Monday “Fund” Day – Week of Jan 29, 2024

What better way to start off a new week than to take a quick look back at the big headlines from last week? Our Monday “Fund” Day series can get you all caught up on the major startup headlines from last week…and get you prepped for all the important events and deadlines you need to know for your business. Here’s what happened the week of January 29, 2024 across the Southeast tech scene: 

 

Funding Rounds

* Atlanta-based The Zero Proof, a nonalcoholic spirits brand, raised a Series A funding round from Asahi Group Beverages and participation from Atlanta-based Overline and Springdale Ventures.

* Florida-based Cleantech startup ecoSPEARS, that focuses on eliminating forever chemicals, raised a $2 million venture round on February 1, per Crunchbase. 

* Orlando-based startup Kore.AI, an AI-powered virtual assistant company, raised a $150 million Series D, per Crunchbase.  

Who is in building mode 

  • PadSplit, the Atlanta-based startup looking at changing how we think about housing options, reached an impressive milestone this week with 10,000 co-living rooms available across the US. 
  • LASSO, the software platform for managing live events, announces the appointment of five veteran software industry executives to leadership positions within the company: Julie Edwards (Vice President of Customer Success); Christy Petrosso (Sr. Vice President of Product and Data); Danielle Porter-Condon (Vice President of Marketing); Kevin Wilson (Vice President of Technical Operations); and Anthony Zhang (Vice President of Sales).
  • Atlanta-based nanomaterials startup Carbice announced a new collaboration with  with Blue Canyon Technologies, Inc. as a key supplier of aligned carbon nanotechnology (CNT) solutions for critical spacecraft programs. 
  • VC firm SpringTime Ventures announced the promotion of Allyson Plosko to partner. Plosko has been building up the Denver-based firm’s presence in Atlanta
  • Arian Simone of the VC firm Fearless Fund just launched a new podcast, Fearlessly Living, with some impressive first few guests joining to talk about tech and culture 

 

For The Week Ahead:

Getting into the right accelerators and programs are essential for early-stage startups. Here are some important deadlines coming up in February that startups need to know:

*UGA Venture Prize Competition – Feb 14

* Innovate Alabama Supplemental Grant Program – Feb 16

* TAG-Ed High School Internship Program – Feb 23