Category: Austin (Page 39 of 319)

Hypergiant Industries on Tuesday announced it has hired Mike Betzer as its new President and CEO.

Ben Lamm, co-founder and former CEO of Hypergiant Industries will become the company’s vice-chairman.

Hypergiant Industries, founded in 2019,  is bringing Betzer on as it continues to go through an aggressive period of growth, according to a company news release. The company’s customers include Sumitomo Corporation, Boeing, Schlumberger, Booz Allen Hamilton, and the United States Department of Defense. Hypergiant sells AI services, software, and solutions.

“Hypergiant’s AI Applied AI solutions and platform are on a path that will continue to show huge growth in the years ahead,” Betzer said in a news statement.

Previously, Betzer was Chief Digital Transformation Officer and Chief Product Officer at Khoros. He also was Senior Vice President of Lithium Technologies and CEO of Humanify. He also held leadership roles at Social Dynamx Inc, Convergys, and Siebel Systems.

“As Hypergiant enters this next phase of scale and explosive growth, it is critical for us to bring in additional world-class team members to help in this period of rapid scale. Mike is among the best enterprise software and SaaS entrepreneurs and leaders in the country and one of the few who can really help to guide our business to this next level of AI leadership. I could not be more excited to have him take on day-to-day operational oversight and focus on our long-term growth,” Lamm said in a statement.

In addition to his role on the board, Lamm plans to “take time to pursue what he considers the most pressing issues of our lifetime: AI for good, climate change, and the continued positive impact of technology both on the planet and on the human condition.”

“As we take our much-needed AI operations management system to a broader market, Mike Betzer’s outstanding experience in building enterprise software offerings and scaling them with large clients provides Hypergiant with a leader that knows how to get it done in the enterprise,” Mohammed Farooq, Chairman, Global CTO of Hypergiant, said in a news release.

The following is a Q&A with Lamm, Hypergiant’s co-founder, and vice-chairman, conducted via email.

Q. Was there anything that prompted this change in leadership?

Lamm: We are entering the next phase of scale for Hypergiant — so bringing in the key personnel to take Hypergiant to the next level is my role as both an entrepreneur and the founder. Many people forget that building a startup is a team sport. And, teams need to change to meet new market demands, new strengths and new opportunities. As the founding CEO of Hypergiant, my job was to set the vision for the company, help it to raise money, grow our customer base and support our shareholders and, most importantly, our team. The company is doing exactly that and I now want to focus on the next big issues of our day — specifically, where we can leverage AI for good.

Q. Why are you stepping down from your role as CEO?

Lamm: Hypergiant is growing quickly. Because of this growth, I’m finding a lot of my time spent engaging in activities that others are better suited for. As such, I would rather bring in that top talent to help us continue to scale while I direct my energies towards the next big things for the company and for the planet. 

Q. What do you plan to do next?

Lamm: I will continue to be involved with the company but also I want to focus on activities that I am passionate about like climate change, AI for good, and other pressing global challenges. This is where, I believe, the world needs my time and attention — there are a few great people, like Mike, who are amazing at building, leading, and continuing to scale enterprise software companies. At my core, I’m a creator who likes to create solutions where there are none — and the day-to-day of running a successful business holds less appeal. 

Q. How many employees does Hypergiant have now?

Lamm: We are 180 people strong and since the pandemic are all working remotely. 

Q. What has been your biggest accomplishment as the head of Hypergiant? What are you most proud of?

Lamm: Building companies is hard but luckily you get to do it with amazing people and its a team sport. While we have built and continue to build some incredible ground-breaking technologies, I think the biggest accomplishment of not just me but the team is bringing Hypergiant from a brand and idea I had in my head to a company that is sustaining jobs for those in our community, returning value to our shareholders, and making a positive impact on the planet. All the little wins were fun but nothing is as rewarding as building these growing, real and scalable businesses. 

Q. How has the pandemic affected Hypergiant’s operations?

Lamm: We have been very fortunate to navigate through the pandemic. Since Covid, the teams have all been remote and distributed. We are all currently working remotely and come together in person for client meetings or in-person needed brainstorming sessions. We were fortunate that our Chief Delivery Officer, C.K. Sample set up all our systems and processes to run remotely well before the pandemic due to the speed at which Hypergiant has been growing since its inception — so it largely minimized the impact Covid had on our day to day operations.

