Let’s get caught up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas.
—Chevron Technology Ventures has launched a Future Energy Fund with an initial commitment of $100 million. The venture arm is a subsidiary of California-based Chevron (NYSE: [[ticker:CVX]]) and the new fund is designed to invest in “breakthrough technologies that enable the ongoing energy transition to a greater diversity of sources,” according to a press release. Investments from the new fund are expected to focus on innovations such as lower-emission sources of energy and methods to obtain lower emissions from oil and gas, the statement said.
—The U.S. Air Force’s innovation unit, AFWERX, plans to open an office at the Capital Factory in Austin, Austin Inno reported. The publication cited Air Force Magazine, which noted that the Texas capital was selected back in February. The Austin outpost would join others in Las Vegas and Crystal City, VA.
—In other Capital Factory news, the co-working space is partnering with Oracle on a new accelerator focused on cloud startups. The Oracle Cloud Accelerator won’t take equity in the companies, the company said in a prepared statement. The accelerator is accepting applications until Aug. 7; as many as six startups will be selected for the program that begins in September.
—Newchip, an online market of crowdfunding deals, announced it has raised a $2 million seed round of funding. Investors include JadeValue, SputnikATX, Youbi Capital, Polymath, and Yeoman, the company said in a press release. The Austin-based startup also said it has hosted more than 50,000 individual users. Users can make investments as low as $100 while entrepreneurs can raise up to $50 million on Newchip, the company said.
—Drillinginfo, an Austin-based oil and gas startup, has been acquired by Genstar Capital, a private equity firm that invests in industrial software technology. Drillinginfo makes analytics software for the energy industry; it last raised $8.7 million in funding in March and had made 10 acquisitions of its own in recent years. The company had been majority owned by Insight Venture Partners in New York. Drillinginfo says it has more than 3,500 customers in 50 countries.
—Logistics software maker Convey has raised $10 million from Silverton Partners, RPM Ventures, NextGen, and other investors. This latest round brings the startup’s total funding to $25.75 million and the new funds will be spent on software developing as well as hiring people for sales and marketing, the Austin-based company said in a press release.
