Let’s get caught up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas, which includes two notable acquisitions in San Antonio and Austin.
—San Antonio biotech Cardiovate closed a $350,000 round of convertible notes from the University of Texas Horizon Fund, Targeted Technology, and angel investors. The four-year-old company is building a medical device scaffolding that aims to repair or replace clogged arteries with regenerated tissue.
—Investors Chris Robart and Alex Robart are seeking a new model through which to invest in and support young energy technology companies. To do so, the brothers co-founded Unconventional Capital in Houston.
—Bluegrass Vascular Technologies, a San Antonio, TX-based medical device company, has been cleared by European regulators to sell its vein-access device on the continent. The device is used by healthcare providers to regain access to obstructed veins, especially those in patients who receive dialysis treatment for kidney failure.
—Station Houston, a co-working and accelerator hybrid space, has picked up a former Thiel Capital executive as its COO. Jessica Whitman Hart joined the executive team as Station hits six months in operation and has found that its growth to 50 member companies has caused a need to move to bigger digs.
—PatientIO, a patient-focused software app by Austin, TX health IT startup Filament Labs, has been acquired by Athenahealth (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ATHN]]) in Watertown, MA. PatientIO helps newly discharged patients coordinate activities such as managing medication, tracking side effects, and keeping abreast of education materials.
—Cloud computing company Rackspace (NYSE: [[ticker:RAX]]) agreed to sell itself to New York private equity firm Apollo Global Management. Funds associated with the firm are paying $32 a share to take the San Antonio company private; the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. With 300,000 business customers worldwide, Rackspace builds and manages cloud-based infrastructures hosted by 11 data centers. Recently, the company has faced competition from Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and other companies offering similar services.
—Houston’s Circular Board has moved the accelerator online—in the hopes it can better reach out to underserved women entrepreneurs. So far, Circular Board has hosted about 170 startups in healthcare, energy, food and beverage, and other sectors, says co-founder Carolyn Rodz.
