The end of the 4th of July long weekend means we can start the third quarter in earnest. Let’s kick things off with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas:
—Accelerate H20, a San Antonio-based accelerator promoting technologies related to what it says is Texas’s $9 billion water market gathered last week in Austin for the first Texas Water Technology Investment Forum. Among the initiatives discussed at the conference were an expansion of Fathom Water, a Phoenix-based cloud and data analytics firm for water utilities, to Austin.
—The RevTech Accelerator in Dallas, formerly known as VentureSpur, announced its new class of startups, focusing on the restaurant and retail sectors.
—Austin, TX-based RideScout announced last week it had purchased GlobeSherpa, a ticketing app based in Portland, OR. RideScout, which is what founder Joseph Kopser calls the “Kayak of ground transportation,” was founded four years ago and is now in 69 cities in North America.
—Naya Ventures, a Dallas-based venture capital firm specializing in telecom startups, says it hopes to close on its second $100 million fund this year. The firm, founded in 2013, said it expects to invest as much as half of it in Texas-based companies, the Dallas Business Journal reported. Among its current portfolio, Xconomy recently featured KeepTrax, a Dallas travel app.
—A couple of energy technology companies out of Houston’s Surge Accelerator have raised money. Deep Imaging Technologies, which uses electromagnetic signals to track fluid beneath the earth’s surface, raised a $720,000 bridge loan. Also, Vert Solar Finance closed on a $2.5 million portion of its fund to buy solar projects, according to the Houston Business Journal.
—Pet Quest, a startup which has created a virtual help desk for dog and cat owners in China, reports its has raised $400,000 from a Chinese investor. The startup was founded by Xin “George” Fang, a genetics PhD student at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. Pet Quest was also one of the startups participating in the latest class of the Seed Sumo accelerator, which is based in nearby Bryan, TX.
