A number of small rounds went to Bay Area companies last week, helping fuel the early-stage developments of tomorrow’s tech solutions. Check out what these innovators have in the works with the Built In SF Weekly Refresh.
Mayfield pulled in $955M. The investment firm closed on two new rounds of funding. The Mayfield XVII fund is $580 million and will go toward Seed and Series A rounds for IT and biology companies at the inception or early customer adoption stage. Mayfield Select III, otherwise known as Mayfield Spring, will allot the remaining $375 million toward Series B rounds for Mayfield’s breakout portfolio companies and new companies. [VentureBeat]
Oura acquired Proxy. Operating in the consumer wearables space, Oura developed a smart ring that provides users with health data and daily guidance. The company announced its acquisition of Proxy, developer of a digital identity signal solution. The deal will allow Oura to expand and further innovate its tech stack. [Oura]
SF Tech Quote of the Week
“Our program offers a customized curriculum tailored to each startup’s specific industry, stage and goals. Additionally, we hand-select advisors for each startup based on their industry expertise, skillset and background, ensuring that they receive the most relevant and impactful guidance.” — Marlon Evans, CEO of Nex Cubed.
Nex Cubed announced its first cohort. Bay Area-based Nex Cubed launched the HBCU Founders Accelerator program for companies where a founding member is an HBCU student, graduate or faculty member. The eight startups in the program’s inaugural cohort will receive up to $500,000 in funding and Nex Cubed’s mentorship to grow their business. One participating startup, a social networking platform called Allpeep, has a founder based near San Francisco. [Email]
Getaround acquired HyreCar. Getaround, an operator of a peer-to-peer car rental marketplace, acquired HyreCar, a car rental marketplace that serves gig workers, for $9.45 million. The deal, expected to close on May 16, will help Getaround further pursue profitability and scale its solution. [Business Wire]
In more VC funding news: Salsa’s API solution works to help developers launch payroll features on their own products. Its $10 million raise was co-led by Greycroft and Better Tomorrow Ventures. [Business Wire]
San Jose-based PermitFlow raised $5.5 million led by Initialized Capital to further its construction permit application and management software. [Business Wire]
Sunnyvale-based generative AI company Orby AI launched out of stealth with $4.5 million in seed funding led by Pear VC and New Enterprise Associates. [PR Newswire]
Olyns, a recycling tech company headquartered in San Jose, secured $4 million led by Vanedge Capital to accelerate AI tech development and expand its recycling and media network. [PR Newswire]
Working to better enable self-expression over mobile communications, HiNOTE secured $1.9 million in funding from investors like Marc Benioff and Peter Thiel. [TechCrunch]
