By Brent Wistrom – Austin Inno
The national trend in venture capital funding in 2021 is clear: more money overall and bigger rounds per deal. Austin’s startup ecosystem fits right in.
Austin startups had landed $3.8 billion in funding across 265 deals three-quarters of the way through 2021, according to data from PitchBook. That already put the metro ahead of 2020’s record-breaking figures. So when we get a finally tally of 2021, the only question is, how much above past high water mark did we get?
Meanwhile, IPOs and major acquisitions are providing big returns for investors that might help perpetuate the acceleration in venture funding for startups in Austin. Two recent examples of that are LiveOak Venture Partners raising a $210 million fund and Next Coast Ventures filing paperwork showing plans to raise a $175 million investing vehicle.
Now, let’s check out the top 22 funding deals for Austin startups in 2021, as we prepare for 2022.
Top funding rounds
1. Workrise – $300 million
2. Arrive Logistics – $300 million
3. Elevate Brands – $250 million
4. Icon Technology – $207 million
5. Zen Business – $200 million
6. The Zebra – $150 million
7. Restore Hyper Wellness – $140 million
8. Homeward – $371 million series B (includes $136 million in equity funding and $235 million in debt)
9. Elligo Health Research – $135 million
10. Firefly Aerospace – $75 million round
11. Royal Markets Inc. – $52 million
12. Wheel – $50 million series B
13. Fetch Package – $50 million (plus $10M in debt)
14. Self Financial – $50 million
15. Olea Edge Analytics – $35 million
16. ClosedLoop.ai – $34 million
17. FileCloud – $30 million
18. Eventus Systems – $30 million
19. Billd – $30 million
20. OsteoCentric Technologies – $30 million
21. Aunt Bertha – $27 million
22. Rey – $26 million