Q. With the new CEO, is Hypergiant changing its focus at all?

Lamm: Not at all. Hypergiant is still focused on creating great AI solutions and systems in the areas of critical infrastructure, space, and defense. The only major change is that we will roll out our enterprise AI platform – Hyperdrive — which we have been working on for the last year. Mike’s first focus will be to make sure that the platform rollout to our customers and partners goes smoothly and that we scale it across various industry sectors.  Mike has a proven track record of scaling enterprise software businesses, and I can’t think of a better leader. 

Q. Anything else you would like to add that I have not asked you about?

Lamm: This team is incredible. This company is the start of a vision for a long-term change in improving the industries that are the building blocks of our country. The Colonial Pipeline incident this month shows the weakness of our critical infrastructure and the failures of our country to adopt modern and resilient systems. Hypergiant has been focused on improving our sectors since day one because we believe in a better stronger America.  This team is making products that are changing our future safety and resilience. I don’t know that we talk about that often enough – but I admire them and am really proud of what they have done. 

AnthemIQ announced Monday that it has closed a $10 million venture capital round.

The Austin-based real estate transaction platform reported the Series A round was led by Staubach Capital with participation from other investors. The company plans to use the funds raised on rapid growth and expansion, according to Kenny Tomlin, its Co-Founder and Executive Chairman.

AnthemIQ, launched in February, has created a digital platform to manage commercial real estate transactions from search to a signed lease. It has attracted more than 1,000 users since its launch.

“Clients use digital platforms to run their own companies, book travel, interact with their banks and buy residential homes,” Tomlin said in a news release. “They expect commercial brokerages to provide similar solutions with speed, convenience and transparency to finding and securing their commercial space. Brokers recognize this and finally have an end-to-end solution in AnthemIQ.”

AnthemIQ’s new platform reduces client site visits by 75 percent, according to the company. It also allows a broker to win more business by increasing transaction volume. The marketplace also contains active searches and allows for greater collaboration between the tenant rep and leasing agents to identify and present options to the client.

“I spent nearly twenty years as a tenant rep broker with clients from small family offices to dozens of fortune 500 companies,” Jeff Staubach said. “I’ve never seen a product that is able to transform the way business is done both for the broker as well as a corporate real estate team. Staubach Capital is excited to lead this investment round and strategically participate in the company’s continued growth.”

“We are excited to be partnering with Staubach Capital to take AnthemIQ to commercial real estate professionals across the globe,” Chris Skyles, co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of AnthemIQ said in a news release. Everyone connected to this business, including our amazing investors, believes that AnthemIQ will play a pivotal role in the digital transformation of the CRE Industry.”

During a pandemic, the movement to contactless interaction with customers and safety is of paramount importance.

Virdee, an Austin-based startup, created a solution for businesses to provide digital check-in and virtual concierge services for customers in the hospitality and commercial real estate industries.

It’s a timely product for hotels, apartments, condos, residential halls, and offices.

Last week, Virdee announced it had closed on a $4 million seed-stage round of funding led by Silverton Partners with participation from LiveOak Venture Partners and DJR Advisors.

“Virdee’s suite of SaaS solutions is uniquely positioned to remake the market for digital check-in and virtual customer engagement,” Morgan Flager, Managing Partner at Silverton, said in a news release. “With demand for the company’s products rising faster than anyone could have expected, we are pleased to partner to help Virdee strategically scale its businesses.”

Virdee created a kiosk to be placed in a lobby that runs its software and can issue physical key cards and provide easy check-ins and live support. The solution saves companies money. And it elevates the customer experience, according to Virdee. The company already has customers at leading hotel, multifamily, and corporate housing brands.

Virdee’s software and other products work with leading door lock and property management systems, making it easy for companies to provide contactless check-in services.

“We are deeply appreciative of the participation of each of our new investors,” Branigan Mulcahy, Virdee Co-Founder said. “This is a group of visionaries with amazing experience in scaling and building out disruptive SaaS businesses. We could not be more excited about the insights and strategic guidance each of them brings to the table and look forward to working closely with all of them to build Virdee’s exciting future.”

“We are grateful to welcome these esteemed investors to our seed round investment group which includes Rajiv Trivedi, past CEO of La Quinta and Chairman of TST Capital,” Virdee Co-Founder Nadav Cornberg said in a news release. “Along with them, we believe the debate about whether automated check-in, verification and payment solutions will replace legacy methods is now long settled, and the question is now not ‘if’  but ‘when.’ We believe the time is now, and Virdee is the company best positioned to lead hotel and other real estate owners toward a completely contactless, efficient model of operation.”

