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Busy week for those who were at Venture Atlanta! If you missed anything, don’t worry. We have the latest….
Funding News
* Wilmington, North Carolina-based Vantaca, the AI-first community association management platform, announced a $300+ million minority growth investment led by Cove Hill Partners at a $1.25 billion valuation. Press release here.
* August, Georgia-based cybersecurity company Conceal raised a $26 million Series B, per Crunchbase.
* Miami-based MedTech OneImaging raised a $31 million Series A.
* North Carolina beauty startup The Bardot raised a $318k+ seed round.
* Atlanta-based PromptWrx took home the top check of $375,000 at the Startup Showcase LIVE pitch competition at Venture Atlanta. The investment prize came from Knoll Venture, Front Porch Venture Partners, Cofounders Capital, Silicon Road Ventures, and TiE Atlanta.
* SetSale, an AI-powered sales enablement platform transforming how the HVAC industry connects manufacturers, distributors, contractors, and homeowners, received an investment from North Carolina-based Primordial Ventures. More here.
Acquisition News
* Charleston, South Carolina-based Sprockets was acquired by a Seattle-based company. We have the scoop here.
Top Hypepotamus Stories
Dive into a new CBRE report that explores the tech talent pool across the Southeast.
In Other News
* Digital AI is establishing its new HQ in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Triangle Business Journal has more.
* California-based Radiant announced with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee that it will build its first factory on a Manhattan Project site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Full press release here.
* The Thriving Cities Fund, a partnership created in partnership with fintech startup Homegrown and Atlanta unicorn Flock Safety, has officially launched in North Carolina. The fund provides flexible, non-dilutive capital to brick-and-mortar businesses that serve as neighborhood anchors. More here.
* In sad news, Doug Lebda, founder and CEO of Charlotte-based fintech company LendingTree, died Sunday following an all-terrain vehicle accident. He was 55. Axios report here.
What Else To Read
* Making Advocacy The New Face Of Data from Tech Square ATL
* What metro Atlanta can learn from Charlotte’s economic mobility story from The Saporta Report
People & Companies To Know
NC Tech announced the finalists for its awards, hosted on December 9. All the category finalists can be found here, but these are the Top Ten Startups To Watch across the state:
BuilderPad (Raleigh)
CareHome (Wilmington)
Fastbreak AI (Charlotte)
Franzy (Charlotte)
Nimble Energy (Carrboro)
Scale Social AI (Raleigh-Durham)
Skillmaker (Carolina Beach)
Sunlight (Cary)
Troodie (Winston-Salem)
Virnika (Chapel Hill)
* TiE Atlanta, Emory University’s Goizueta Business School announced that Jack Markwalter, Chief Executive Officer of VIVA Finance, will be the keynote speaker for the group’s Siggie Awards celebration during AngelCon ATL on November 11, 2025.
Upcoming Deadlines
- The Siggie Awards nominations (Atlanta) – Oct 17
- Global Student Entrepreneur Awards – Oct 31
- Emory Entrepreneur Awards – Oct 31
- VILLAGEx Accelerator (New Orleans) – Nov 2
- Chief AI and Data Officer Certificate Program – Dec 5
- Techstars Catalyst Emory (Atlanta) – Dec 5
