Halogen Ventures announced its first nine investments in Alabama one year after partnering with Innovate Alabama to deploy $10 million aimed at expanding the state’s startup ecosystem and supporting companies with at least one female founder.
The Los Angeles-based venture capital firm, led by founding partner Jesse Draper, said the investments mark an early milestone in its strategy to drive economic growth and strengthen the state’s innovation ecosystem. Halogen Ventures became the first out-of-state venture capital firm to receive strategic funding from the state through Innovate Alabama as part of its third fund.
Since receiving the funding a year ago, the firm has spent significant time building relationships across Alabama’s startup community. The Halogen team has visited innovation centers and research labs and met with founders and state leaders in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery. The firm has also hosted pitch competitions that helped introduce Alabama startups to national investors and new funding opportunities.
Alabama currently ranks 50th in the United States for female entrepreneurship, but its technology sector has experienced rapid growth. The state’s tech industry has expanded roughly 50% since 2018 and is projected to double by 2030. Venture capital investment has also grown significantly, rising from $3 million a decade ago to $321 million in 2023.
As part of its plan to invest $10 million across approximately 20 companies over the next two years, Halogen Ventures has already backed nine startups across several sectors, including artificial intelligence, healthcare, fintech, robotics, workforce technology, marketplaces, childcare, and renewable energy.
The startups include:
- Moxi – A flexible childcare and coworking platform helping working families access quality childcare and community services.
- Auditocity – An HR technology company that automates compliance workflows using AI.
- Croux – An AI-powered staffing marketplace connecting job seekers with flexible, high-paying work opportunities.
- Skyfire AI – A provider of advanced analytics and AI solutions for enterprise decision-making.
- Nyad AI – An AI-powered operations intelligence platform designed to improve efficiency at scale.
- Doctours – A medical tourism marketplace focused on expanding healthcare access and price transparency.
- Yard – A developer of autonomous robotic workforce solutions for outdoor maintenance.
- KrillPay – A borderless digital wallet delivering 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 provide affordable clean power.
These investments expand Halogen Ventures’ broader portfolio of more than 85 female-founded companies, including six unicorns with a combined market valuation exceeding $15 billion. Several companies within the portfolio already maintain operations in Alabama, including parking technology platform Metropolis and childcare provider Upwards.
According to the firm, companies in the Halogen Ventures portfolio raised more than $2 billion in follow-on capital during the last quarter alone.
KEY QUOTE:
“We came to Alabama not just to invest capital, but to help remove barriers, open doors, and create long-term economic opportunity. We’re seeing real momentum and capital flowing into companies that are hiring, scaling, and putting Alabama on the map as an emerging innovation hub. We are making a calculated bet on one of the most undervalued startup ecosystems in America, and we are just getting started. There is so much opportunity in Alabama and the quality of startups is next level!,”
Jesse Draper, Founding Partner, Halogen Ventures