Before the COVID- 19 Pandemic, Living Security received 50 percent of its revenue from in-person cybersecurity training events.

But those events came to an abrupt halt. Yet, within six weeks, Ashley Rose, co-founder and CEO, and her team pivoted the company to online training and created Teams: CyperEscape Online to replace its Escape Room product, a gamified team training program.

The company had the right product at the right time and saw the adoption of its online cybersecurity training program skyrocket. In 2020, Living Security tripled its revenue and employee headcount and more than doubled its customer count. Its customers include JP Morgan, Target, MassMutual, MasterCard, CVS Health, Verizon, Hewlett Packard and more than 100 enterprises.

As more employees worked remotely than ever before, companies saw the need for additional training to keep their networks secure. And Living Security’s products met their needs, Rose said.  She spoke Tuesday during a Beta Austin Funding Hour on Clubhouse.

That led to Living Security landing $14 million in a Series B round of funding recently. It comes less than a year after Living Security raised a $5 million Series A round led by Silverton Partners in Austin. The company has spent that money to strengthen its interactive cybersecurity training platform.

Updata Partners led the investment that included previous investors Silverton Partners, Active Capital, Rain Capital and SaaS Venture Partners.

“During the last three years, Living Security revolutionized security awareness training programs that were boring, ineffective, and implemented just to meet minimal compliance requirements,” Rose said in a news release. “Now, we are leading the charge to use behavioral data and analytics to measure and manage human risk. At the same time, we can deliver powerful insights to senior leaders and board members, and provide predictive interventions to employees. Our goal is to transform people from risks to assets in the defense against cyber attacks.”

Every Tuesday at 2 p.m. Silicon Hills News hosts a tech talk featuring a local speaker.

This Tuesday, April 20th at 2 p.m., Morgan Flager, general partner of Silverton Partners, will join the Silicon Hills Tech Talk Club to discuss startups and venture capital funding in Austin. A few years ago, Silicon Hills News did this podcast with Flager on the Ideas to Invoices podcast.

Previous speakers on the Silicon Hills News Tech Talk on Clubhouse have included Krishna Srinivasan and Venu Shampant, founding partners of LiveOak Venture Partners, and Bob Metcalfe, professor of innovation at the University of Texas at Austin and Ethernet inventor.

Clubhouse is a popular social audio social network that launched in 2019 and remains an invite-only network that is only available to people with iOS devices. In its latest funding round completed this month, Clubhouse is now valued at $4 billion, according to Bloomberg.

On April 27th, Michelle Breyer, Chief Operating Officer of SKU Accelerator, will be joining the Silicon Hills Tech Talk Club to discuss the success of consumer packaged goods companies in Austin.

Please join the Silicon Hills Tech Talk Club on Clubhouse and follow Laura Lorek to keep informed on future speakers and other special events.

The Zebra, an insurance comparison site, announced it has raised $150 million, giving the company a valuation of more than $1 billion.

The Zebra, founded in 2012, has raised $251.3 million to date including $38.5 million last February.

The Series D round came from new and former investors including Weatherford Capital and Accel, according to a news release.

The Zebra saw its revenue increase last year to $79 million, from $37 million in 2019 and it’s on track to hit $150 million this year, according to a news release. The company has also increased its staff to 325 employees, up from 200 employees in 2019. The staff has also pivoted to a fully remote model during the pandemic.

“This investment is going to be used to grow our team and build our brand. We are accelerating our efforts to make The Zebra a household name and help educate, empower and advise consumers to find the best policies for their unique needs, no matter where they are in their lives,” Keith Melnick, CEO of The Zebra, said in a news statement.

“As one of the earliest investors in The Zebra, this inflection point in the company’s history is something I’ve been eagerly anticipating. “Startup” isn’t the right word anymore. The Zebra is a full-fledged tech company that is taking on – and solving – some of the biggest challenges in the $638 Billion insurance industry,” Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

The Zebra did a national advertising campaign last year to increase consumer awareness. The company also added more tools and information for consumers, expanded its home and auto bundling capabilities, and more.

