Happy Monday. Let’s get caught up with the innovation news from Xconomy Texas.
—Houston, there’s an app for house calls. DrNow, founded by local physician Akash Bhagat, has launched its service in Houston and plans to expand throughout Texas by the end of the year. Patients can request physicians or nurse practitioners to make house calls for about $200—substantially lower than a typical ER visit, Bhagat says.
—Denver-based coding school Galvanize will open an Austin, TX-based campus in February. Called “gSchool,” the program offers full-time programs lasting 24 weeks costing as much as $23,000. Galvanize, which also has campuses in Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Seattle, and San Francisco, also offers part-time workshops and night classes.
—Houston’s student entrepreneurs were on display last week during the second annual Bayou Startup Showcase. The RedLabs accelerator at the University of Houston and Owlspark at Rice University featured teams seeking to innovate with software and apps in media, nutrition, and even a new car company.
—Austin’s Apollo Endosurgery has begun marketing its obesity-fighting Orbera device. The gastric balloon, which has received FDA approval, is inserted via catheter through a patient’s mouth and filled with saline.
—HUVR, an Austin drone company targeting the energy, agriculture, and industrial sectors, has raised $2 million from Texas angel investor networks. The drones do regular assessments in order to find and diagnose cracks and other damage. Cameras on the drones take images and video for further analysis.
—Want to fly all you can in Texas for $1,650 a month? That’s the premise behind Rise, a Dallas-based aviation startup. The airline, which received clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration, flies from Dallas to Houston and Austin, and plans to start service to other Texas cities as well as some in Oklahoma by the end of the year.
—Tech giant Microsoft bought Austin-based Incent Games, which sells FantasySalesTeam, a fantasy sports-style tool that aims to help customers boost sales by treating its salespeople like fantasy athletes. Terms were not disclosed.
