Houston venture group leads Austin-based tech company's $8M series A round

spruced

Spruce, founded by Ben Johnson in Houston, has announced a $8 million series A round and a plan to continue expansion. Photo courtesy of Spruce

A Houston-founded startup that designed an app-based service for apartment dwellers has closed an $8 million series A led by Houston-based Mercury Fund.

Spruce, which was founded in Houston in 2016 as Apartment Butler before rebranding and relocating to Austin, announced the close of its latest round this week. The startup partners with multifamily companies to provide concierge-like services, such as cleaning, dog walking, and even COVID-19 sanitation.

"Spruce is changing how people live in their homes," says Ben Johnson, founder and CEO, in a news release. "Today's apartment community is a vibrant micro-economy for services and goods, and Spruce efficiently channels these interactions into a single marketplace. This Series A will expand our offerings to more residents and properties as well as continue our national roll-out."

Mercury Fund also invested in the company's seed round last year, and since that funding, Spruce has expanded out of state and into nine new markets. According to the release, the company, which still has an office in houston, has 40 employees and over 760 properties with 230,000 units on its platform.

"Spruce has perfected their market model and built a best-in-class team. Their resilience and growth during this unprecedented time have impressed us, and we are excited to continue on this journey with them," says Blair Garrou, managing director at Mercury Fund, in the release.

Houston-based Sweat Equity Partners, a new Spruce investor, also contributed to the round. Andrew White, president of the investment group, will also join the board of directors.

"Spruce is building a valuable platform focused on delivering outstanding home services under the unique requirements of the multi-family segment," says White in the release.

Steven Pho, an Austin-based entrepreneur and investor previously with Favor Delivery and RetailMeNot, will also join the board.

"Spruce has an amazing opportunity to quickly and cost effectively reach a mass market through their partnerships with national property managers," Pho says in the release. "This unique channel strategy differentiates Spruce from their competitors and enables them to rapidly achieve scale and density in new markets."

Spruce's platform is available across 760 multifamily properties. Photo via GetSpruce.com

Houston-founded Spruce has added some new services to help sanitize multifamily facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Getty Images

Houston-founded startup launches new COVID-19-focused sanitizing services

keeping clean

A startup that provides concierge services — like cleaning and dog walking — to apartment renters has expanded its services to outside the apartment units to help multifamily properties with sanitization and disinfection services to protect their communities from COVID-19.

Austin-based Spruce, which was founded in Houston in 2016 and still has an office locally, has a new suite of services for disinfecting common areas — like leasing offices, hallways, mail rooms, etc. — using EPA-compliant chemicals.

"Now, more than ever, it is critical for apartment communities to make sure their common areas are regularly decontaminated and disinfected to help slow the spread of the coronavirus and to prevent as many infections as possible," says Ben Johnson, founder and CEO of Spruce, in a statement.

The services include a weekly disinfectant of high-touch spots — like door handles and elevator buttons — as well as a weekly comprehensive cleaning that involves mopping, surface cleaning, and vacuuming. The startup also offers a bimonthly fogging service that can completely cover both indoor and outdoor areas with disinfectant. This solution can protect surfaces for months, according to the news release.

"This is an unprecedented public health crisis, and we worked closely with our clients to determine the biggest need and hope these services will give apartment communities one more weapon to use in the fight against COVID-19 and will help give both operators and their residents peace of mind," Johnson continues in the release.

Spruce still offers its usual suite of services for individual apartment units such as daily chores and housekeeping and pet care, but extra precautions have been added since the coronavirus outbreak. The service providers are required to go through temperature checks before entering the properties. They also wear gloves, changing them out between units, and are incorporating paper products when able.

Since its founding, Spruce, which used to be called Apartment Butler, has expanded throughout the state and into South Florida, Denver, and Salt Lake City. Spruce has raised over $6 million in venture capital, per Crunchbase data, and that includes funds from Houston institutions like Mercury Fund, the Houston Angel Network, and Fitz Gate Ventures, as well as Austin-based Capital Factory.

