customers to create pre-paid house accounts at restaurants, has raised about $5.2 million in equity and debt funding, according to an SEC filing. Founder Johann Moonesinghe had previously started madKast, a 2007 Techstars Boulder company, that was acquired by ShareThis in 2008, according to Moonesinghe’s profile on inKind’s website.
—The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences have received a $7.5 million U.S. Department of Defense grant to develop artificial intelligence technologies for drones, according to a press release. Researchers will be working on AI technologies that would enable drones to learn as they go, making decisions based on a sort of intuition.
—PIMCO, which manages fixed-income investments of more than $1 trillion, is opening its third U.S. office in Austin this summer with plans to employ about 200 workers by the end of 2019, the firm said in a press release. The idea is to recruit more tech savvy workers who might not join PIMCO in its California and New York offices, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Austin office will focus on modernizing PIMCO’s systems, and developing new tools for data analytics and bond trading platforms that could include algorithmic investing and other electronic trading capabilities, according to the article.
—When you’re a virtual reality company, I suppose it makes sense that you pitch, sign, and announce news of a Series A funding of $6 million through a VR experience. That’s what TheWaveVR did a few weeks ago with the investment round led by RRE Ventures and participation from Upfront Ventures, KPCB, Greycroft VR Gaming Tracker Fund, and The VR Fund. Total funding for the company, which has created a VR community for concerts, comes in at $10 million. Plans for the new money include further development of the startup’s app, and opening an office in Los Angeles.
