Let’s catch up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas.
—Rackspace Hosting, the San Antonio, TX-based cloud computing company, is reportedly nearing a sale to a New York-based private equity firm. Reuters has reported that Apollo Global Management (NYSE: [[ticker:APO]]) is considering a $3.5 billion offer for Rackspace (NYSE: [[ticker:RAX]]). In 2014, the company hired investment bank Morgan Stanley to explore a possible partnership or acquisition, Bloomberg reported.
—Austin virtual reality gaming startup Owlchemy Labs announced it has raised $5 million in a Series A funding round. Investors included Qualcomm Ventures, The Venture Reality Fund, HTC, Colopl VR Fund, and Capital Factory. Owlchemy makes the popular “Job Simulator” game and is developing a game based on the Adult Swim/Cartoon Network television show “Rick and Morty.”
—TheWaveVR, another Austin virtual reality startup, also said it had new funding: $2.5 million in a seed round from investors such as Presence Capital, Rothenberg Ventures, RRE Ventures, and Seedcamp. TheWaveVR allows artists and DJs to host events online, and users to enjoy a virtual concert environment.
—San Antonio’s Fe3 Medical, which is developing a skin patch that can deliver iron to an anemia patient’s bloodstream via electric current, received an additional $3.5 million in a Series B funding round initially announced in March. The state of Texas provided the latest financing. Fe3 Medical has now raised a total of $14.5 million.
—The Metis Foundation in San Antonio is beginning to raise capital—its goal is $3 million over three years—to support researchers developing cancer vaccines. Metis, which was founded two years ago, tries to help medical researchers get government grants, especially those scientists who are working in the military and can qualify for U.S. Department of Defense funding.
—The recently expanded Dallas Entrepreneur Center celebrated its third birthday by throwing a “relaunch” party. The DEC, whose new space targets more mature startups, also touted a recent economic development report highlighting the organization’s impact on North Texas. Among the findings: activity at the DEC accounted for $130 million in economic impact and supported about 1,350 full-time jobs.
—Inspyr Therapeutics, a San Antonio biotech formerly known as GenSpera, hired Christopher Lowe as its new CEO and president. He replaces Craig Dionne, who abruptly left the company in March. Lowe had been on Inspyr’s board of directors since March and is a partner at FLG Partners, a San Francisco firm that provides executive-level advisory services to public and private companies.