Apartment Butler has reemerged as Spruce with fresh funds to take the company to Denver and beyond. Photo via GetSpruce.com

Houston startup rebrands, closes $3 million investment round, and plans first out-of-state expansion

Spruced up

A Houston startup that coordinates hospitality services — such as cleaning, dog walking, etc. — has recently cleaned up itself, with a fresh rebranding and new funds to further develop the company.

Spruce (née Apartment Butler) has closed a venture capital round at $3 million. Princeton, New Jersey-based Fitz Gate Ventures led the round with three Texas investors: Houston-based Mercury Fund, the Houston Angel Network, and Austin-based Capital Factory, which recently announced its Houston outpost.

The fresh funds will allow for Spruce to expand its services out of Texas for the first time. Denver will be the first non-Texas market for the company, according to a news release. The funds will also go toward sales, marketing, and software development scaling.

"We could not be more appreciative of the support from these outstanding investors," says Ben Johnson, founder and CEO of Spruce, in the release. "Since our founding, we have grown aggressively as more and more apartment communities have seen the demand for hotel-inspired services increase dramatically. We look forward to continuing our strategic, rapid growth with this funding that will play a critical role in that expansion."

Last month, Apartment Butler rebranded into Spruce to better represent the company and its market disrupting features, according to a news release.

"Since our inception just a few short years ago, we have experienced an incredible rate of growth, demonstrating the demand residents have for hotel-inspired services in their apartment homes," says Johnson in the June 25 release. "We believe the new Spruce brand name better connects with consumers and reflects the full range of services we have to offer."

Spruce's services include daily chores, housekeeping, pet care (dog walking, pet sitting, etc.), and laundry and dry cleaning. Spruce has a B-to-B-to-C model in which it works with apartment communities to broker partnership deals to reach their residents.

Late last summer, Johnson closed a $2 million seed round for his company and expanded the company to Austin, hinting at the out-of-state growth being in the near future for the startup.



Apartment dwellers that live in a Spruce-partner community can access services through an app or desktop interface.Photo via GetSpruce.com

These five companies are starting 2019 out with some cash, and here's what they plan on doing with it. Getty Images

5 Houston startups beginning 2019 with new capital

Venture adventures

Finding growing Houston startups is as easy as following the money, and a few local companies are starting 2019 strong with a recent round of funding closed. InnovationMap has rounded up a few recent raises to highlight heading into the new year.

Apartment Butler

Ben Johnson's business idea turned into a growing company making the lives of apartment dwellers easier. Courtesy of Apartment Butler

Apartment Butler closed a $2 million seed funding round in October that was led by Houston-based Mercury Fund. The Houston startup partners with apartment communities to streamline services — like cleaning or dog walking — for residents.

Founder Ben Johnson recently spoke with InnovationMap about his career and the company. He says the company plans to launch in Austin this month and another market in March. Apartment Butler will also expand to microservices — smaller services that have only been available to the rich before.

The funding reportedly is being used to expand the company's footprint as well as make competitive hires.

Data Gumbo

blockchain

Blockchain-as-a-service company, Data Gumbo, closed its seed fund with more money than it planned for. Getty Images

Data Gumbo, a Houston company that provides blockchain technology as a service, overachieved when it closed its seed round in August 2018. The company closed with $1.35 million, which is $300,000 more than the goal.

Led by CEO Andrew Bruce, Data Gumbo has a viable product and is producing revenue, according to a release. The company launched a full implementation of its technology on a Diamond Offshore rig this fall, which made it the first commercial installation of industrial blockchain technology.

Among the investors was Houston-based Carnrite Ventures and Silicon Valley's Plug and Play, the release notes.

Validere

Validere, a Canada-based energy logistics company, is expanding in Houston. Courtesy of Validere

While based in Canada, Validere is using its recent raise to expand into the Houston market. The seed round closed in October with $7 million raised. The company's co-founder, Nouman Ahmad, told InnovationMap in a recent article that they are focusing on expanding the Houston office and are actively hiring.

"The goal in 2019 is to be at the same stage — in terms of customer success — in the U.S. market as we were at the end of 2018 in the Canadian market," Ahmad says.

