16 Top Austin Startups to Watch in 2023
Last Updated: By TRUiC Team
With great weather year-round and a burgeoning tech scene, Austin is one of the fastest-growing areas for startups. The city is also home to the University of Texas, where students flood the market each year with exceptional talent.
In this guide, you’ll learn about the best Austin startups on the scene and how they continue to contribute to the up-and-coming startup community in the area. Plus, entrepreneurs in Texas will learn about the investors and founders in the area who are thriving in the capital city.
Learn how to launch your own company by reading our comprehensive guide on how to start a startup.
Best Startups in Austin to Follow
Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation, tech, and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the top Austin startups of 2023 that startup lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.
Disclaimer: With so many exciting Austin Texas startups launching and growing, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups that are listed below are not officially ranked and are listed in no particular order.
1. Fox Robotics
- Industry: Logistics Tech
- Founders: Charles DuHadway, Peter Anderson-Sprecher
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Series A, $13 Million
- Investors Include: Eniac Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures
Fox Robotics is upgrading the logistics industry by automating forklifts that specialize in trailer unloading. The robotic forklifts are able to be installed in under an hour and can unload a trailer at 25 pallets per hour. There is no IT or WMS integration required for the machine-learning tools. A single operator can work with several trailers allowing them to unload anywhere from 20-100 trailers per shift.
Discover more top logistics startups.
2. CoSell
- Industry: Networking
- Founders: Andrew Burleson, Brendon Cassidy, Pete Ryan
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Pre-Seed, $2 Million
- Investors Include: PivotNorth Ventures
CoSell is a platform for GTM leaders and entire organizations who want to build relationship-driven growth in sales and revenue. Leaders are able to get introductions incredibly easily by matching on the platform with other like-minded business people. It works similarly to a dating app but for professional networking. CoSell matches contacts that match your teammate's targ3et accounts and sends the information to you. You can then confirm the meetings you'd like to set up in the app.
3. NuBrakes
- Industry: Automotive Breaks
- Founders: Collin Caram, Walker Drewett
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series A, $9.7 Million
- Investors Include: Automotive Ventures, Canvas Ventures
NuBrakes takes the brake repair industry and updates it for the modern world. Instead of having to get your car towed or driving it dangerously into a shop, NuBrakes takes the service directly to you. Customers can get convenient and affordable mobile brake repairs exactly where the car is parked. The company also offers oil replacements and maintenance. Customers can even choose a date in advance to schedule a repair for their vehicle.
4. Lendflow
- Industry: Financial Tech
- Founders: Jon Fry, Matthew Watts
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Series A, $13.5 Million
- Investors Include: Navitas Capital, Hack VC
Lendflow is developing tools that developers are able to use to embed credit products directly into their platforms. Lendflow is automating the entire experience, including applications, decision-making, and underwriting. All types of companies are utilizing the tools, including leading fintechs, lenders, and vertical SaaS companies. Users are able to customize their own decision workflows to aggregate and analyze their critical data points.
Explore more top startups in the fintech space.
5. Diligent Robotics
- Industry: Healthcare Tech
- Founders: Andrea Thomaz, Vivian Chu
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Series B, $45.9 Million
- Investors Include: Boom Capital, DNX Ventures
The hospital industry has been overwhelmed in recent years and Diligent Robotics is solving the issue by developing a full-size robotic companion to support and empower patient care teams. The robots are there to support and work with clinical teams to make their jobs easier. They can fetch items for patients, help with hospital-wide delivery tasks, and improve nurse response times. Moxi is the name of the robot model and should reduce nurse routine task time by up to 30%.
Discover more top health tech startups.
6. Hearth
- Industry: Home Improvement Tech
- Founders: Anthony Ghosn, Joe Lonsdale, Joe Lonsdale
- Founded In: 2016
- Funding: Series B, $47.8 Million
- Investors Include: 8VC, The Chainsmokers
Home improvement professionals aren't normally at the cutting edge of technology, but Hearth is looking to change the trend. The company is an all-in-one software solution that helps pros sell faster and win more projects. Using the platform, professionals are able to create invoices and estimates easily. They are also able to offer customer financing, 0% intro APR credit cards, modify contracts, collect digital payments, and market their business.
7. Osano
- Industry: Compliance
- Founders: Arlo Gilbert, Scott Hertel
- Founded In: 2018
- Funding: Series A, $19.4 Million
- Investors Include: LiveOak Venture Partners, Jump Capital
Companies that have grown in size and are focused on compliance can look to Osano for help. The company develops a suite of tools that aid businesses in data privacy compliance and following regulations such as the GDPR and CCPA. Osano helps companies prevent large fines and penalties from non-compliance, and if a company is at fault for a fine, Osano will pay it. Clients will also be able to assess their vendor risk and personal data transfers using the software.
8. Royal
- Industry: Music
- Founders: JD Ross, Justin David Blau
- Founded In: 2021
- Funding: Series A, $71 Million
- Investors Include: Connect Ventures, Cosmic Venture Partner
The music company can be lucrative, but it hasn't seen much innovation until Royal. The company is using NFT technology to allow ownership of songs. On the platform, musicians share a portion of streaming royalty rights with fans and collectors. When listeners invest in rights, they can generate income and collect other awards provided for by the artists. The platform engages fans to become part of the music by taking ownership of the music.
