On a sunny spring afternoon, William Henry Gates III strolled into the Harvard University science center. Several hundred students and invited guests were waiting for him in the auditorium. Security was tight, but not overly so (he’s used to it). Gates was there Thursday for a conversation with Frank Doyle, Harvard’s dean of engineering and … Continue reading “Bill Gates on Saving Babies, Educating Kids, and Picking a Major”
Category: Texas
Bio Roundup: CRISPR Tests, Parkinson’s Questions, Opioid Bills & More
Politics is more partisan than ever these days, but the opioid crisis might be one of the few issues where elected officials find common ground. This week, members of Congress exercised a bipartisan effort in both chambers to advance dozens of measures proposing various approaches to fighting the opioid epidemic. A Senate committee voted unanimously … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: CRISPR Tests, Parkinson’s Questions, Opioid Bills & More”
Moving On: Dallas Entrepreneur Center Founder Trey Bowles Steps Down
Dallas—Five years after founding the Dallas Entrepreneur Center, Trey Bowles is stepping down as its chief executive officer. “What I love to do is starting, building, and growing things,” Bowles said in an interview. “The DEC is doing what I wanted it to do—and it is not done by any means—but there is value in … Continue reading “Moving On: Dallas Entrepreneur Center Founder Trey Bowles Steps Down”
PayPal Headlines Dosh’s $44M Payday for Advertising-Rebate Business
Austin—Dosh, a fintech and advertising startup that gets consumers cash back on certain purchases, has raised a $44 million Series A round of funding from some big-name investors, including PayPal. Dosh, founded in 2016, has had an active start to 2018, after launching last year. The Austin, TX-based company’s app has added 3 million new … Continue reading “PayPal Headlines Dosh’s $44M Payday for Advertising-Rebate Business”
DARPA Enlists Insects in R&D Effort to Protect the Food Supply
Farmers spend a lot of time and money trying to keep insects from damaging their crops. But the U.S. military sees some of these bugs as potential friends, not foes. A government-funded research project is studying how to use insects to deliver a targeted therapy to a crop following an outbreak of disease, a disaster, … Continue reading “DARPA Enlists Insects in R&D Effort to Protect the Food Supply”
What President Trump Gets Wrong About Amazon’s Effect on the Economy
For the past week or so, President Trump has been deriding Amazon as a destroyer of jobs and the main reason many retail companies are failing. Unfortunately, this is a very one-sided and uninformed view of how Amazon is changing our economy. I run a retail operation that sells almost exclusively on Amazon. Since its … Continue reading “What President Trump Gets Wrong About Amazon’s Effect on the Economy”
Next Stop, IPO? Austin’s BigCommerce Nabs $64M for Global Expansion
Austin—BigCommerce, which sells software to allow businesses to build and run online stores, announced Wednesday that it has raised $64 million in new funding. The investment round was led by Goldman Sachs with participation from current investors General Catalyst, GGV Capital, and Tenaya Capital. With the latest funding, BigCommerce has raised more than $200 million. … Continue reading “Next Stop, IPO? Austin’s BigCommerce Nabs $64M for Global Expansion”
Aspect Venture’s Jennifer Fonstad on Hot Areas of Tech, Diversity, & More
Jennifer Fonstad and Theresia Gouw launched Aspect Ventures with their own money in February 2014—and have hardly looked back. “We closed our first investment that first week,” Fonstad says. The pair went on to make a number of investments that first year before deciding to raise funds more formally from outsiders, like a conventional venture … Continue reading “Aspect Venture’s Jennifer Fonstad on Hot Areas of Tech, Diversity, & More”
After $1.5M Series A, Upper Hand Plans to Grow Sports Management Biz
Upper Hand, the Indianapolis startup focused on sports management software and business services, announced earlier this month that it has snagged $1.5 million in Series A funding from Houston, TX-based Park Ten Capital. Company co-founder and CEO Kevin MacCauley came to the sports management sector a few years ago after a stint coaching Little League.“I … Continue reading “After $1.5M Series A, Upper Hand Plans to Grow Sports Management Biz”
With TMC3, Texas Leaders Aim to Launch Houston as Top Biotech Hub
Houston—Texas political leaders, along with heads of the Texas Medical Center and its institutions, announced on Monday plans for a biotech-focused hub that could place Houston on the map of life sciences innovation centers. The TMC Translational Research campus, or TMC3, is a planned $250 million research center in the shape of a double helix … Continue reading “With TMC3, Texas Leaders Aim to Launch Houston as Top Biotech Hub”
San Antonio Healthcare Group Plans Boot Camp for Healthtech Startups
