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.

Tesla Inc. 

As Tesla increases its innovations, new employees continue to be in high demand. Announced this past month, Tesla has introduced one of its latest creations, a humanoid robot, also known as the “Tesla Bot.” Tesla is currently looking for a robotic engineer in Austin, with experience in manufacturing by publication time, to assist in this project. This robot will execute tasks that’ll limit human activity for unsafe, boring, or repetitive work. 

In addition to the “Tesla Bot,” the company’s car production is anticipated to start this year. According to Austin Inno, Tesla has 270 job openings on its website and plans on having 10,000 employees at its gigafactory by the end of 2022. Programs like ACC’s engineering technology program and the classes Austin Community College offers for the Tesla START Manufacturing course will help Tesla source local talent and support  employee growth throughout the following year. 

Poppi 

According to Austin Inno, Poppi, a prebiotic soda company, has raised a $13.5 million funding round. On top of CAVU Venture Partners being a prominent investor in this funding round, celebrities such as The Chainsmokers, Ellie Goulding, and Nicole Scherzinger contributed to this round as well. In addition to its recent funding, Poppi will be relocating its headquarters to Austin to be closer to Whole Foods, one of Poppi’s partners. 

Founded in 2015, Poppi produces apple cider vinegar-based drinks, which can also be categorized as a healthy alternative to soda. Since February 2020, this company has grown from having two employees, these two employees being the co-founders of Poppi, to having 50 employees. Its new funding money will assist in expanding its company, which includes increasing its employee count to 85 by the end of this year.  

Everlywell Inc. and Everly Health Inc.

Pre-pandemic, Everlywell had 88 employees. Throughout these past couple of months, the company has seen tremendous growth and now has an employee count of 600 people. Furthermore, its parent company, Everly Health, has brought on  new world-class executives. Chris Bishko is the new chief executive officer, and Kristen Reinke is an Everly Health director and has been added to the board’s audit committee. 

With Everlywell’s creation of Everly Health and pairing up with new lab testing service companies, it’s now valued at $2.9 billion, according to Austin Inno. Out of the 11 Austin companies that made it onto this year’s  Inc. 5000 list, Everlywell was ranked 219 of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. 

Bestow

According to Austin Inno, Bestow, an insurtech startup, has made massive strides in 2021. From increasing its year-to-date revenue to expanding its product, Bestow has started relocating its team to Austin, as it’s recently signed a four-year sublease on Congress Avenue. 

In these past three months, Bestow has hired nearly 80 employees who will be split between Austin, Dallas, and remote; and the growth continues. This Austin startup  is currently hiring over 70 employees in various positions, tripling its current employee count. In addition, since its launch in 2016, Bestow has raised a total of $150 million and continues to partner with big companies, like Wells Fargo, to branch out its services.  

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 also has a small satellite office where it offers tech PR in San Francisco. Swyft has been listed as one of the top tech PR agencies in Texas for two years running by the B2B services review site, Clutch.co.