#27: (10/14/24) Early & Growth Stage Tech Startup Funding Recap!
Check Out This Week's Venture Capital Investment Summary Spanning Early & Growth-Stage US Based Environmental Technology & Enterprise Software Startups!
Every Monday, the team here at Bearhug Recruiting aggregates, researches, and publishes a recap of the prior week's fundraising activity within the early and growth-stage Environmental Technology & Enterprise Software startup ecosystem.
This research not only allows us to keep our finger on the pulse of the markets we serve, but also benefits others who, like us, enjoy analyzing the latest trends that signal investor confidence AND startup growth within what we believe are the most exciting and impactful segments!
We also hope the people and companies we feature enjoy both a virtual fist bump from the team at Bearhug, plus benefit from some additional free market exposure to amplify their mission. Make sure you reach out to any that are interesting/relevant that you might be able to help!
Here’s this week’s startup funding recap:
Lithios, led by Mo Alkhadra, has raised a $12 million Seed funding round. Lithios develops electrochemical lithium extraction technology designed to efficiently extract lithium from untapped brine deposits. Its Advanced Lithium Extraction (ALE) technology enables miners and operators to access lithium sources previously considered uneconomical due to contaminant profiles and resource constraints. This solution is critical for the battery supply chain, helping to unlock new lithium resources while increasing the sustainability of lithium production. The funds will be used to scale R&D, manufacturing, and operations, as well as accelerate the development of commercial projects aimed at producing thousands of tons of lithium carbonate annually. The round was led by Clean Energy Ventures (Temple Fennell, Dan Goldman), with participation from TechEnergy Ventures, GS Futures (Taehong Huh, Aaron Toppston), Lowercarbon Capital (Chris Sacca), MassCEC, and an additional $2M in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank. [Link] #Chemical Manufacturing Platform #Lithium Extraction Tech #Sustainability Tech #Environmental Technology #Environmental Engineering
Airloom, led by Neal Rickner, has raised a $13.75 million Seed funding round. Airloom Energy is a renewable energy company specializing in wind power. The company is developing scalable wind turbines that can be mass-manufactured and deployed in a variety of locations. This technology aims to provide an affordable and efficient solution to increase wind energy production and meet the growing demand for renewable energy sources. The funds will be used to develop a pilot project in Wyoming to demonstrate the system's power production and efficiency. The round was led by Lowercarbon Capital (Clay Dumas), with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures (Rodi Guidero, Chris Rivest), WYVC, Crosscut Ventures (Rick Smith, Brian Garrett), WovenEarth Ventures, Adiuvans, and the Kutnick Family Office. Kudos to MCJ (Cody Simms, David Aronoff) for participating in prior funding rounds as well. [Link] #Renewable Energy #Wind Tech #ClimateTech #Sustainability Tech #Environmental Technology #Energy Generation Tech
Corvus Robotics, led by Jackie Wu, has raised $18 million in Series A funding. Corvus Robotics provides autonomous inventory management systems using drones. Its flagship product, Corvus One, uses AI-powered warehouse drones to navigate aisles, detect obstacles, and scan barcodes autonomously. These drones provide real-time, accurate inventory management in warehouses and production plants, allowing businesses to streamline operations and reduce errors. The drones are designed to operate safely alongside people, forklifts, and other robots, ensuring minimal workflow disruption. The funds will be used to expand operations and further develop the company's technology. The round was led by S2G Ventures (Arthur Chow, Aaron Rudberg, Sanjeev Krishnan) and Spero Ventures (Marc Tarpenning, Shripriya Mahesh, Andrew Parker). [Link] #Warehouse Robotics Solutions #Robotics #Drone Management #Drone Data #Drone Inventory Inspection #Computer Vision
Unify, led by Austin Hughes, has raised $19 million in Series A and Seed funding. Unify provides a go-to-market technology platform designed to enable revenue teams to enhance customer interactions. The platform combines AI agents, email sequencing, intent signals, and integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot to automate repetitive tasks. With the introduction of Unify 2.0, the company launched features like Plays and AI Agents, helping teams boost creativity and execution speed by automating over 90% of repetitive tasks, enabling personalized customer engagement. The funds will be used to grow the team, expand operations, and enhance product offerings. The round was led by existing investors Emergence Capital (Jake Saper, Yaz El-Baba) and Thrive Capital (Vince Hankes, Avery Klemmer), with participation from OpenAI Startup Fund, Neo, Abstract Ventures (Ramtin Naimi, Alex Davidov), 20Sales, and Alt Capital (Jack Altman). [Link] #GTM Platform #SalesTech #MarTech #AI Agent #Sales Intelligence Software #Sales Acceleration Software #Sales Automation Software #Sales Productivity Software
Blue Energy, led by Jake Jurewicz, has raised $45 million in Series A funding. Blue Energy is developing modular nuclear power plants that can be built in shipyards to reduce construction time and costs. These reactor-agnostic plants provide zero-emission baseload electricity at a competitive price compared to fossil fuels and renewables. By partnering with reactor vendors, Blue Energy is accelerating the time to market for its modular plants, contributing to the global transition to sustainable energy sources. The funds will be used to advance engineering, site development, and secure additional partners for the company’s projects. The round was led by Engine Ventures (Michael Kearney, Katie Rae) and At One Ventures (Tom Chi, Laurie Menoud, Lisa Noeltner), with participation from Angular Ventures, Tamarack Global, Propeller Ventures, Starlight Ventures (Matias Mosse, Andras Forgacs), and Nucleation Capital. [Link] #CleanTech #Clean Energy #Environmental Technology #Sustainability Tech #Renewable Energy #Nuclear Technology #Energy Generation Tech