San Antonio—A life sciences professional development and advocacy group in San Antonio, The Health Cell, is hosting a three-day boot camp for researchers, scientists, and entrepreneurs who want to start or join a healthtech company. The event is taking place from Friday, May 11 to Sunday, May 13, and will offer prospective executives mentorship and … Continue reading “San Antonio Healthcare Group Plans Boot Camp for Healthtech Startups”
Techstars Alexa Firms Address Settings Where Voice Is ‘Most Natural’
Smart speakers are becoming increasingly common in our homes. Users can instruct these devices to order takeout, give the weather forecast, or turn on or off various Internet-connected devices. The Consumer Technology Association estimates that nearly 44 million voice-enabled assistants will be sold this year in the United States. Unit sales rose 279 percent from … Continue reading “Techstars Alexa Firms Address Settings Where Voice Is ‘Most Natural’”
Life Sci Veteran Garabedian Talks Up Biotech Accelerator in Texas
San Antonio — For early stage researchers at universities and other institutions, the idea of finding enough money to bring a drug or medical device to market can seem daunting, if not entirely hopeless. Grants and angel networks can cover some preclinical funding, and big venture capital firms are there to pour tens of millions … Continue reading “Life Sci Veteran Garabedian Talks Up Biotech Accelerator in Texas”
Using Analytics, Fitcode Aims to Connect Shoppers to Jeans That Fit
There are few things more universal in wardrobes the world over than blue jeans. But they are also the number one item that is returned by online shoppers, says Rian Buckley, founder and CEO of Fitcode. “Fit is the number one purchase driver and reason to return,” she says. For many of us, the idea … Continue reading “Using Analytics, Fitcode Aims to Connect Shoppers to Jeans That Fit”
Pivotal Notches $555M IPO to Boost Enterprise Software in the Cloud
Pivotal Software is the latest to jump into an improving public market for tech companies—the San Francisco-based software business is raising $555 million in its initial public offering today. Pivotal said it priced 37 million shares for $15 apiece in the offering, in the middle of its expected range. The IPO still leaves Dell Technologies … Continue reading “Pivotal Notches $555M IPO to Boost Enterprise Software in the Cloud”
Bio Roundup: Hope for Lungs, Bradner’s Complaint, FDA Nods & More
The biggest news this week was in oncology, hands down. Merck showed that its immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) might become a common option for many patients newly diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, but the bigger picture is that the field is moving fast. While pembrolizumab notched the headline-grabbing data, others are also working to develop options … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Hope for Lungs, Bradner’s Complaint, FDA Nods & More”
Want to Find Stellar Software Engineers in the Midwest? Here’s How
It may seem obvious that companies in the Midwest face challenges attracting and retaining talent, given our weather and location far from the coasts. One need only to look at college football recruiting, after all, to see how the average annual snowfall on campus matters almost as much as last season’s win/loss record. To some … Continue reading “Want to Find Stellar Software Engineers in the Midwest? Here’s How”
Ford Offers Non-Emergency Medical Transport with New GoRide Service
Proponents of mobility and autonomous vehicle technologies say those innovations have a lot of humanity-improving potential. Self-driving cars will dramatically reduce congestion and accidents, they say, and will allow elderly and disabled people to get around more independently. One future scenario imagines residents of a retirement community requesting rides from a community-owned autonomous shuttle using … Continue reading “Ford Offers Non-Emergency Medical Transport with New GoRide Service”
Facebook: Lip Service to Privacy Is Over
As publicity-shy Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before both houses of Congress last week amid an avalanche of criticism about the dearth of user privacy on the world’s biggest social media network, it became crystal clear that the entire social media industry has entered a new and perilous phase. Trust in all social media … Continue reading “Facebook: Lip Service to Privacy Is Over”
Easy Expunctions Wins $100,000 San Antonio Investment Competition
San Antonio—Easy Expunctions, a Texas startup that moved its business for expunging criminal records to San Antonio from Austin in 2016, has won a local startup pitch competition hosted by Capital Factory and Geekdom and, along with it, a $100,000 investment. Easy Expunctions beat out five other San Antonio tech companies Tuesday for the 1 … Continue reading “Easy Expunctions Wins $100,000 San Antonio Investment Competition”
