StartVirginia: Heard Around Virginia July 2024

Auterion, a software maker for computing platforms that support drones and autonomous robotics systems, has relocated its headquarters to Arlington County from Moorpark, California, as it seeks to be closer to its defense-related customers. The company already had some of its 112 employees based in the Washington, D.C., metro area for several years, but Auterion’s new HQ at 3100 Clarendon Blvd. now serves as its global base of operations. It also maintains research and development offices in Munich, Germany, and Zürich, Switzerland. (DC Inno)

BetterWorld, a Charlottesville company that offers tools to help organizations raise funds, is bringing in some funding of its own. The company has raised $7.35 million in equity from five investors, according to a May 21 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Betterworld’s platform includes tools to set up auctions, raffles, crowdfunding, giveaways, ticketing and more charitable giving options. The company counts more than 95,000 users, including Boys & Girls Clubs, Make-A-Wish America, the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, and USA Cycling. (Richmond Inno)

Alexandria-based tech startup HyperSpectral raised $8.5 million in Series A funding, the company announced June 5. The round was co-led by New York-based RRE Ventures and Kibo Ventures, based in Spain, with participating venture capital firms including San Diego-based Correlation Ventures and San Francisco-based GC&H, the venture capital arm of Cooley. HyperSpectral uses spectroscopy to identify E. coli, salmonella, listeria and other dangerous pathogens for the agricultural and medical industries. (News release)

The River District Association in Danville awarded four businesses more than $52,000 in grants to open or expand their brick-and-mortar businesses in the city’s River District, the organization announced May 22. Nine businesses pitched, and four were awarded funding: Links Coffee House, awarded $13,000; Social Circle Content Marketing, awarded $8,000, plus a $2,500 Community Investment Collaborative grant prize; Nancy Parris Interiors, awarded $10,000; and Valkyrie Aerial Acrobatics, awarded $19,000. (News release)

As of early June, Arlington County cloud management startup Stacklet had raised $14.5 million in funding to help boost its workforce and product offerings. The close of the Series B round brings the company’s total outside investment to $36.5 million since its founding by CEO Travis Stanfield and Kapil Thangavelu in 2020. SineWave Ventures, a San Francisco early-stage venture capital firm with a dual headquarters in Washington, D.C., led the round. Other firms that participated in Stacklet’s latest funding round include McLean’s Capital One Ventures, Palo Alto, California’s Foundation Capital and San Francisco’s Uncorrelated Ventures. (DC Inno)

Virginia Peninsula-based Start Peninsula named three finalists during its May 16 micro-pitch competition: Growables, a Norfolk-based houseplant kit company; Lockgreen, a Suffolk-based company that makes locking stash boxes for cannabis; and Vix, a fitness app from Norfolk-based Beige, a company founded by three Virginia Tech alumni. Each will compete at a championship pitch event for $5,000 in November, along with winners of three other micro-pitch contests held this year. (News release)

PEOPLE

Glen Allen-based fintech Koalafi has named Eric Kobe as president, the company announced May 17. He manages day-to-day operations and reports to Boomer Muth, the company’s CEO. Most recently, Kobe was CEO of Groundspeed, an insurance startup, and before that, held various management positions at Affirm, a leading buy-now, pay-later consumer financing company. “At Affirm, I witnessed the challenges that nearly 50% of prospective customers faced when denied credit,” Kobe said in a statement. “This represents a critical gap in financial access for an underserved population needing to make important purchases.” (News release)