Drawer AI, led by Den Lavrik, has raised a $5 million Seed funding round. Drawer AI is an AI-powered estimating system designed specifically for the electrical trade. It uses advanced machine learning to automate the preconstruction estimating process, making it faster and easier for electrical contractors. By coming out of stealth mode with six industry-leading electrical contractors already using the platform, Drawer AI is poised to transform the estimating process for the electrical industry by improving efficiency and accuracy. The funds will be used for product expansion, scaling the team, and customer acquisition. The round was led by Brick & Mortar Ventures (Kaustubh Pandya, Darren Bechtel, Curtis Rodgers), with participation from Base10 Partners (Adeyemi Ajao, TJ Nahigian). [Link] #Pre-Construction Software #ConTech #Environmental Technology #Artificial Intelligence #Construction Bidding & Estimating Tech
Molg, led by Rob Lawson-Shanks, has raised a $5.5 million Seed funding round. Molg is a robotic microfactory company focused on autonomously disassembling complex electronic products like laptops and servers. By recovering valuable components and materials, Molg aims to keep these items in supply chains and out of landfills. The company works with manufacturers to design electronics for circularity, ensuring that products are built with reuse in mind. Molg has already installed robotic disassembly microfactories at major ITAD facilities and is working with companies like HP, Dell, and ABB. The funds will be used to scale production capacity and meet customer demand for circularity and automation. The round was led by Closed Loop Partners (Aly Bryan, Danielle Joseph, Meredith Vass), with participation from Amazon Climate Pledge Fund (Sam LaPierre), ABB Robotics & Automation Ventures, Overture, Elemental Impact, and Techstars. [Link] #Circular Manufacturing #Circular Economy #Robotics #Manufacturing Tech #Waste Management Tech #Environmental Technology #Sustainability Tech
Third Dimension, led by Tolga Kart, has raised a $6.9 million Seed funding round. Third Dimension is a 3D generation company that uses generative AI to convert 2D images and videos into 3D environments. The company provides high-quality, rendering engine-ready content for professionals across industries, including the military, video game developers, and autonomous vehicle companies. Third Dimension is creating large-scale, usable environments, whether they are digital twins of real-world places or completely virtual worlds. The company operates in locations in the UK and Turkey. The funds will be used to expand the team and further train generative AI models. The round was led by Felicis (Aydin Senkut, Niki Pezeshki, Victoria Treyger), with participation from Abstract Ventures, MVP Ventures (Weston Moyer), Soma Capital, and the Salt Fund. [Link] #3D Technology #Generative AI #Artificial Intelligence #Environmental Technology
Numeric, led by Parker Gilbert, has raised a $28 million Series A funding round. Numeric provides an AI accounting automation platform that automates tasks involved in the month-end close process, such as balance sheet reconciliations and variance explanations. By leveraging AI, Numeric's platform helps companies streamline financial workflows and ensure accuracy in accounting processes. Customers of Numeric include prominent companies like OpenAI, Brex, and Plaid, who rely on the platform to automate their accounting functions and reduce manual workloads. The funds will be used to accelerate engineering hiring and product development. The round was led by Menlo Ventures (Croom Beatty), with participation from IVP, Socii Capital, Founders Fund (Peter Thiel), 8VC (Drew Oetting), Long Journey (Lee Jacobs, Mike Wang), Access Industries, and Friends & Family Capital (Colin Anderson). [Link] #Finance and Accounting Software #Accounting Automation Platform #Artificial Intelligence #Finance Automation
Tildei, led by Mark Ghermezian, has raised a $6 million Seed funding round. Tildei is a conversational marketing platform that helps brands engage with their customers through AI-powered conversations. The platform supports channels like Instagram and WhatsApp, allowing marketers to create meaningful conversations that capture data and convert customers. By leveraging AI, Tildei enables marketers to personalize interactions and automate responses across social channels. The company plans to add more channels to its platform, expanding customer engagement opportunities. The funds will be used to further develop the platform’s AI capabilities, expand channel support, and grow the team. The round was led by Susa Ventures (Chad Byers), with participation from Ludlow Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Vine Ventures, MXV Capital, and angel investors Ben Lang, Jason Lemkin, Marcelo Claure, and Nik Sharma. [Link] #MarTech #Conversational AI #Marketing Ops Tech #Customer Engagement Software #Customer Data Platform #Artificial Intelligence
*Note: The companies we feature in our weekly recap are a very small subset of a much larger batch, carefully chosen based on our team's assessment of how each company aligns with our GTM search practice. It’s worth noting that most startups raise funding rounds privately, often long before the news is announced publicly!