Cancer Wrap: Blueprint, Checkmate, More AACR News & Phase 3 Blues
The big headlines from the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Chicago were all about the battle over the latest lung cancer data, and for good reason. Lung cancer remains the deadliest cancer, but the Phase 3 data suggest that treatment options for some of the direst cases could soon rapidly expand. There were … Continue reading “Cancer Wrap: Blueprint, Checkmate, More AACR News & Phase 3 Blues”
Money, Money, Money: Funds for AI, Cryptocurrency & Other TX Startups
Welcome to part two of our roundup of innovation news from Xconomy Texas, featuring new investments in Lone Star State startups. (Click here for part one.) —PullRequest, an Austin, TX, startup that uses artificial intelligence technologies to help coders find bugs in software before its launch, has raised $8 million in funding. The Series A … Continue reading “Money, Money, Money: Funds for AI, Cryptocurrency & Other TX Startups”
Nike Buys Invertex, Mark Cuban Backs Billshark, & More TX Tech News
I was out last week, exploring the rocky terrain of Big Bend National Park out in West Texas. Let’s catch up on the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas, part 1. (Part 2, chock full of startup funding news, is next.) —The first-ever Austin Cannabis Entrepreneur (or, ACE) conference is being held this Thursday and … Continue reading “Nike Buys Invertex, Mark Cuban Backs Billshark, & More TX Tech News”
U.S. Funding for Biomedical Research Takes Upturn
At the end of March, Congress passed a $1.3 trillion spending bill to fund federal agencies for the rest of the fiscal year and avert another government shutdown. The 2,232-page legislation included a $3 billion funding increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the second largest in the health agency’s history. Other research and … Continue reading “U.S. Funding for Biomedical Research Takes Upturn”
Adecco to Buy General Assembly for $412.5M to Grow Tech Workforce
The Adecco Group, the global staffing and worker training giant, has inked a $412.5 million agreement to acquire General Assembly, a tech training and career development company that offers courses online and at 20 campuses worldwide. The deal underscores the growing demand for software coding and other digital skills—and employers’ increased willingness to turn to … Continue reading “Adecco to Buy General Assembly for $412.5M to Grow Tech Workforce”
Seeking to Join Top Tech Hubs, Houston Plans an Innovation District
Houston—Houston’s tech renaissance could spring from the former location of one of the country’s top business innovators. A shuttered Sears store, located in the city’s Midtown area, has been designated as ground zero of a new tech-focused innovation district, a project that officials hope will help place Houston among the nation’s top tech hubs. “We … Continue reading “Seeking to Join Top Tech Hubs, Houston Plans an Innovation District”
For More Lung Cancer Patients, the Promise of No Chemo Looms Larger
[Editor’s note: Ben Fidler co-authored this report.] A decade from now, it’s possible that immunotherapy will have made a big dent in lung cancer, which is by far the deadliest type of the disease. Drugs from several companies have worked their way forward, initially for patients who have failed chemotherapy, and now, in some cases, … Continue reading “For More Lung Cancer Patients, the Promise of No Chemo Looms Larger”
Bio Roundup: Lung Cancer Showdown, Gene Therapy Deals, IPO Busts
This weekend, cancer immunotherapy will once again take biopharma’s center stage. At one of the year’s big cancer meetings, investors, researchers, and many others will have a close eye on a group of presentations touting new lung cancer regimens that combine immunotherapies with other treatments. The presentations could shift the dynamics of the fast-moving landscape, … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Lung Cancer Showdown, Gene Therapy Deals, IPO Busts”
No “Pink Tax”: Billie, a Shave Club for Women, Raises $6M
[Corrected, 4/11/18, 4:48 p.m. ET. See below.] Billie, a direct-to-consumer seller of monthly shaving and body care products subscriptions, has raised $6 million in new funding. The New York-based startup, which launched in November, previously raised $2.5 million. This latest round of funding was led by Silverton Partners in Austin and included existing investors Female … Continue reading “No “Pink Tax”: Billie, a Shave Club for Women, Raises $6M”
With New Data, Drug Combos, Lung Cancer Experts Scramble to Keep Pace
When oncologist Renato Martins finished his medical training, advanced lung cancer was almost certainly a quick death sentence. “I knew, by name, every patient who had survived two years,” he says. Thanks in large part to the arrival of cancer immunotherapy, things are much different today. While lung cancer remains by far the leading cause … Continue reading “With New Data, Drug Combos, Lung Cancer Experts Scramble to Keep Pace”
