An Austin startup wants to make it rain (more)
SPACs may not be as trendy as they were a few years ago, but they're still a thing. Case in point: A new Austin startup called Rain Enhancement Technologies Inc. is planning to merge with blank check company dMY Technology Group VI to take the company public on the New York Stock Exchange.
While no exact timeline is set, founder and CEO Mike Nefkens, formerly CEO at Austin-based Resideo, told Inno he expects the company to be listed under the ticker "RANY" on the NYSE in the first half of 2023. The deal is expected to give the company a pro forma valuation of $200M, but much remains to be seen as the merger develops. Keep reading to learn more about how the company's ionization technology helps pull more rain out of storms.
Report: A $5B year for Austin startups
After a record-setting year for venture capital funding in Austin in 2021, the market settled down ever so slightly in 2022. Investments in Austin area startups fell from $5.4B in 2021 to right around $5B last year, according to a new report by The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and Opportunity Austin, in partnership with startup data company Dealroom.co.
A few massive funding deals help push the local ecosystem's funding numbers to near record levels. The largest was the $675M series C round raised by Elon Musk's The Boring Company in April. That was the biggest round ever for a locally-based company, although Boring had only recently planted its headquarters in the Austin area. Energy Exploration Technologies Inc., which does business as EnergyX, landed the second-largest round of 2022 with a $450M commitment from private equity firm Global Emerging Markets in July. See the other top deals and read additional analysis here.
A new CFO at Zilliant
Austin price optimization software maker Zilliant said Jan. 5 it has appointed Rick Sorensen as CFO. He was most recently CFO at software maker Vitech. Before that, he was CFO at Stack Sports and Insurity. Last year, Zilliant named Pascal Yammine as CEO to replace former CEO Greg Peters, who took on an advisory role as an investor and board member. And back in 2021, Chicago-based PE firm Madison Dearborn Partners acquired Zilliant for an undisclosed price. Prior to that, the company had raised about $92M since its founding in 1999 by Peter Zandan, according to Crunchbase.