Intelligent Implants

Intelligent Implant's co-founder, Juan Pardo, told the crowd at Demo Day that his company's device allows for 50 percent faster bone growth in patients. Photo by Cody Duty/TMC

Recent graduate of the Texas Medical Center's TMCx medical devices program, Intelligent Implants created a technology that stimulates bone growth following corrective back surgery.

The Houston startup closed a funding round in October with two investors, according to Crunchbase. The total raise was reported as a $1 million Mezzanine round on AngelMD.

Saranas

Saranas Inc. is testing its technology that can detect and track internal bleeding complications. Getty Images

Saranas Inc., a Houston-based medical device company, is currently in its clinical trials thanks to a $2.8 million Series C fund that closed in May 2018. The trials are focused on the company's key device, called the Early Bird Bleed Monitoring System, which is designed to detect and track bleeding complications related to endovascular procedures. These medical procedures treat problems, such as aneurysms, that affect blood vessels.

In a story for InnovationMap, Zaffer Syed, president and CEO of Saranas, says the clinical trials are crucial for receiving approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That approval is expected this year.

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Venture adventures will be a regular roundup on InnovationMap. If your company is in the process of closing or recently closed on a round, please email Natalie Harms at natalie@innovationmap.com.

One of this week's top stories is about a Houston company providing pain-relieving technology on the go. The Squid Team/Twitter

5 most popular innovation stories in Houston this week

Now Trending

Editor's note: InnovationMap is starting strong — right out of the gate of 2019. From a restaurant-focused app to B2B companies making a splash in their industry's, the first trending stories post of the year has some great reads.

3 Houston innovators to know this week

These three entrepreneurs have a lot up their sleeves for 2019. Courtesy images

InnovationMap has three inspiring entrepreneurs to lead you into 2019. All three are behind Houston startups that are planning for big growth in the upcoming year. So, read their stories and get familiar with their names and faces — they aren't going anywhere. Read the full story here.

Restaurant-driven app focuses on Houston's food scene

Crityk's main goal is to be a marketing asset to restaurants. Getty Images

One night, Sumit Sikka was on a quest to find the best Moscow Mule in Santa Monica. He couldn't find anything helpful online, and when he finally did get a good recommendation, he was already done for the night.

It was through this experience that Sikka knew he wanted to make a restaurant finder app, but he wanted to do something different from Yelp or Google Reviews. On those platforms, a restaurant can get crushed by a bad review that provides false information. So, when he started getting the ball rolling on Crityk, he realized he needed to give the restaurants a voice. Read the full story here.

Houston company creates portable device that eases pain without the use of drugs

For years, Squid Compression has helped ease the pain of patients in doctor's offices. Now, anyone can get the treatment on the go. Photo via squidgo.com

Many of the estimated 50 million Americans who suffer from chronic pain turn to drugs — including heavily abused opioids — to relieve their symptoms. Houston-based startup Portable Therapeutix LLC's drug-free solution to pain management seeks to put a dent in the market for prescription painkillers.

In 2018, Houston-based Portable Therapeutix introduced Squid Go, a portable device that's designed to ease the pain and swelling of sore joints and muscles. It's a follow-up to the company's Squid Compression, a pain management device launched in 2013 for patients at rehabilitation centers, hospitals, doctor's offices, and the like. Read the full story here.

Houston software startup pivots to provide digital networking solutions

What started as a way to protect your company from a sketchy business partner has turned into a digital networking tool. Getty Images

Several years ago, David Grimes had a business partner who played dirty. It wasn't until the trial that followed the business wrongdoing that Grimes discovered the man had a history of cheating companies out of money. Grimes envisioned a software service that used public information to research potential investors or associates before signing on the dotted line of a partnership.

"I wanted to find a tool that would alleviate that pain and that risk of doing business," Grimes says. "I couldn't find that tool." Read the full story here.

Oil and gas startup exec positions Houston company for more growth in 2019

Christopher Robart leads Ambyint — a technology company creating the Nest thermostat for oil rigs — with his twin brother, Alex. Courtesy of Ambyint

Most of Christopher Robart's 10-year career in oil and gas has been deliberate and calculated — researching the right startup to be involved in or finding the right buyer for a company he invested in. However, his actual start in the industry wasn't so intentional.

