Announcements out of the Austin tech scene include a dating app acquisition, NFTs and new funding rounds. Catch up on the latest tech news in Silicon Hills. This is the Built In Austin weekly refresh.
Bumble acquired Fruitz. Austin-based Bumble Inc. announced it acquired European dating app Fruitz for an undisclosed amount. Fruitz uses fruit emojis to signal what type of relationship a person is looking for on the app. Bumble Inc. is the parent company of dating app Badoo as well as Bumble, a dating platform that gives women more control in their dating life. [Built In Austin]
Enboarder raised $32M. Enboarder is an Australian-founded company that created an engaging onboarding software. Enboarder raised $32 million in a Series B round that will allow the company to grow its platform. It will also double its employee headcount within the next year. Product and engineering roles are based in Australia while other positions such as marketing and sales are based at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Austin. U.S. employees can be considered for remote work. [Built In Austin]
AUSTIN TECH QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Wander raised $20M. Wander rents smart homes for those working remotely or vacationing. The company’s app allows visitors to control the home’s features, including unlocking the door. Wander raised $20 million in a Series A round led by QED Investors that will allow the company to expand its portfolio into other locations and grow its team. Wander originally limited bookings to founding members and has over 30,000 on the waitlist. Along with the funding announcement, the company announced booking will open to the waitlist and general public. There are currently five properties to rent. [Built In Austin]
Tesla plans to build a new facility in Austin. Telsa filed for a permit with the city of Austin to build another industrial facility called “Project Cathode.” The project could span up to 36 acres and will likely be used to produce cathodes for its EV batteries. Further details have not been released from the company or the city of Austin. [Austin Business Journal]
Oveit and Polygon Studios partnered. Oveit is a ticketing and digital sales platform that will now offer Oveit NFT, an end-to-end NFT ticketing solution. Oveit partnered with gaming and NFT platform Polygon to make the minting and selling of NFTs more accessible and affordable. The new solution will allow anyone to create and sell NFT tickets faster with almost no coding. [Built In Austin]
