As we wind down Monday, let’s get caught up with the latest innovation news in Texas.
—In an atypically large debut for a young company, Dallas-based StackPath came out of stealth mode with $150 million in funding and about 30,000 customers. The cybersecurity software firm was founded by Lance Crosby, who sold cloud-computing software company SoftLayer to IBM in 2013 for about $2 billion.
—Xclaim Mobile, which makes location-based advertising software, has raised $450,000 in funding from Dallas-based GPG Ventures. The startup is a current member of the accelerator class at Revtech in Dallas, which focuses on startups in retail and hospitality.
—The energy sector may still be suffering from the impact of low oil prices, but Chip Davis, founder of Houston Ventures, says he is finding the downturn a good opportunity to fund startups. The venture firm, which was founded in 2011, has four energy technology startups in its $35 million portfolio.
—The period after a patient is released from the hospital and before a scheduled follow-up appointment is a critical time not adequately monitored by caregivers. Houston’s Seremedi has developed software to create that link by reminding patients to log vital statistics and take medications, and alert clinicians if something is amiss.
—Texas startups received about $255.6 million in venture investment in 39 deals for the second quarter of this year, according to the latest MoneyTree report on venture activity nationwide. That’s an increase of 16 percent from the same period last year. The IT services sector received the most funds with $72.9 million invested.
—Alex Rozenfeld, the former president of Shell Technology Ventures, has started his own cleantech investing firm. He says Climate Impact Capital is seeking to take a longer-term view of investments in cleantech and energy, as well as food, water, and other environmentally focused segments.
—Earlier this month, Austin,TX-based Xbiotech announced phase 3 study results that it called a “breakthrough.” Unfortunately, investors, peers, and the medical society whose conference was the backdrop to the announcement disagree with that conclusion. Xbiotech makes a monoclonal antibody to treat colorectal cancer but critics said the company’s results aren’t reliable and that the data were not reported correctly.