"I sort of fell into oil and gas after I got of college back in 2003," says Robart, who is the president of Ambyint USA. "Before that, I was involved in a few startup things — some digital and some not. I was always sort of an entrepreneur." Read the full story here.


These three entrepreneurs have a lot up their sleeves for 2019. Courtesy images

3 Houston innovators to know this week

Who's Who

This week starts in one year and ends in the next, and InnovationMap has three inspiring entrepreneurs to lead you into 2019. All three are behind Houston startups that are planning for big growth in the upcoming year. So, read their stories and get familiar with their names and faces — they aren't going anywhere.

Ben Johnson, founder and CEO of Apartment Butler

Ben Johnson's business idea turned into a growing company making the lives of apartment dwellers easier. Courtesy of Apartment Butler

Ben Johnson has his own master plan. He'd work as an oil and gas banker for a bit, establish himself, get his MBA, and then, when he was in his 40s, would start his own company. He wasn't wrong about his future as an entrepreneur, but he was off by the timeline.

Johnson started Apartment Butler a few years ago when he saw how apartment communities had the potential to provide streamlined access to resident elected services — such as cleaning or pet care. At the same time, apartment communities across the U.S. were looking to beef up their amenities. Now, Apartment Butler is expanding to its third and fourth markets early next year and is looking to provide more services to its users.

Scott Parazynski, CEO of Fluidity Technologies

Scott Parazynski is a accomplished astronaut and surgeon, but he has a new career focus on drone operation. Courtesy of Fluidity

There are Renaissance men and then there's Scott Parazynski. He's has spent 57 days in space, trained as a trauma surgeon, and climbed Mount Everest as a team physician for the Discovery Channel. His latest conquest is designing a drone controller based on movement in space. The device, called the FT Aviator, allows for one-handed piloting of drones and has the potential to affect the way unmanned vehicles are piloted across industries. As the CEO of Fluidity Technologies, he has big plans for what one-handed drone operation can do.

David Grimes, CEO and co-founder of Snap Diligence

David Grimes thought he was creating a useful tool to vet colleagues. Turns out, he made a way for warm connections better than LinkedIn. Courtesy of Snap Diligence

Hell hath no fury like a businessman scorned. When a business partner ended up being a shady miscreant, David Grimes realized there wasn't a digital vetting tool where you can evaluate a potential associate. After thinking on the idea for a while, Grimes found a co-founder and a way to create an algorithm that can take public information and run it against a person. The company he created is called Snap Diligence.

Now, the tool has morphed into something else that's been unexpectedly in demand. Snap Diligence can find business connections through your already-established network of associates. It's this new feature the company is looking to expand in 2019.

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Where to work: These 2024 Houston Innovation Awards finalists are hiring

growing biz

About a third of this year's startup finalists for the Houston Innovation Awards are hiring — from contract positions all the way up to senior-level roles.

The finalists, announced last week, range from the medical to energy to AI-related startups and will be celebrated next month on Thursday, November 14, at the Houston Innovation Awards at TMC Helix Park. Over 50 finalists will be recognized for their achievements across 13 categories, which includes the 2024 Trailblazer Legacy Awards that were announced earlier this month.

Click here to secure your tickets to see which growing startups win.

Let's take a look at where you could land a job at one of Houston's top startups.

Double-digit growth

When submitting their applications for the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards, every startup was asked if it was hiring. Four Houston startups replied that they are growing their teams rapidly.

Houston e-commerce startup Cart.com, one of the city's few $1 billion-plus “unicorns," reported that it is hiring approximately 50 new employees. The company, which focuses on commerce and logistics software development, secured $105 million in debt refinancing from investment manager BlackRock this summer following a $25 million series C extension round that brought Cart.com’s Series C total to $85 million. It currently has about 1,500 employees and 4 offices in three companies since it was founded in 2020, according to its website.

Houston energy tech company Enovate Ai (previously known as Enovate Upstream) reported that it is hiring 10-plus positions. The company, with 35 current employees, helps automate business and operational processes for decarbonization and energy optimization. Its CEO and founder, Camilo Mejia, sat down for an interview with InnovationMap in 2020. Click here to read the Q&A.

