Heard Around Town: The Week of January 12-16, 2026
We are slightly revamping our weekly round up (previously called Friday Fund Days). Below are snippets of what happened and notes on companies to keep an eye on.
Funding News
Fleetzero (Auburn, Alabama) - Battery technology: $43 million Series A
Klearly (Raleigh, North Carolina) - MarTech/SaaS: $14 million Series A
Tilt (Miami, Florida) - PropTech: $2.5 million seed round
Render (Franklin, Tennessee) - FinTech: $500k seed round
Acquisition News
Atlanta-based Cherry Street Energy acquired 16 solar sites from fellow Atlanta company Inman Solar. Details on Hypepotamus.
Accelerator News
Some upcoming deadlines include:
- Square One Startup School - Feb 13
Center for MedTech Excellence (Atlanta) - rolling
RevTech Labs Accelerator - Spring 2026
Top Hypepotamus Stories
ATL angels are making a bet on unicorn execs — meet the team
This app makes travel math painless
In Other News
- A new angel investing network, called Dooley's Angels, launched to provide capital to Emory University to support Emory-born innovation. More details here.
- Atlanta-based PadSplit, the country's largest coliving marketplace, announced a new partnership with Atlanta-based SmartPath, a leading financial wellness platform, giving all current PadSplit members free access to live classes, on-demand education, and interactive financial tools. This partnership expands PadSplit's suite of membership benefits.
- Tampa's Embarc Collective announced a new partnership with local startup Spontivly to centralize its data operations, per The Tampa Bay Business Journal.
- Art Pharmacy, an Atlanta startup that has been featured in Hypepotamus previously, was highlighted in and article Inside Higher Ed.
On The Corporate Side...
Hisense USA (television, audio, appliances, and HVAC giant) announced it will officially begin operations at its new U.S. headquarters located in Alpharetta, Georgia, following a ribbon cutting ceremony this week.
People To Know
Startup Atlanta announced three new Board Members, including Graham Gintz, Monica Delores Hooks, MBA, EDP, and Michael A. Johnson.
The featured graphic was created using AI. The rest of the article was not.
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