The Zebra’s investors include Accel, Silverton Partners, Ballast Point Ventures, Daher Capital, Floodgate Fund, The Zebra’s CEO Keith Melnick, Weatherford Capital, KDT, and others.

“We’ve been working with The Zebra since 2017 and the team is hitting their stride. As more of the insurance market goes digital, anyone who needs insurance will be able to successfully start their insurance search with us,” John Locke, partner at Accel, said in a news release.

Phishing, malware, and ransomware are increasingly becoming problematic for businesses as more employees work from remote locations and open them up to attack.

Cybercriminals can disrupt a business costing it time and money and putting its customers’ data and privacy at risk.

Intrigue, an Austin-based cybersecurity startup, is focused on protecting companies from attacks. On Tuesday, the company announced it has closed on a $2 million seed round led by Austin-based LiveOak Venture Partners. It plans to use the funds on product development of its Attack Surface Management platform. The funds will also foster the developer community around “Intrigue Core, the open-source asset discovery project that serves as the backbone of its enterprise solutions,” according to a news release.

Jonathan Cran founded Intrigue. He is a former principal at Rapid7, Bugcrowd, and Kenna Security, and an architect of multiple leading security technologies, standards, and frameworks. Intrigue focuses on addressing gaps in asset and vulnerability management. It partners with leading security teams to monitor and mitigate key information security risks.

“Intrigue began with the idea that security teams must be able to scale to enable innovation while also managing an ever-growing and changing attack surface. To do this well, however, requires deep visibility of assets and awareness of their exposure to threat actors,” Cran said in a news release. “In this transitional moment, where technology is becoming more dynamic and distributed, and in the wake of yet another unprecedented wave of breaches, we partnered with the team at LiveOak to quickly bring our solution to market. The founding team at Intrigue has spent years in the trenches exploring the problem set and building our open core. With this investment, we are now in a position to expand upon this foundation – investing in our enterprise solution and partnering deeply with our customers.”

As companies adopt new technologies, they have to stay on top of security threats. Intrigue helps them do that. It maps and secures all Internet-facing assets throughout an organization. As more companies move to provide cloud-based services, SaaS, and mobile products, they can put themselves at a greater risk of vulnerability and attack.

“You can’t secure what you can’t see, and with increased dynamism of IT environments from agile, cloud, and now work-from-home, there’s a lot more that security teams are likely unaware of.  Intrigue gives enterprises awareness of their entire public-facing footprint so they can monitor it and secure it,.” Creighton Hicks, Principal at LiveOak Venture Partners said in a news release.  “LiveOak is super excited about our partnership with Intrigue.  We move quickly and early when we see this rare combination of rapid customer adoption and a founding team that defines technical expertise. Intrigue’s ability to solve a very difficult problem via a simple and usable solution adds a lot of value to a lot of people and sets it apart from the standard market hype.”

Intrigue, with more than 1,000 customers, currently maps and monitors more than 120,000 organizations with more than 250 data sources.

Austin-based KdT Ventures announced a new $50 million fund to back early-stage science companies.

This is the company’s second fund. In 2017, KdT closed on a $15 million inaugural fund. The firm made 18 investments with that fund in early-stage science companies including PathAI, 54Gene, Checkerspot, Dyno Therapeutics, Terray, and Solugen.

KdT Ventures’ Fund II will focus on making investments in areas such as gene and biological circuit fabrication, novel delivery technologies, biomaterials innovation, and consumer biology. It has already invested in Elegen, Xilis, STRM, Abridge, Dimension Inx, and Andes.

“We believe that science is entering a golden age. We now have the source code to the physical world. Computation applied to biology and chemistry is redefining what’s possible in major industries from chemicals to agriculture to medicine,” Cain McClary, Founder and Managing Partner of KdT Ventures said in a news release. “The great investment of our lifetime is in companies rewriting the physical layer. With Fund II, we will steward the next-generation of science companies that are dramatically changing how the world works, from nano to whole earth scales.”

KdT has made investments in 24 seed-stage companies doing work in ground-breaking areas like synthetic biology and gene therapy. KdT, founded in 2017, has offices in Houston and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina.

“The KdT team speaks the language of science, making them an outlier in this area of venture investing,” JD Montgomery of Canterbury Consulting, a limited partner in KdT’s first and second fund, said in a news release. “They are passionate about building the science companies of the future that will tackle some of the significant challenges our world faces in the next decade and beyond.”