Let’s catch up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas.
—Many businesses have used the Internet to pair buyers and sellers. Austin’s Care2Rock is doing that for music lessons. The social entrepreneurship startup uses WebRTC technology, which is open-source software that enables video chatting without having to download software like Skype, according to a press release. Care2Rock, which is part of social enterprise accelerator UnLtd USA, is also offering free lessons to foster children who have participated in the Computers for CASA program administered by Texas CASA, a child advocacy group.
—Wildcat Capital Management of Fort Worth has led an $11 million Series C financing round, part of a $15 million investment, for Sacramento, CA-based NeuroVision Imaging, according to Dallas Innovates. NeuroVision is developing an eye-screening test to pinpoint Alzheimer’s disease. Others investing in the round are Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Nikon-SBI Innovation Fund, Whittier Ventures, and VSP Global.
—Moneta Ventures, a Sacramento-based early-stage venture capital firm, has opened an Austin office and plans to invest about $20 million into Texas-based tech startups, Austin Inno reported. Moneta Ventures intends to invest between $500,000 and $2 million each in startups developing education, healthcare, enterprise, and consumer technologies that have reached at least $500,000 in annual revenue, the publication reported.
—Yoshi, a Palo Alto-based startup that sells $20 monthly subscriptions for onsite car maintenance—think oil changes and car washes—and gas delivery, is expanding its Austin service area, the company announced in a press release. The company says it works with both individual car owners and fleets, and says a growing number of Austin-area employers are offering Yoshi subscriptions to their employees as a benefit. General Motors Ventures and ExxonMobil led a $13.7 million Series A round of funding for the startup, which says it is using the money to accelerate geographic expansion.
—CipherLoc, a cybersecurity firm based in the Austin suburb of Buda, has raised $3.43 million, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. CipherLoc aims to raise as much as $15 million in this round, according to the document.
—Financial services company Charles Schwab is scouting real estate in Austin to set up a digital accelerator program, according to a press release. The firm said it is ramping up headcount in both Austin and San Francisco, where it plans to launch another accelerator.
“The Digital Services team at Schwab is focused on a range of innovations and improvements in the investing process,” Neesha Hathi, Schwab’s executive vice president and chief digital officer, said in a prepared statement. “In some cases, we’re exploring completely new ways for people to invest and manage their wealth, and in other cases, we’ll aim to modernize the more mundane pain points that negatively impact the investor experience in our industry today—things like the account open process, for example.”
