Semiconductor chipmaker Nvidia, one of the world’s largest publicly traded companies, has acquired a software business that was helped to grow by the Chattanooga startup incubator Brickyard.
“Brickyard was the only investor that wanted to meet in person,” Nader Khalil, co-founder of the San Francisco-based firm Brave Dev Inc., said by phone. “They flew us out to Chattanooga and didn’t know they were going to invest. That’s how they do business.”
(Read more: Brickyard invites founder to Chattanooga)
Earlier this month, Nvidia acquired Brev.dev, and Khalil and his team now work at the chipmaker, which is seen as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the surge in adoption of artificial intelligence applications.
Cam Doody, founder and general partner at Brickyard, said the incubator and its fund made its first investment in Brev.dev in August 2021. Brickyard has since invested two more times, totaling $900,000, he said on the call.
“We trusted the founding team from day one,” he said. “We really liked the tempo of their execution.”
(Read more: Brickyard brings Doody back to the trenches)
Doody said Brev.dev was the relatively new incubator’s fourth investment at the time. He noted that Brev.dev was the first Brickyard exit company in which the fund sold a stake.
“It’s unusual for a venture fund to make its first investment in three years,” Doody said. “We’re pleased to see this as an accomplishment.”
The acquisition price Nvidia paid for Brev.dev was not disclosed, but he called it “life-changing for the founders and a good return for Brickyard.”
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Kalil said he and his team visited the Brickyard frequently while building their business and grew to love Chattanooga.
“The energy fit was great,” he said. “Without the Brickyard, we wouldn’t be here today.”
Khalil recalled that the Brev.dev team “rarely” left the site, and noted that Brickyard was designed to allow for 100-plus hour work weeks.
“It’s a waste of every moment of the day,” he said.
The Brev.dev co-founder recalls that when his team first arrived in Chattanooga, the Brickyard partners had just completed purchasing land near East Main Street.
“It was a mess inside,” Khalil said, “and it’s amazing what they did with it and brought some of the best founders in the world to Chattanooga.”
Doody said the Brev.dev experience was “great validation” for Brickyard.
Currently, corporate teams coming to the Brickyard take an average of 18 months to physically relocate to Chattanooga, he said.
Doody said the Brickyard invests in about 10 companies a year.
“We expect to make many more of these acquisitions over the next decade, investing in hundreds of fast-growing companies,” he said, “many of whom will become full-time employees and permanent residents.”
Doody and business partner Matt Patterson are co-founders of moving industry company Bellhop, which was founded in 2012 with funding and mentorship from Lamppost Group, a startup incubator founded by Chattanooga entrepreneurs Alan Davis, Barry Large and Ted Alling.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.