Feeling inspired? Learn how to launch your company with our guide on how to start a startup.
9. UpEquity
- Industry: Home Finance
- Founders: Louis Wilson, Tim Herman
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: Debt Financing, $76.7 Million
- Investors Include: Alumni Ventures, Next Coast Ventures
UpEquity is helping homeowners and buyers but focuses on the mortgage process. The platform wants to give every person the opportunity to make a competitive and winning offer on any home they want. People are able to buy homes before selling, buy a new home, or even refinance their homes. All cash offers are possible using UpEquity, and there are no hidden fees or added costs.
10. Steadily
- Industry: Insurance
- Founders: Darren Nix, Datha Santomieri, David Tulig
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: Series A, $26.4 Million
- Investors Include: Matrix Partners, Vesta Ventures
Steadily makes the process of obtaining landlord insurance for rental properties incredibly easy. Any individual looking to rent their homes to others can enjoy fire and water damage protection, financial protection against natural disasters, protection for furnishing, and legal liability protection. The insurance covers multiple property types like apartment buildings, single-family homes, and condo units.
11. Cart.com
- Industry: Ecommerce
- Founders: Ed Sturrock, Jim Jacobsen, Omair Tariq
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: $383 Million
- Investors Include: TriplePoint Capital, Citi Ventures
Cart.com has committed its brand to helping the growth and success of ecommerce retail worldwide. The company uses its abundance of expertise and tools to help brands outsmart, outperform, and outpace their competition. Storefronts, growth marketing, channel management, fulfillment, customer engagement, and unified analytics are all possible using Cart.com. The company has over 2,000 social media and shopping channels to optimize listings.
Discover more top startups in the ecommerce space.
12. LoudCrowd
- Industry: Marketing
- Founders: Gary Garofalo, Justin Papermaster
- Founded In: 2019
- Funding: $4.2 Million
- Investors Include: LiveOak Venture Partners, Active Capital
LoudCrowd looks to take advantage of the influencer economy by creating incentives for customers, brand ambassadors, employees, or brand advocates. The platform helps companies scale their ambassador programs, automate outreach to different channels, and reduce overspend on influencers. Once a customer or employee creates social content, they can be automatically rewarded for doing so.
13. Immersed
- Industry: Business Productivity
- Founders: Renji Bijoy
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: Equity Crowdfunding, $12.1 Million
- Investors Include: Bay Wharf Capital, Sovereign’s Capital
Immersed is taking company communication and productivity to another level with their VR solution to work smarter and faster. The company's solutions help people get completely involved in their workspace without distractions. The headsets are able to be used from anywhere, so employees can check in on progress no matter where they are. There are a total of five virtual monitors that can be spawned from the computer into the VR without any additional hardware.
14. Bright Health
- Industry: Healthcare
- Founders: Robert John Sheehy
- Founded In: 2015
- Funding: Series A, $80 Million
- Investors Include: Waterline Ventures, GE Ventures
Bright Health is attempting to make the healthcare experience more enjoyable for everyday people. Using the platform, members are able to pay their bills, find providers, and get helpful COVID-19 resources all from the same location. Health plans are built each year that emphasize convenience, mental health, and adult dental and vision insurance. Medicare plans are also available with $0 urgent care visits and Medicare Part B rebates.
Explore more top healthcare startups.
15. Virdee
- Industry: Hospitality Tech
- Founders: Branigan Mulcahy, Nadav Cornberg
- Founded In: 2020
- Funding: Seed, $9 Million
- Investors Include: Alumni Ventures, LiveOak Venture Partners
Virdee is taking advantage of the trend of touchless interactions and making it possible for all concierge services to go virtual. Everything from check-in to check-out can be handled using the Virdee app. The app includes mobile key management, payment, ID checks, and remote assistance. As a result, guests have access to all amenities right from their fingertips, and properties can save on labor costs and reduce customer check-in time.
16. ClosedLoop.ai
- Industry: Medical Tech
- Founders: Andrew Eye, Dave DeCaprio
- Founded In: 2017
- Funding: $49.1 Million
- Investors Include: Greycroft, Telstra Ventures
ClosedLoop is taking the power of AI and using it to give providers, payers, and care organizations the ability to make accurate, explainable, and actionable predictions of health risks for individuals. The platform is trying to prevent serious health events by creating better treatment, diagnoses, and interventions. The platform enables health care providers to maximize their AI/ML impact by tackling them simultaneously.
Recommended: Check out our full list of the top startups to watch!
FAQs
Is Austin good for startups?
Referred to as a "mini Silicon Valley," Austin has a burgeoning tech scene that employs over 175,000 people. Some top companies have built facilities in the area, including Tesla and Google. The city also is home to the University of Texas which produces top talent year after year.
How many startups are in Austin, Texas?
There are around 5,500 startups in the city of Austin. This number represents about 3% of the total job market in the metropolitan city. The numbers are currently rising with a large increase in opportunity and corporate presence.
What are some popular startup industries in Austin?
Some popular startup industries in Austin include technology, health care, and ecommerce. Austin's lax tax laws have resulted in a number of startups in the tech industry, while the city's large medical community has led to a number of healthcare startups. Additionally, Austin is home to a number of ecommerce startups due to the city's well-developed retail sector.
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