Abeona Therapeutics Names Alexion’s Thiel CEO, Miller Shifts to CSO
Carsten Thiel has been appointed CEO of Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ABEO]]). He succeeds Timothy Miller, who will remain president of the Dallas-based company and also take on new duties as chief scientific officer. Thiel comes to Abeona from New Haven, CT-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALXN]]), where he was executive vice president and chief commercial officer. … Continue reading “Abeona Therapeutics Names Alexion’s Thiel CEO, Miller Shifts to CSO”
Expectations Rise on Q1 Surge in Venture Funding; and Top 10 Deals
[Updated 4/11/18 10:13 am. See below.] Venture capital investors poured more than $28.2 billion into U.S. companies during the first three months of 2018—marking the strongest single quarter in at least a dozen years, according to the Venture Monitor Report released today by Seattle-based PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). The $28.2 billion that … Continue reading “Expectations Rise on Q1 Surge in Venture Funding; and Top 10 Deals”
Cybersecurity Firm Carbon Black Advances IPO After Years of Rumors
Carbon Black is moving closer to a long-anticipated initial public stock offering. The Boston-area cybersecurity company filed an S-1 document with the SEC on Monday indicating it might raise up to $100 million in an IPO, although that number could shift if Carbon Black ends up going public. It has applied to trade on the … Continue reading “Cybersecurity Firm Carbon Black Advances IPO After Years of Rumors”
E-Commerce Startups Open Door to Endless Virtual Closet
The sharing economy is moving into our bedroom closets. We already apply this idea to transportation (Uber vs. taxi) and vacation accommodations (Airbnb vs. hotel). Now, thanks to a growing number of e-commerce companies, the ability to share goods and services is being applied to our wardrobes through programs that offer clothing rentals for a … Continue reading “E-Commerce Startups Open Door to Endless Virtual Closet”
Novartis Bets $8.7B on AveXis’s Gene Therapy for Spine Disease
A gene therapy for the rare disease spinal muscular atrophy could hit the U.S. market next year. If it does, the treatment will likely be sold by Novartis, not its developer, AveXis, thanks to a deal announced early this morning. Novartis has agreed to buy AveXis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVXS]]) and its experimental SMA gene therapy AVXS-101 … Continue reading “Novartis Bets $8.7B on AveXis’s Gene Therapy for Spine Disease”
Xconomy Roadmap 2018: Top 15 Innovation Areas to Watch
With the first quarter in the books, it’s time to step back and lay out Xconomy’s editorial map for the rest of the year. As readers know, we strive to cover a wide range of innovation sectors, from tech and life sciences to healthcare and education—all with a mix of on-the-ground reporting, daily news stories, … Continue reading “Xconomy Roadmap 2018: Top 15 Innovation Areas to Watch”
Pulmotect & SpyCloud Fundraise, Rice’s Big Contest, & More TX Tech
Happy Friday. Let’s catch up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas. —Pulmotect, a Houston biotech, said Wednesday that it has raised $4 million of a planned $12 million round of Series B funding. The investment was co-led led by Aquinas Companies, the parent company of Fannin Innovation Studio in Houston. (Pulmotect is one … Continue reading “Pulmotect & SpyCloud Fundraise, Rice’s Big Contest, & More TX Tech”
Bio Roundup: Ex-Kiters Say Allo, NASH Cash & Data, Alkermes No & More
Happy Friday, everyone. We’ll start this week with biotech deals, one featuring a couple of CAR-T heavyweights who have re-emerged after selling Kite Pharma for $12 billion. They will try to shepherd to market a different type of the promising cancer immunotherapy: allogeneic T cells that come from donors, not from a patient’s own blood. … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Ex-Kiters Say Allo, NASH Cash & Data, Alkermes No & More”
Boulder Startup Veteran Tapped as New Chief at San Antonio’s RealCo
San Antonio—Richard Grote wants to bring a little bit of the Rocky Mountain High to San Antonio. No, not that high—we’re referring to the buzz that comes from a vibrant innovation ecosystem. Grote, who founded several companies in Boulder, CO, and most recently led the Travelport Labs accelerator there, has become the managing director of … Continue reading “Boulder Startup Veteran Tapped as New Chief at San Antonio’s RealCo”
Cleaner Vehicles Help Make Smarter Cities
Two of the most popular terms in urban planning today are smart cities and clean energy. These concepts naturally go hand-in-hand. As cities get smarter, they use energy more efficiently and in a more controllable fashion, and they are better able to incorporate intermittent clean energy sources. Cities, and the power grids that support them, … Continue reading “Cleaner Vehicles Help Make Smarter Cities”
