These 9 Alabama startups just landed backing from Los Angeles VC firm

(Featured photo shows: Jennifer K. Mandelbaum (Partner), Jesse Draper (Founding Partner), Ashley Balla (Partner). Photo credit: Michael Gauthier) 

Back in September, Hypepotamus readers were first introduced to Halogen Ventures, the Los Angeles-based VC firm that announced it was investing $10 million into startups based and building in Alabama.

This week the firm, led by founding partner Jesse Draper, has named the first nine investments to join the firm’s portfolio through the new statewide initiative.

Meet The Alabama Companies

Halogen Ventures, which is focused on early-stage startups with a woman on the founding team, has invested in these Alabama startups:

• Moxi – A flexible childcare and co-working platform helping working families access quality care and community services.
• Auditocity –  An HR technology company automating compliance workflows with AI. (Hypepotamus feature here)
• Croux – An AI-powered staffing marketplace connecting job seekers to flexible, high-paying work opportunities.
• Skyfire AI – Advanced analytics and AI solutions driving enterprise decision-making.
• Nyad AI –  An AI-powered operations intelligence platform built for efficiency at scale.
• Doctours – A medical tourism marketplace increasing healthcare access and transparency for patients nationwide.
• Yard – Developer of autonomous robotic workforce solutions for outdoor maintenance.
• KrillPay – A borderless digital wallet delivering affordable, inclusive fintech services across the U.S., Sub-Saharan Africa, and Canada.
• Accelerate Wind –  A distributed wind energy company deploying small-scale turbine solutions to deliver affordable, resilient clean power to businesses and communities

Why is this important? Alabama ranks 50th in the nation for female entrepreneurship, despite the state’s growing tech sector. Venture capital investment in the state has grown from $3 million a decade ago to $321 million in 2023. But that growth has not proportionally helped many female-founded companies grow and scale in the state.

 About The Fund

These nine founders join Halogen’s portfolio of more than 85 female-founded companies. That portfolio already boasts six unicorns and has a combined market valuation of over $15 billion.

Draper told Hypepotamus that after connecting with organizations like Innovation Depot, Innovation Portal, gener8tor, i2c, Hudson Alpha, and Innovate Alabama, (and hosting pitch competitions across the state), Halogen Ventures’ deal flow has been “strong, consistent and high quality.”

 “One unexpected bonus and something we never anticipated: our 80+ other portfolio companies across the United States are now asking us to be connected to Alabama for everything from manufacturing partnerships, customer expansion, hiring and retail performance. Working with Alabama has been an amazing asset to our entire portfolio,” she told Hypepotamus.

She added that Alabama founders are “resilient, extremely capital efficient, and building in industries where the state has advantages,” including industries like Biotech, defense, space, aeronautics, manufacturing, and agriculture technology.

A Call To The Alabama Governor

While Draper says Halogen has been encouraged by the strength of Alabama’s founders and the growing startup ecosystem, the firm also uncovered a major structural hurdle: a lack of locally based venture capital funds.

“One surprising discovery has influenced our strategy in Alabama,” Draper told Hypepotamus. “There are very few traditional venture capital funds based in the state. Almost zero.”

According to Draper, regulatory barriers make it extremely difficult to form and operate a venture fund locally.

“Healthy startup ecosystems need local capital,” she explained. “When we invest in a company, we try not to be the only investor because you need that early local network supporting founders with additional resources.”

While some family offices and government-affiliated groups participate in startup investing, Draper said launching a formal venture fund in Alabama remains difficult. Because of that, Halogen is increasingly looking to neighboring states to build a co-investor base.

“Until this is fixed, we need to build our co-investor network in places like Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas to ensure Alabama founders receive the full support they deserve.”

Draper ended with a direct message for state leadership.

“Calling Governor Kay Ivey (who I have yet to meet!),” she said. “I would welcome the opportunity to talk about this. Alabama has incredible resources and a growing startup ecosystem, but without more venture capital funds in the state, that economic growth risks ending up in the pockets of your neighbors! We need more venture capital funds in Alabama!”