June 01, 2022
Funding wrap: Redbud Brands scores $46M to back CPG startups; Austin company joins Y Combinator
KERV Interactive has made a name for itself by turning video files into interactive consumer shopping experiences using AI and other emerging tech. Now it has $12 million in new growth capital to expand and advance its capabilities. The new funding was led by Trinity Capital, which provided $7.5 million in financing, along with Plaza Ventures and Vestech Partners. KERV has now raised $30 million. KERV, led by CEO Gary Mittman, says 90 million unique users have seen video ads it has worked on. Earlier this year, the company announced its AI and machine learning tech would be integrated with TikTok to streamline and automate the creation of TikTok ads. The company operates legally as Grabit Interactive Media Inc.
Austin startup HeatGenie Inc., now going by HeatGen, reported in a May 25 securities filing raising $8.7 million in equity funding. The company, which makes self-heating packaging for beverages and other products, raised a $6 million round in 2018 and a $2.5 million round last year, SEC filings show. It has raised a total of $12 million since its founding in 2007. HeatGen is led by CEO Mark Turner; its board includes Walter Robb, an investor and former Whole Foods Market co-CEO.
Wander.com Inc., an Austin startup that specializes in helping people rent “smart” vacation homes, reported in a May 25 securities filing it raised $5 million in new equity funding from five investors. It came just three months after the company raised a $20 million series A from Redpoint Ventures, Vibe Capital, Kevin Durant and others. Wander, founded in May 2021 by John Andrew Entwistle, said in February that it had more than 30,000 users. The company owns the homes it rents out, and each come with automated, app-based features like remote door locks and light controls, as well as a Tesla, which renters can use during their stay.
Fetii Inc., an Austin-based ridehailing startup, has been accepted into the prestigious Y Combinator accelerator program, which brings with it $500,000 in new funding. The company has raised about $580,000 of a $1 million crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder, and it has also landed funding from Capital Factory, according to Crunchbase. The startup bills itself as the Uber for large groups, and its vans have transported more than 26,000 passengers. Its WeFunder page also shows it has a $5 million-plus revenue run rate. It operates in Austin, College Station and Lubbock, and it has its sights set on Nashville, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Fetii currently has six full-time employees and more than 45 drivers on its platform. It plans to expand headcount by around 20 in coming months.
Investment firms
Austin- and Los Angeles-based Redbud Brands LLC has raised $46 million in new funding to create, fund and scale consumer packaged goods startups.
The round was led by Dallas-based Satori Capital. Other investors included Sands Capital, VMG Partners and angel investors. It previously raised $6.5 million in 2020.
Redbud, founded in 2020 by Brian Goldberg, operates as a venture studio. It has launched brands include SunDaze, a low sugar fermented juice-based cocktail, and Napjitsu, a supplement designed to boost performance and productivity.
The firm has plenty of experience behind it. Prior to Redbud, Goldberg was chief financial officer of Amplify Snack Brands, maker of SkinnyPop popcorn, which was acquired by The Hershey Company in 2017 for an estimated $1.6 billion. He is also a managing director at investment bank CapStream Group, as well as an investor in several Austin startups and VC firms. Meanwhile, Operating Partner John Ferrari is a former executive at Urban Decay, which sold to L'Oreal.
Redbud gives its portfolio companies shared services, in addition to mentorship and access to capital. The new money will be used to make key hires and launch new products.
“We believe that this venture studio model will become a more prominent component of the consumer venture/PE ecosystem going forward,” Goldberg stated. “Our investors have strong belief in our model that supports our Founders/GMs in what we call a ‘managed entrepreneurial’ setting."
True Wealth Ventures, an Austin VC firm focused on backing women founders, is planning to raise a $5 million venture fund called True Wealth Ventures Fund II-A LP, according to a May 26 SEC filing. The firm, led by Sara Brand and Kerry Rupp, raised a $19 million fund in 2018. Last year, the firm filed paperwork showing plans to raise a $30 million second fund, which is separate from the planned $5 million A LP fund. True Wealth's portfolio includes Austin-based Unaliwear, as well as Houston-based BrainCheck.
Get ABJ's latest list of local venture capital firms here, and see the list of angel investors here. A list of local startup incubators can be found here.