• NOC Energy (Houston), an energy technology company focused on optimizing oil and gas operations, raised $2.7M in a deal led by 360 Capital with participation from SOSV and Desai Ventures. $2.7M raised to date.

• Nanotech Materials (Katy), a developer of advanced materials designed to improve energy efficiency and thermal performance, raised $29.4M in a Series A led by HPI Real Estate Services & Investments with participation from Milliken & Company and GOOSE Capital. $43.8M raised to date.

See you next week! —Mason & Joel

This edition was supported by Bradford Martin.

Subscribe to Joel Trammell’s CEO Newsletter, Managing the Future.

As founders and investors converge on the Palmer Events Center this week for SaaStock USA, the deals keep coming! Here are your deals for this week in Austin and Greater Texas.

Austin

• Cyberhill Partners, a developer of enterprise AI platforms, raised $11M in a deal led by Baleon Capital. $11.25M raised to date.

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Happy Easter!

Did you hear that Austin’s city council passed a resolution this week making it easier for residents to run small businesses from their front yards? It means less red tape for people selling artisanal goods, running garden stands, doing small-scale repairs, etc. It’s good to see the spirit of entrepreneurship alive and well in the capital city.

At the other end of the capital spectrum, the city’s venture market had a typically busy week, with deals ranging from a $1.5M seed to a $1.75B defense raise.

Let’s get into it.

Austin Deals

• Saronic, a developer of autonomous surface vessels for defense applications, raised $1.75B in a Series D led by Kleiner Perkins with participation from Advent International, Bessemer Venture Partners, BAM Elevate, DFJ Growth, 8VC, and Caffeinated Capital. $2,595M raised to date.

• Axzon, a developer of battery-free wireless sensors for real-time industrial and supply chain monitoring, raised $1.5M from undisclosed investors. $11.4M raised to date.

• Coder, a developer of cloud-based software development environments, raised $90M in a Series C led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with participation from Uncork Capital, Qube Research & Technologies, and others. $172.8M raised to date.

• Easy Street Capital, a provider of financing solutions for real estate investors, raised $69.56M from undisclosed investors. $69.56M raised to date.

• Fields Good, a producer of better-for-you functional cookies designed to support focus, energy, and sleep, raised $1.83M from undisclosed investors. $1.83M raised to date.

• Insight Health AI, a developer of AI-powered healthcare analytics tools, raised $11M in a Series A led by Standard Capital with participation from ElevenLabs, Invariantes Fund, Wedbush Ventures, MKT1, Kindred Ventures, 43, RTP Global, Eudemian Ventures, and Pear. $11M raised to date.

• Mars Men, a developer of men’s wellness and grooming products, raised $27.5M in a Series A led by L Catterton with participation from other undisclosed investors. $27.5M raised to date.

• Rosella, a provider of AI-powered commercial insurance brokerage services, raised $3.7M in a deal led by Peak XV Partners with participation from Intact Private Capital. $3.7M raised to date.

• Supra Elemental Recovery, a developer of mineral extraction and recovery technologies, raised $2M in a deal led by Crucible Capital with participation from Rio Tinto, Climate Capital, Portmanteau Ventures, Founders Factory, and The University of Texas at Austin. $2M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• Latitude (Spring), a developer of financial infrastructure software for digital assets, raised $8M in a deal led by New Enterprise Associates with participation from Paxos, Solana, Coinbase Ventures, Bitso, and Faction Ventures. $8M raised to date.

See you next week! —Mason & Joel

This edition was supported by Bradford Martin.

Subscribe to Joel Trammell’s CEO Newsletter, Managing the Future.

Happy Sunday! Here are your deals for this week in Austin and across Texas. We’ve got everything from AI-powered healthcare and defense tech to distributed energy and carbon capture.

Austin

• Certuma, an AI-first doctor that assesses symptoms and recommends care, with every decision verified and signed off by a real physician, raised $10M in a deal led by 8VC with participation from undisclosed investors. $10M raised to date.

Read more

3D printing… carbon removal… drone swarms… Austin’s latest startup deals are showing our city's usual eclectic range as the city calms after SXSW. Dallas adds a couple of notable raises of its own, including a $30M deal that signals continued investor appetite for specialty healthcare platforms.

Let’s get into it.

Austin Deals

• Brevy, a platform that helps families access government benefits and get paid to care for loved ones at home, raised $3.07M in a deal led by GreyMatter with participation from undisclosed investors. $3.22M raised to date.

• Creative 3D Technologies, a provider of advanced 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions, raised $7.5M from undisclosed investors. $13.16M raised to date.

• High Frequency Entertainment, a production company, raised $16M from undisclosed investors. $16M raised to date.

• Ironlight, a fintech company developing infrastructure for tokenized securities, raised $21M in a Series A led by Greg Braca, Laidlaw & Company, and Sei Development Foundation. $33M raised to date.

• SuperCritical, a carbon removal marketplace and procurement platform for enterprises, raised $3.05M in a deal led by American Ventures. $3.05M raised to date.

• Supernova, a developer of industrial-grade 3D printing systems, raised $1.12M from undisclosed investors. $4.12M raised to date.

• Surf Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing therapies for neurological disorders, raised $6M in a deal led by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Mir Imran, and Evoce Capital with participation from Vertical Venture Partners, Device of Tomorrow Capital, Pioneer Fund, SOSV, and Jumpspace Ventures. $6M raised to date.

• Swarmer, a software platform that makes drones work together in coordinated swarms without needing pilots, raised $15M in its IPO on the NASDAQ. $33.2M raised to date.

Greater Texas Market

• Cembra Holding Company (Dallas), a permanent capital holding company that acquires and operates businesses for the long term, raised $21.95M from undisclosed investors. $21.95M raised to date.

• Lantern (Dallas), a specialty care navigation platform that steers patients to high-quality providers while reducing healthcare costs, raised $30M in a deal led by Echo Health Ventures and Morgan Health. $30M raised to date.

See you next week! —Mason & Joel

This edition was supported by Bradford Martin.

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Just one Austin deal to report this week, but the broader Texas market kept things interesting. Houston had an especially strong week. Here are the details:

Austin Deals

• Esper, a system of record platform for policy and regulation, raised an undisclosed amount in a deal led by 8VC and Cota Capital with participation from Stand Together Ventures Lab. $23.75M raised to date.

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