Texas state leaders have approved legislation that would revive and reform the embattled Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, but have left one question unanswered: What about the companies with pending grant applications? CPRIT (pronounced “sip-rit”), was created by a 2007 amendment to the Texas state constitution with the mission of funding cancer research … Continue reading “Texas Cancer Agency Resuscitated, But Fate of Pending Grants Unknown”
Author: Angela Shah
Angela Shah was formerly the editor of Xconomy Texas. She has written about startups along a wide entrepreneurial spectrum, from Silicon Valley transplants to Austin transforming a once-sleepy university town in the '90s tech boom to 20-something women defying cultural norms as they seek to build vital IT infrastructure in a war-torn Afghanistan. As a foreign correspondent based in Dubai, her work appeared in The New York Times, TIME, Newsweek/Daily Beast and Forbes Asia.
Before moving overseas, Shah was a staff writer and columnist with The Dallas Morning News and the Austin American-Statesman. She has a Bachelor's of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and she is a 2007 Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan. With the launch of Xconomy Texas, she's returned to her hometown of Houston.
Scouting for a Summer Camp for the Kids? Camperoo, Sigby Offer Aid
School is almost out. Do you know what your kids will be doing this summer? If you haven’t already locked in a place at Camp Longhorn or Camp Waldemar, and are at loose ends where to send the kiddoes, Houston entrepreneur Emmie Chang says she has a solution: Camperoo, her startup that offers one-stop shopping … Continue reading “Scouting for a Summer Camp for the Kids? Camperoo, Sigby Offer Aid”
San Antonio Startup Leto, Winner of $100K, Builds Cooler Prosthetics
For Gary Walters, the entrepreneurial brainstorm came while mowing his lawn on a hot San Antonio day. An Iraq war veteran, Walters lost his right leg below the knee in a bomb blast eight years ago, and he has suffered from excessive heat and sweating where his prosthesis is joined to his leg, a common … Continue reading “San Antonio Startup Leto, Winner of $100K, Builds Cooler Prosthetics”
NanoRacks Seeks Better Quality Protein Crystals Born in Microgravity
Canadian Commander Chris Hadfield wasn’t just spending his time in space communing with an Earth-bound Captain Kirk and learning to play guitar in microgravity. The astronaut, who last month returned to terra firma after five months in orbit at the International Space Station, gained international fame with his extracurricular projects, which also included a music-video … Continue reading “NanoRacks Seeks Better Quality Protein Crystals Born in Microgravity”
Houston Group eHRI Forms to Promote HealthTech Collaboration
Houston is home to one of the world’s most innovative medical clusters, but the institutions within still have work to do in using technology to reach more patients more efficiently. That’s the view, at least, of the eHealth Research Institute, a newly formed consortium aimed at finding and commercializing overlaps in information systems and medical … Continue reading “Houston Group eHRI Forms to Promote HealthTech Collaboration”
IBM Buying SoftLayer in Cloud-Computing Wars
IBM announced Tuesday it is acquiring Dallas-based SoftLayer, which will serve as the keystone for its new cloud service division, along with IBM’s SmartCloud franchise. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but published estimates speculate it was a $2 billion purchase price. The acquisition comes as the Armonk, NY-based computing giant seeks to buttress … Continue reading “IBM Buying SoftLayer in Cloud-Computing Wars”
TechStars Austin Will Complement City’s Vibrant Startup Scene
When TechStars last month announced that Austin would be home to its next outpost, many of us had the same thought: We thought you would have been there long ago. After all, the Texas capital is not a Johnny-come-lately on the technology scene. “It’s not for a lack of awareness about Austin, but more about … Continue reading “TechStars Austin Will Complement City’s Vibrant Startup Scene”
Under Purple Spotlights, Surge Accelerator’s Startups Make Their Debut
The mimosas and Bloody Marys began flowing before 9 a.m. at Houston’s House of Blues, setting up a rock-concert after-party feel for the coming out party for a group of energy startups. The entrepreneurs were the headliners at Wednesday’s Surge Day, the 2nd annual Demo Day featuring Surge Accelerator’s latest class of entrepreneurs. The companies … Continue reading “Under Purple Spotlights, Surge Accelerator’s Startups Make Their Debut”
Texas Venture Capital Market “Weak,” But Still Shows Promise
[Corrected 5/24/13, 8:23 am. See below.] Blair Garrou came to Houston in 1996, intending to stay four years while his wife completed her degree in veterinary medicine at Texas A&M University in nearby College Station. He was working in the banking industry, focusing on energy, but as the price of oil fell to $10 a barrel … Continue reading “Texas Venture Capital Market “Weak,” But Still Shows Promise”
Houston’s Hackers Gather to Help City Solve Problems
In groups of twos and threes, the constituents lined up to take potshots at the assembled city officials. “Just about any fifth-grader could do it better,” said Yan Digilov, speaking of the city’s request for proposals process. “We just hope to retire a lot of fax machines.” In the audience, Houston Mayor Annise Parker gamely … Continue reading “Houston’s Hackers Gather to Help City Solve Problems”
Appconomy Aims for Share of China’s Mobile Shopping Market
We’ve all been there, standing in a superstore, shopping list in hand. We stare at the dozens and dozens of rows of consumer products before us and don’t have a clue where to find anything. But if you’re in China, Appconomy has something that might help. The company, which is based in both Austin, TX, … Continue reading “Appconomy Aims for Share of China’s Mobile Shopping Market”
Gradalis’s Fang Bares Its Teeth in Fighting Ovarian Cancer
Gradalis today revealed early details of a study indicating that its personalized cancer vaccine could delay recurrences of ovarian cancer in advanced stage patients by at least a year. The Dallas-based startup, founded in 2005, presented results of a phase II clinical trial of the vaccine at the annual meeting of the American Society of … Continue reading “Gradalis’s Fang Bares Its Teeth in Fighting Ovarian Cancer”
Johnson Space Center Campus Looks to Support NASA Entrepreneurs
The shuttering of NASA’s space shuttle program two years ago was felt most acutely in the Houston suburbs, home to the Johnson Space Center. In the aftermath, corporate boosters scrambled to keep talent in the area in order to preserve some of the economic engine that the space program brought to the city. The result … Continue reading “Johnson Space Center Campus Looks to Support NASA Entrepreneurs”
Surge Energy Software Accelerator Gearing Up for Second Demo Day
Houston’s energy sector is an economic powerhouse, but not one usually associated with startup culture. “Energy is extremely global but it’s also extremely myopic,” says Kirk Coburn, founder and managing director of Surge Accelerator in Houston. “It doesn’t look outside the industry for solutions.” Industry giants have venture arms, but Houston lacked a fully formed … Continue reading “Surge Energy Software Accelerator Gearing Up for Second Demo Day”
Texas, and Its Maverick Entrepreneurs, Propel Innovation
Texas has always had a larger-than-life reputation. Big business, big politics—even big hair—the state’s outsized persona often takes center stage in our national story. No matter where I’ve traveled, be it in a village in Nepal or the glitzy hotels of Hong Kong, when I say “Texas,” I receive a smile and a flash of … Continue reading “Texas, and Its Maverick Entrepreneurs, Propel Innovation”
Searching for Talent, Houston Startup Datafiniti Moves to Austin
Datafiniti’s mission is to harness the infinite data of the Web into useable intelligence for its customers. The Houston-based company has built a catalog of structured data available on the Internet and allows customers to generate custom reports based on various search categories. Consider it a Google-like search engine that gives you more than links … Continue reading “Searching for Talent, Houston Startup Datafiniti Moves to Austin”