Square Robot is hiring about 10 new Houston employees and 15 total between Houston and other markets, according to its application. The advanced robotics company was founded in Boston in 2016 and opened its Houston office in August 2019. It develops submersible robots for the energy industry, specifically for storage tank inspections and eliminating the need for humans to enter dangerous and toxic environments. Last year it reported to be hiring 10 to 30 employees as well, ahead of the 2023 Houston Innovators Award. It currently has 25 Houston employees and about 50 nationally.

InnoVent Renewables LLC is also hiring 15 new employees to be based in Mexico. The company launched last year with its proprietary continuous pyrolysis technology that can convert waste tires, plastics, and biomass into fuels and chemicals. The company scaled up in 2022 and has operations in Pune, India, and Monterrey, Mexico, with plans for aggressive growth across North America and Latin America. It has 20 employees in Mexico and one in Houston currently.

Senior roles

Geothermal energy startup Sage Geosystems reported that it is looking to fill two senior roles in the company. It also said it anticipates further staff growth after its first commercial energy storage facility is commissioned at the end of the year in the San Antonio metro area. The company also recently expanded its partnership with the United States Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit and announced this month that it was selected to conduct geothermal project development initiatives at Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi. It has 12 full-time employees, according to its application.

Steady growth

Other companies reported that they are hiring a handful of new workers, which for some will increase headcount by about 50 percent to 100 percent.

Allterum Therapeutics reported that it is adding six employees to its current team of 13. The biopharmaceutical company that is under the Fannin Partners portfolio of med tech companies was awarded a $12 million product development grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas this spring.

Dauntless XR will add between five and eight employees, according to its application. It currently has four employees. The augmented reality software company, originally founded as Future Sight AR in 2018, recently secured a NASA contract for space weather technology after rebranding and pivoting. The company's CEO, Lori-Lee Elliott, recently sat down with the Houston Innovators Podcast. Click here to hear the interview.

Syzygy Plasmonics is hiring four positions to add to its team of 120. The company was named to Fast Company's energy innovation list earlier this year.

Venus Aerospace is adding five to 10 key hires to its team of 72. Andrew Duggleby founded the company with his wife and CEO Sassie in 2020, before relocating to the Houston Spaceport in 2021. Last year, Venus raised a $20 million series A round, and it successfully ran the first long-duration engine test of their Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine in partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, earlier this year.

​Seeking selectively

Other finalists are adding to their teams with a handful of new hires of contract gigs.

​Future roles

Other finalists reported that they are currently not hiring, but had plans to in the near future.

NanoTech Materials Inc., which recently moved to a new facility, is not currently. Hiring but said it plans with new funding during its series B.

Renewable energy startup CLS Wind is not hiring at this time but reported that it plans to when the company closes funding in late 2024.

Houston-area researchers score $1.5M grant to develop storm response tech platform

fresh funding

Researchers from Rice University have secured a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to continue their work on improving safety and resiliency of coastal communities plagued by flooding and hazardous weather.

The Rice team of engineers and collaborators includes Jamie Padgett, Ben Hu, and Avantika Gori along with David Retchless at Texas A&M University at Galveston. The researchers are working in collaboration with the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center and the Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice and A&M-Galveston’s Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas.

Together, the team is developing and hopes to deploy “Open-Source Situational Awareness Framework for Equitable Multi-Hazard Impact Sensing using Responsible AI,” or OpenSafe.AI, a new platform that utilizes AI, data, and hazard and resilience models "to provide timely, reliable and equitable insights to emergency response organizations and communities before, during and after tropical cyclones and coastal storm events," reads a news release from Rice.

“Our goal with this project is to enable communities to better prepare for and navigate severe weather by providing better estimates of what is actually happening or might happen within the next hours or days,” Padgett, Rice’s Stanley C. Moore Professor in Engineering and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, says in the release. “OpenSafe.AI will take into account multiple hazards such as high-speed winds, storm surge and compound flooding and forecast their potential impact on the built environment such as transportation infrastructure performance or hazardous material spills triggered by severe storms.”

