SA国际传媒

2019 has been good to the Austin startup scene so far.

Combined, Austin startups have raised $240.3 million in January as of today. That鈥檚 not much less than the nearly $300 million raised in all of Q4 2018. And since the beginning of the year, the Texas capital has seen a number of double-digit funding rounds and a nearly quarter of a billion dollar .

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Out of 10 , six were for $10 million or over. In recent years, Austin has historically been known for having more early-stage companies that raised more seed and Series A rounds. But if this month is any indication, its venture scene is maturing.

Just today, 鈥� an on-demand staffing platform for the oil and gas industry 鈥� announced it in a Series C round. The financing was raised at a $300 million post-money valuation, . 聽聽led the round, which also included participation from existing backers and .

Also of interest is who has been investing in the city. Silicon Valley-based put money into at least two of the 10 rounds: legal tech software provider 鈥檚 $83 million and 鈥檚 $30 million . So, Austin startups are definitely attracting money outside of the local venture ecosystem.

, CEO of Austin-based , believes the past few weeks provide validation for venture capitalists who have invested in the area.

鈥淭he timing is right on the mark. Just a few years into the nascent local startup scene, we witnessed the growth and enthusiasm of local mentorship and angel investment, and years later, the presence of sophisticated startup programs like TechStars, Mass Challenge, and Founder Institute鈥� and now, as if on schedule for investors, we’re seeing substantial outcomes,鈥� he told SA国际传媒 News. 鈥淲hat’s most exciting about being a part of the local startup community is experiencing that this really just the beginning.鈥�

Here鈥檚 a quick rundown of some of the other big deals that were announced in Austin this month:

• On January 3, closed on a $25 million Series C. The company has created a cloud-based mass notification system that aims to streamline notifications across devices and platforms. In my story on the round,
• 聽announced a $5 million Series A toward its mission of making retail more efficient with the use of drones.
• On January 17, as mentioned above, back office automation startup ScaleFactor closed on a $30 million Series B led by Bessemer. The company told me at the time it saw 700 percent customer growth from 2017 to 2018, and its headcount grow by four times during the same period.
• , maker of a cash back app, on January 22 closed on a $20 million .
• On January 23, , a public relations software company, acquired Austin-based , a media monitoring company that leverages AI, for $225 million. TrendKite will continue to be based in the Texas capital and will keep its name, according to this . And, its CEO , becomes president of publicly-traded, Chicago-based Cison.
• And, on January 24, Houston transplant DISCO revealed it had raised $83 million. Now, with , DISCO says it鈥檚 raised 鈥渕ore than any other enterprise legal tech company.鈥�

With such a great month, Austin now has a lot of pressure to continue the momentum for the rest of the year.

Featured image credit: Mary Ann Azevedo