What companies are finding funding or having a big exit? From startup investments to grants to acquisitions, Dallas Innovates tracks what’s happening in North Texas money every Thursday. Sign up for our e-newsletter to stay in the loop.
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Women In Their Prime raises $1M in equity funding
Women In Their Prime LLC of Dallas reported to the SEC that it raised $1 million of a $1.3 million equity-only funding round.
PrimeWomen.com is an online publication for women over the age of 50. It describes itself as a lifestyle guide for “living well not just living long.”
Founded by “entrepreneurial prime women,” the media outlet is led by Dorthy Miller Shore as president and CEO. The women behind PRiME also include Dallas’ Valerie Freeman (CEO of Imprimis Group, Inc., BravoTech, Freeman+Leonard, ANSERTEAM) and British entrepreneur Jan Fletcher (Chairman of Bee Health Ltd, Rougemont Estates Ltd, Bacara Wealth Ltd, and Raven St.). Shore previously was founder and CEO of the Miller Ad Agency.
RS2 Ventures raises $11.02M in funding
Dallas-based fintech RS2 Ventures, which specializes in card issuing and merchant acquiring solutions under the brand name BandWORKS, has raised all $11.02 million in a funding round.
According to the filing, $47,225 of the funding will be used for payments to people who will be named as executive officers, directors, or promoters.
The company provides services for financial institutions, and in 2009, it expanded to include the processing of payment transactions.
Take Command Health completes $1.5M in bridge funding
Dallas-based healthcare startup Take Command Health has completed a bridge funding round, reaching its goal of $1.5 million.
No details of the new plans have been released.
“With another successful fundraising round behind us, we are excited to use this new momentum to prepare for an entirely new way of thinking about group benefits,” Take Command CEO Jack Hooper said in a statement.
Group Island Spirit raises $500K in equity round
Group Island Spirit LLC, a Thailand-based maker of catamaran boats with a U.S. headquarters in Fort Worth, announced in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange that it raised $500,000 in an equity funding round from 22 investors.
According to its website, Group Island Spirit was introduced into the U.S. and Caribbean charter market in 1998. The filing did not indicate what the funding would be used for.
Cuban company invests in pet food maker
Mark Cuban’s investment company Radical Investments LP is one of seven investors in California-based Wild Earth, a producer of foods for dogs and cats in various age ranges, according to Crunchbase.
Founded in 2017, Wild Earth is headquartered in Berkeley, California.
Other investors include Veginvest, Vectr, Mars Petcare, Founders Fund, Felicis Ventures, and Bits X Bites.
CareView Communications raises $50K in debt funding
Lewisville-based healthcare technology company CareView Communications Inc. said in a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it raised $50,000 in a debt-only funding round.
In 2018, CareView raised more than $3 million.
CareView is an information technology provider to the healthcare industry specializing in bedside video monitoring, archiving and patient-care documentation systems, and patient entertainment services.
Through telecommunication technology, CareView’s products and on-demand services increase access to quality medical care and education for both consumers and healthcare professionals. CareView’s Clinical Safety System is used in roughly 10,000 beds in more than 100 hospitals across the country, according to the company website.
CG Environmental raises equity funding round
Fort Worth-based CG Environmental raised an unreleased amount of funding in a private equity round, according to Crunchbase.
Denver-based Silver Creek Partners led the round.
CG Environmental, also known as The Cleaning Guys, offers hazardous and nonhazardous material cleanup and disposa, as well as field services, and emergency response services for commercial and municipal customers in Texas and Colorado.
AT&T participates in Unruly Studios’ seed round
Dallas-based tech and communications giant AT&T Inc. participated in a $1.8 million seed funding round for Unruly Studios, a Boston-based edtech startup that enables children to learn STEM and coding skills.
The round was led by eCoast Angels. Additional companies participating includes Amazon Alexa Fund, Rough Draft Ventures powered by General Catalyst, Techstars, LearnLaunch, and NextFab.
The money will be used to grow the company’s team and build a user community.
Other funding
Irving-based hedge fund Vemuri Investment Partnership LP reported in an amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has raised $32,672,259.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Dallas company’s subsidiary completes $7M acquisition of 2 businesses
A subsidiary of Dallas-based DGSE Cos. Inc. announced that it has completed acquisition of the de-manufacturing and IT-asset-disposition assets of Echo Environmental LLC and ITAD USA LLC in a deal valued at nearly $7 million.
The subsidiary, Corrent Resources LLC, agreed to buy all of the assets, rights, and interests of the Echo Entities for $6,925,978, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
DGSE said that the acquisition of the businesses advances its strategy to expand its presence in the environmentally friendly recommerce sector.
Hoffman Southwest makes major acquisition
Hoffman Southwest, a portfolio company of ORIX Capital Partners has acquired Accumark Inc., Pipe Vision, and Benchmark VA Subsurface Utility Services.
Hoffman Southwest, a provider of water flow inspection, repair and cleaning services, said the deal will bolster its East Coast presence in the underground pipeline assessment and repair space.
The deal closed May 16, and it marks HSW’s second acquisition since ORIX Capital bought the company in 2017. ORIX Capital is a subsidiary of Dallas-headquartered ORIX Corp. USA.
READ NEXT
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R E A D N E X T
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Five local winners received up to $200,000 in funding to activate their solutions throughout North Texas.
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High schoolers who focused on the mental, emotional aspects of health care dominated the hackathon. That's especially impressive, considering that of the 14 teams competing, four were high school teams, eight were college teams, and two were professional teams. See the top three winning submissions here.
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The award from the National Institutes of Health will help HSC lead the AI/Machine Learning Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity, or AIM-AHEAD, program. The effort will bring together experts in community engagement, AI/ML, health equity research, data science training, and data infrastructure.
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Two nonprofits will each receive $250,000 in grant funding. The Capital One grants are part of a $3.5 million commitment to 12 nonprofit organizations.
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The noninvasive technology—developed in collaboration with Austin-based Shani Biotechnologies—may enable real-time monitoring of vital blood parameters like hemoglobin, without taking blood samples or using expensive equipment. It could be especially useful for monitoring people of color, helping to close racial disparities in health care diagnostics.
