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

Featured image by ICON.

Icon

Icon is going to Space! The Austin based startup that 3D prints homes received a $14.55 million federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract awarded by the U.S. Air Force to develop an automated construction system to use on the moon. According to Austin Inno, $1.8 million from the contract was donated by NASA to help advance NASA’s Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technologies project. 

Icon’s Olympus Construction System will be able to build roadways, launching and landing pads, and pasteurized habitats using a program they call Project Olympus. Icon’s partners on the project will be Denmark-based Bjarke Ingels Group and New York-headquartered Space Exploration Architecture, two world-renowned architecture firms. 

Hyliion

Hyliion, a Cedar Park-based company that makes electrified powertrain solutions for tractor trailers and other Commercial 8 vehicles, completed its business acquisition with Tortoise Acquisition Corp. Tortoise Acquisition Corp. is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, which means it raises capital solely to acquire other businesses. It does not raise capital for commercial activity. As a result from the acquisition, the new company name will be Hyliion Holdings Corp.

According to Austin Business Journal, the deal is expected to generate about $560 million in proceeds for Hyliion. The merger also clears the way for the trucking technology company to begin trading shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Hyliion is now gearing up for full commercialization and mass production of their solutions.

SigmaSense

SigmaSense, a touchscreen technology company, recently received a $22 million Series A funding round, bringing their total funding up to $28 million. SigmaSense creates touchscreen technology for mobile devices and large format interactive displays that can deliver up 100 to 1,000 times improved signal-to-noise performance. Their technology can be used for touchless gestures and can even sense through water.

The Austin startup plans to increase production of its new chip with the funding. The chip can go in cell phones, tablets, and table tops. According to Built in Austin, SigmaSense plans to introduce their technology to the medical sensing, automotive, IoT, robotics, and communications industries. The lead investor for the funding round was Foxconn Technology Group followed by Corning, former Dell CEO Tom Meredith, E Ink, GIS and MRI.

About Savannah Burns: Savannah is a marketing and communications intern for Swyft, which is a tech PR firm in Austin and Houston and a top digital marketing agency in Denver since its founding in 2011. Swyft recently opened a satellite office where it offers PR in San Francisco.