After a Year of Growth Milestones, Duo Security Opens Detroit Office
Duo Security, a cybersecurity startup based in Ann Arbor, MI, announced today that it is opening a new office in Detroit to accommodate the company’s rapidly growing business. Duo plans to immediately relocate 30 employees from the company’s engineering, information services, and product teams to work downtown in Bamboo Detroit’s co-working space. By the end … Continue reading “After a Year of Growth Milestones, Duo Security Opens Detroit Office”
How Next-Gen Chipmakers Are Raising Money, Taking On Tech Giants
The advent of big fundraising rounds for startup chip innovators—a class shunned by most venture capital firms only a few years ago—seems to mark a turnaround in recent VC attitudes about semiconductor investments. But it turns out VCs weren’t the only driving force behind the change in fundraising prospects for the young companies now inventing … Continue reading “How Next-Gen Chipmakers Are Raising Money, Taking On Tech Giants”
UT, Aurora Health Join Strata Oncology’s Free Genomic Testing Network
Ann Arbor, MI’s Strata Oncology launched in 2015 with a mission to help bring free tumor sequencing to as many patients as possible. To help accomplish that mission, the genomics startup has established the Strata Precision Oncology Network, a group of cancer centers collaborating to help boost access to precision medicine. Last month, Strata announced … Continue reading “UT, Aurora Health Join Strata Oncology’s Free Genomic Testing Network”
Golden Seeds Seeks to Plant Angel Funds For Women Founders in Houston
Houston—Golden Seeds, an angel investing community that focuses on funding women entrepreneurs, has opened a chapter in Houston. The New York-based group now has six chapters around the country who have invested $150 million in 105 companies since it was founded in 2005. Loretta McCarthy, Golden Seeds’ managing partner, says the need for the organization … Continue reading “Golden Seeds Seeks to Plant Angel Funds For Women Founders in Houston”
Getting Personal: Retailers Use New Tech to Court Individual Shoppers
“Personalized shopping” has long been the guiding light for retailers. But in the age of Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]), traditional stores have been searching for the best way to digitize what was once a person-to-person process. “Internet shopping is now across mobile and Web, and now, the [question] is, ‘How do we create great experiences for … Continue reading “Getting Personal: Retailers Use New Tech to Court Individual Shoppers”
Bio Roundup: Biotech IPOs, Migraine Progress, Takeda Woos Shire & More
If the recent IPO activity seems to be on overdrive, it’s not your imagination. The number of companies filing to go public in the U.S. in the first quarter was up 44 percent compared to the same period a year ago, according to data compiled by consulting and accounting firm EY. Life science companies accounted … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Biotech IPOs, Migraine Progress, Takeda Woos Shire & More”
Want to Hire a Kid Down the Street to do Yard Work? ToDoolie Can Help
It used to be fairly simple to hire neighborhood kids to help move heavy objects or perform other household chores for a small fee. I’m not sure if the Internet and video games are to blame, or a general degradation of American civil discourse is the reason, but it seems a lot harder to connect … Continue reading “Want to Hire a Kid Down the Street to do Yard Work? ToDoolie Can Help”
The Edge or the Cloud? It Depends on the App
There’s no arguing that the cloud has transformed the way organizations deal with data and apps. It has freed IT departments from constantly provisioning and managing storage, while bringing overall costs down. For these reasons and more, companies everywhere are moving more and more data and compute tasks to the cloud every day. It’s important, … Continue reading “The Edge or the Cloud? It Depends on the App”
Among Facebook’s Woes, EU’s Strict Privacy Laws May Loom Largest
In a continuing effort to regain the trust of its disillusioned users, Facebook on Wednesday announced new privacy controls where settings can be made from a central menu, rather than by tunneling through as many as 20 screens. As Facebook unveiled the sweeping revisions, though, it also made a striking admission: The company knew it … Continue reading “Among Facebook’s Woes, EU’s Strict Privacy Laws May Loom Largest”
Going Downhill: Roam Robotics’ Exoskeleton Supports Aging Skiers
Robotics has found its way to the ski slopes. San Francisco-based Roam Robotics has developed an exoskeleton, worn on the legs, that the company says will improve skiers’ endurance and safety while they blaze down trails. For skiers 45 or older, Roam says, the exoskeleton can provide vital support for aging knees that might be … Continue reading “Going Downhill: Roam Robotics’ Exoskeleton Supports Aging Skiers”