Sputnik ATX, Austin-Based Venture Capital Fund, Announces New Round of Early-Stage Investments

Four future shaping start-ups are each receiving $100,000 as part of Sputnik ATX’s 12th round of cohort investments

AUSTIN, Texas – August 17, 2023 - Sputnik ATX, an Austin, Texas-based venture capital fund that backs early-stage, high-growth startups, today announced their newest investment cohort. The major themes in this batch are AI, sustainability and hospitality. The four companies each receive a $100,000 investment and join Sputnik ATX’s portfolio of 63+ investments operating in a variety of exciting sectors, including fintech, AI, software/SaaS, and consumer products.

Sputnik ATX’s unique selection method utilizes both behavioral and economic tests and is the most selective investment program of its kind. Out of the hundreds of applications sent in from 36 countries, less than 0.5% will receive investment and mentorship benefits from Sputnik ATX. The four companies selected also highlight a core element of Sputnik ATX’s investment thesis - talent can come from anywhere.

“As a Ph.D. physicist originally from Ukraine now in Texas, I recognize that the road less traveled does make all the difference, and exceptional founders come from the most unlikely places,” said Oksana Malysheva, Founder and Managing Partner at Sputnik ATX. “Technical founders with different experiences and perspectives see and solve problems no one even considered before.”

“Early stage VC doesn’t have to be ‘spray and pray’ when you have the ability to find massive economic opportunity in places no one else is looking. Our data-driven processes do just that ”, said Joe Merrill, Founder and General Partner at Sputnik ATX. “This cohort is made up of companies whose technology is at the forefront of change in their industries. When you look even casually at what they do, it’s easy to see how they are the future.”

As part of this initial investment, the startups will go through a 13-week training program that focuses on sales, marketing and scaling their companies and products. Program alumni have gone on to receive funding from industry-leading global venture capital funds, including Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Softbank, Shasta Ventures, among others. Sputnik ATX portfolio companies have some of the highest performing growth averages in venture capital, and over half of the selected organizations for Sputnik ATX’s cohort program are led by women and/or individuals from minority backgrounds. Their first fund hit a 70% IRR after five years, proving that top performing funds can be diverse.

The four Summer 2023 cohort companies are:

Tongo - Michael Gahan and David Juliano, Austin, Texas

Known as the "purveyor of cool," Tongo app curates unforgettable experiences for traveling guests and drives revenue for hotel owners. With nearly a decade of combined hospitality industry experience, Michael and David have built the premiere digital guest advisor that leaves hotel guests raving and the property owners smiling too.

Mercurial-AI - Dennis Trujillo, Chicago, IL

Mercurial-AI is built to beat cancer. It provides any oncologist the ability to treat cancer with all the knowledge, data, and experience of the world’s leading physicians and medical researchers. Driven by his own father’s battle with cancer, Dr. Dennis Trujillo built powerful and comprehensive AI cancer fighting tools that provide doctors medically approved, effective, and personalized treatment plans. As medical research into cancer expands rapidly, Mercurial-AI will fully incorporate this growing knowledge-base to enable every doctor to eradicate cancer best-in-class, every time.

Afforai - Alec Nguyen and Hung Nguyen, Vietnam and Japan

Imagine an AI engine that can distill all the information on any topic, from any discipline, in any language down to key findings relevant to your goals and interests." Afforai does this and more, proving an invaluable tool for research. Alec and Hung saw the need for this omniscient learning tool while studying as international students and seeing a massive increase in signal to noise ratios in virtually any knowledge work, compounded by language and culture barriers between Asian and Western organizations. With obvious use cases in business, law, medicine, and academia, they are deploying an AI companion that can learn everything and tell you what's important in a blink.

Voltaage – Francesco Semeraro, Edoardo Carlevaris and Domenico Scalera, Paris, France

The next generation of electric vehicles will go 700 miles and recharge in ten minutes, yet most fleet managers have no idea how to acquire, maintain, and manage these assets. Voltaage makes fleet electrification and management easy. With partnerships already in place with Stellantis and Mercedes and more in the pipeline, Voltage is the go-to platform for moving your enterprise to electric vehicles today.

About Sputnik ATX VC

Sputnik ATX is an Austin, TX-based venture capital fund that combines early-stage investment with training and mentorship focused on high growth and product-market fit. Applications for their next cohort will open again in October. A complete list of the companies currently comprising Sputnik’s investment portfolio can be found here. Founded by Dr. Oksana Malysheva and Joe Merrill in 2017, Sputnik ATX helps pre-series A start-ups grow fast, targeting 10% week over week growth. Sputnik’s investment team has over $5B in investment/transaction experience and seeks to bring startups with high potential to Austin’s rapidly expanding VC community to learn, grow and reach their full potential. Sputnik, which translates to “partner,” represents horizon-expanding innovation and describes the core of the fund: To partner with and mentor startups that will change the world.

Media Contacts: Rich Myers sputnikatx@profileadvisors.com