Tesla widens its Austin robotaxi map by 63%, and Digital Turbine swings to a profit as revenue climbs 27%.

Austin hardware-engineering software company Nominal raised $240 million at a $3 billion valuation on Monday, tripling its worth in about eight months. Cedar Park’s Firefly Aerospace capped a busy stretch with a rocket engine deal valued at more than $1.3 billion and a spot on NASA’s new lunar delivery roster ahead of its earnings report Tuesday. Tesla widened its Austin robotaxi service area by roughly 63%, and Digital Turbine posted a profitable fiscal second quarter.

Nominal raises $240 million at $3 billion valuation

Nominal closed a $240 million Series C led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with Insight Partners as co-lead, the company announced Monday. Other investors include Lux Capital, Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Avenir, Salesforce Ventures and Lockheed Martin Ventures. The round values the company at $3 billion, up from the $1 billion valuation it reached in March, TechCrunch reported.

Nominal sells software that pulls together test and engineering data for complex machines such as aircraft, drones, ships and nuclear reactors, and layers on an AI agent whose answers can be traced back to the underlying data. It says more than 80 commercial and government organizations use the platform, including five of the seven largest U.S. defense contractors, with Anduril, HII and Hermeus among named customers. Late last month the Air Force picked Nominal for a $71.2 million STRATFI award tied to its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.

The company plans to use the money to build more AI agents for tasks such as requirements verification and fleet health, and to expand into new industries and regions, including through acquisitions. Co-founder and CEO Cameron McCord said the platform is built so that “engineers stay in command” while AI assists them. Nominal lists Austin as its headquarters, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Washington and London, adding another large defense-tech check to a city that has drawn a steady run of them this fall.

Firefly Aerospace signs $1.3 billion engine deal, joins NASA’s CLPS 2 roster

Firefly Aerospace agreed Friday to supply engines for AST SpaceMobile’s planned Blacklift heavy-lift rocket in a three-year deal valued at more than $1.3 billion, CBS Austin reported. The package includes about $800 million for a license paid in cash and stock, $250 million for 36 engines covering the first three rockets and $250 million in engineering services. Firefly will add workers and test bays at its Briggs, Texas, site to build them. CEO Jason Kim called it “a bold transformational deal” for both companies.

A day later, the Cedar Park company said it had been selected as a vendor on NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services 2 contract, a 10-year framework with a combined ceiling of $10 billion. NASA named eight providers, including Blue Origin, SpaceX, Intuitive Machines and Lockheed Martin, according to NewSpace Economy. Vendors must still win individual task orders, but Firefly points to its March 2025 Blue Ghost landing and four follow-on CLPS missions as its track record.

Firefly reports third-quarter results after the market closes Tuesday.

Tesla expands Austin robotaxi zone to 443 square miles

Tesla enlarged its Austin robotaxi service area on Monday to about 443 square miles from roughly 272, an increase of about 63%, Drive Tesla reported, citing the company’s Robotaxi account on X. The change makes Austin Tesla’s largest robotaxi market by area.

The expansion came the same day Tesla launched service in San Antonio, which covers about 275 square miles. Austin, where the program debuted, remains the testing ground for the company’s driverless ambitions, including the purpose-built Cybercab that Gigafactory Texas is preparing to build in volume.

Digital Turbine swings to profit as revenue rises 27%

Digital Turbine reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $178.7 million, up 27% from $140.4 million a year earlier, in results released Monday. The Austin mobile advertising and app-distribution company posted GAAP net income of $10.3 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with a $21.4 million loss in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA rose 46% to $39.8 million.

The company forecast full-year revenue of $670 million to $690 million and adjusted EBITDA of $145 million to $155 million. CEO Bill Stone credited focused execution for accelerating what he called the company’s “flywheel effect.” The report came a week later than first scheduled; Digital Turbine had pushed it back from Nov. 2.

Also in Silicon Hills

  • Austin construction fintech Billd secured a $100 million credit facility from Victory Park Capital to expand working-capital financing for commercial subcontractors, Alternative Credit Investor reported Friday.

Only in Austin

Austin’s strangest random-number generator has feathers. Every Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m., Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon at 5434 Burnet Road runs Chicken Sh*t Bingo, where players buy tickets for numbered squares on a wooden board, a hen is set loose among scattered feed, and whichever number she soils wins the cash pot, minus a tip for the band and bar. Country singer Dale Watson pitched the idea more than 25 years ago, inspired by cow-patty bingo, and the house hens now include Kitty Wells and Emmylou Harris, Texas Highways reports. Bring cash.

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