OpenSafe.AI platform will be developed to support decision makers before, during, and after a storm.

“By combining cutting-edge AI with a deep understanding of the needs of emergency responders, we aim to provide accurate, real-time information that will enable better decision-making in the face of disasters,” adds Hu, associate professor of computer science at Rice.

In the long term, OpenSafe.AI hopes to explore how the system can be applied to and scaled in other regions in need of equitable resilience to climate-driven hazards.

“Our goal is not only to develop a powerful tool for emergency response agencies along the coast but to ensure that all communities ⎯ especially the ones most vulnerable to storm-induced damage ⎯ can rely on this technology to better respond to and recover from the devastating effects of coastal storms,” adds Gori, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice.

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

3+ Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: Every week, I introduce you to a handful of Houston innovators to know recently making headlines with news of innovative technology, investment activity, and more. This week's batch includes a drone tech startup founder, biotech investor, and health care innovator.

Divyaditya Shrivastava, co-founder of Paladin

Paladin’s AI-enhanced autonomous drones help public safety agencies, such as police and fire departments, respond to 911 calls. Photo via LinkedIn

Houston-based Paladin, whose remotely controlled drones help first responders react quickly to emergencies, has collected $5.2 million in seed funding.

Gradient, a seed fund that backs AI-oriented startups, led the round. Also participating were Toyota Ventures, the early-stage VC arm of Japanese automaker Toyota; venture capital firm Khosla Ventures; and VC fund 1517. The company was co-founded by Divyaditya Shrivastava and Trevor Pennypacker.

Among the agencies that have tried out Paladin’s technology is the Houston area’s Memorial Villages Police Department. The department participated in a three-month Paladin pilot project in 2019. Read more.

Veronica Breckenridge (née Wu), founder of First Bight Ventures

Veronica Breckenridge, founder of First Bight VenturesInvestor advocates now is the time to position Houston as a leading biomanufacturing hub

Veronica Breckenridge is the founder of First Bight Ventures, which just celebrated three portfolio companies. Photo courtesy

Three portfolio companies of Houston venture capital firm First Bight Ventures have received a combined $5.25 million from the U.S. Defense Department’s Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program.

“The allocation of funds by the federal government will be critical in helping grow biomanufacturing capacity,” Veronica Breckenridge (née Wu), founder of First Bight, says in a news release. “We are very proud to represent three dynamic companies that are awardees of this competitive and widely praised program.” Read more.

Sunil Sheth, associate professor in the Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston

UTHealth Houston has secured millions in grant funding — plus has reached a new milestone for one of its projects. Photo via utsystem.edu

UTHealth recently received a grant that will improve the odds for patients who have had a stroke with the successful re-opening of a blocked vessel through endovascular surgery. The $2.5 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health, will fund a five-year study that will include the creation of a machine-learning program that will be able to predict which stroke patients with large blood vessel blockages will benefit most from endovascular therapy.

The investigators will form a database of imaging and outcomes of patients whose blockages were successfully opened, called reperfusion, from three U.S. hospitals. This will allow them to identify clinical and imaging-based predictors of damage in the brain after reperfusion. From there, the deep-learning model will help clinicians to know which patients might go against the tenet that the sooner you treat a patient, the better.

“This is shaking our core of deciding who we treat, and when, and how, but also, how we are evaluating them? Our current methods of determining benefit with imaging are not good enough,” says principal investigator and associate professor in the Department of Neurology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Sunil Sheth. Read more.

Top innovators: 2024 Houston Innovation Awards finalists revealed

Here's what Houston startups and innovators will be honored at the Houston Innovation Awards on November 14. Graphic via Gow Media

After nearly 300 nominations, InnovationMap and its group of judges are ready to reveal the finalists for this year's Houston Innovation Awards.

Taking place on Thursday, November 14, the Houston Innovation Awards celebrates all of Houston's innovation ecosystem — startups, entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and more. Over 50 finalists will be recognized in particular for their achievements across 13 categories, which includes the 2024 Trailblazer Legacy Awards that were announced earlier this month.

Click here to see the 2024 Houston Innovation Awards finalists.

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