New Report: Texas Companies Raise $10 Billion In Second Quarter

HOUSTON, TX – The second quarter of 2019 saw a $3 billion increase in funding over Q1 2019 to $10.2 billion across Texas companies. * Dallas leads the charge in total capital raised with $7.4 billion, followed by Houston with $1.6 billion, Austin with $675 million, and San Antonio with $131 million.

The remaining $400 million was directed to companies residing outside of the major Texas metropolitan areas, driving the fact that the dynamic Texas economy isn’t just Dallas, Houston or Austin.

Both Finance and Utilities ranked in the top three industries with the most capital raised, stealing the spotlight from Healthcare and Internet Services which were at the top for Q1 2019. Finance attracted $3.9 billion in capital during Q2 making it the highest funded sector for the quarter, followed by Utilities with a total of $2.2 billion raised.

Despite a 94% decrease from Q1 to Q2, the Energy sector continues to rank in the top three industries attracting significant funding in both quarters, totaling $1.7 billion raised in capital during Q2.

Seventy-four private firms announced mergers and/or acquisitions in Q2, a 37% increase from Q1. Another thirteen firms announced significant hiring plans, showing that capital markets continue to be favorable for both growth and acquisition financing.

Lawson Gow is the Founder & CEO of The Cannon, an innovative custom designed co-working campus dedicated to entrepreneurship based in the new Founders District of Houston, and Cannon Ventures, an investor network and venture studio program. Lawson provided some insight into the rapid changes happening in the Houston start-up economy:

“There are a lot of great efforts happening in parallel right now to bulk up Houston’s infrastructure and resources for early stage businesses. Incubators, accelerators, startup hubs, programs, are all focusing on providing our entrepreneurs with the tools they need to get traction and grow. A big piece of this is raising capital, so it’s great to see that companies are successfully getting the funding they need to develop into flourishing businesses.”

*Fundraising totals do not include transactions that occurred with undisclosed amounts or companies with 1+ billion in revenue.

HRO Resources offers a one-stop solution for businesses key administrative functions, including payroll services, outsourced HR services, employee benefit and commercial insurance and risk solutions.