Want to stay up to date on the latest startup fundings, launches, and expansions in Austin? Startup Over Coffee’s weekly roundup of Austin startups to watch will keep you in the loop on the latest Austin tech news. Catch up on previous weekly roundups here.

Moonshots Capital LLC 

Austin-based venture capital firm Moonshots Capital LLC closed a second round of funding of $36 million, according to Austin Inno. Combined with the $25 million in syndicates raised during this round, Moonshot has raised a total of $61 million.

Since its launch in 2017, co-founders Kelly Perdew and Craig Cummings continue to make an impact on the startup world by adding an emphasis on diversity. On their first funding round, 36% of its founders were Black and Latinx, 21% were women, and 35% were military-veterans. Similar diversity patterns have been translated on its second funding round as well. As white males dominate the venture capital world, even a slight dent in this trend can help increase diversity in the startup scene.

Fetch 

According to Austin Inno, Fetch, a last-mile delivery startup has raised $60 million, which includes a $50 million series C venture capital investment and $10 million on new debt funding. This funding round was led by Austin-based Ocelot Capital and had contributions from Greenpoint Partners, Alpaca VC, and Rose Park Advisors. 

Founded in 2016 by CEO Michael Patton, Fetch provides direct-to-door package delivery to multifamily communities. Fetch provides families with an easier way to manage their delivery services from their homes. With the help of its new funding, Fetch will use the money to hire hundreds of new employees and add 24 new markets in two years. As Fetch’s Austin services continue to grow, so do their services around the U.S. By 2022, Fetch plans on opening up in 35 additional cities, and with business growing smoothly, the future for Fetch looks hopeful. 

Ethos Technologies Inc.

On July 21, Ethos Technologies Inc. reported closing a $100 million funding round, just after raising $200 million in funding in May. As more west coast startups continue their move to Austin, CEO Peter Colis explains that Ethos Technologies is just weeks away from landing new office space in Austin designated for its second headquarters location, as said in Austin Inno.

Based in San Francisco, Ethos Technologies provides life insurance products and services. In hopes of expanding in Austin, the new funding money will aid this startup in developing positions in engineering, analytics, product design, and more. Since its founding in 2016, the company has seen over 500% in revenue growth year after year. 

Argo Al and Lyft partnership

By 2022, Lyft and Argo Al LLC, an independent vehicle company, plan on launching robotaxi rides throughout Austin. Additionally, these two companies have partnered up and are already preparing to introduce self-driven vehicles in Miami this year. 

According to Austin Inno, with the help of Ford Motor, Argo plans on producing about 1,000 self-driving vehicles within the next five years. With $2.6 billion in venture funding and valued at $7.5 billion, Argo Al has the tools needed to grow massively in Austin in the years to come. For instance, it reports using anonymized service and fleet data from Lyft to calculate the best time to grow a sustainable business. 

About Michelle Vernaza: Michelle is a Business Development Associate Intern for Swyft, which is a tech PR firm in Austin and Houston and a top digital marketing and PR agency in Denver since its founding in 2011. Swyft recently opened a satellite office where it offers tech PR in San Francisco. Swyft was also listed as one of the top tech PR agencies in Texas by the B2B services review site, Clutch.co.