Would it surprise you to know that there are more than 100 black venture capitalists or that this nationwide ecosystem is growing? Most of the VCs in this expanding ecosystem made pivots from highly successful careers in other fields. They have very impressive academic credentials, business backgrounds comparable to their Silicon Valley peers, and a … Continue reading “Black Venture Capitalists Are Transforming Tech”
Category: Texas
15 For ’18: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 1)
Many of biotech’s biggest stories in 2017 followed the highly anticipated data from clinical studies. There were monumental successes, like the first-ever approval of a genetically modified living cell therapy, the first FDA application for a gene therapy or a medicine using RNA interference. There were also stinging failures, such as the latest in a long … Continue reading “15 For ’18: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 1)”
Milestones of Innovation 15: Entering the New Atomic World
A momentous step into the atomic age happened around 3:20 p.m. Central War Time on Dec. 2, 1942, seventy-five years ago, in a vast, unheated space (a former squash doubles court) under the abandoned University of Chicago football stands at Stagg Field. A cadmium control rod was pulled out from a huge, painstakingly assembled cube … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 15: Entering the New Atomic World”
Rising Social Entrepreneur Helps Two San Antonio Startups Take Root
San Antonio—Stumping for a political candidate can be a mixed bag. For every friendly conversation, you’ll get at least one that’s filled with complaints—about the government, about potholes, about neighbors, about anything. That’s something Alberto Altamirano discovered when he was organizing for a county government candidate in Austin, TX, during a 2014 election. It’s not … Continue reading “Rising Social Entrepreneur Helps Two San Antonio Startups Take Root”
Bio Roundup: Migraine Data, Cancer Drug Combos, Azar Hearing & More
A pair of migraine drugs made a splash in biotech news this week with published data suggesting that they can reduce the frequency of headaches. These drugs still await an FDA decision, and their impact on patients over the long term are being watched closely. As many as 38 million Americans suffer from migraines, according … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Migraine Data, Cancer Drug Combos, Azar Hearing & More”
As GM Gets Self-Driving Buzz, Autonomous Vehicles Navigate Niches
We still live in the early days of autonomous vehicles. We’re toddlers, technologically speaking, and our algorithms are still learning to walk, er, drive. That’s the impression you get from reading the various recaps of an autonomous car test run that General Motors hosted for journalists this week in San Francisco. Wired’s Aarian Marshall noted … Continue reading “As GM Gets Self-Driving Buzz, Autonomous Vehicles Navigate Niches”
“Responsive” Machine Learning Could Lessen Cybersecurity Tradeoffs
In the wake of the Equifax breach and the global WannaCry ransomware outbreak earlier this year, tensions around cybersecurity are running high. According to a recent study conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by Barkly, seven out of 10 organizations are reporting their security risk has significantly increased during the past 12 months. Only … Continue reading ““Responsive” Machine Learning Could Lessen Cybersecurity Tradeoffs”
Drug Prices, Industry Ties Take Spotlight at HHS Nominee Azar Hearing
If Wednesday’s hearing for Health and Human Services Secretary Nominee Alex Azar is any indication, reining in drug prices and insurance premiums are the policy priorities that will guide Congress’s interaction with the department under a new leader. For the better part of the three-hour hearing by the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, … Continue reading “Drug Prices, Industry Ties Take Spotlight at HHS Nominee Azar Hearing”
Hoppy Holidays: HopDrop to Begin Delivering Craft Beer to Doorsteps
Houston—Joining the swelling ranks of booze delivery companies nationwide is HopDrop, which begins a beta launch Friday. The Houston-based startup’s focus is connecting customers with local craft breweries, delivering suds to certain Houston zip codes upon request, within an hour. “Our niche is that the beer we have, you can’t get in a supermarket,” says … Continue reading “Hoppy Holidays: HopDrop to Begin Delivering Craft Beer to Doorsteps”
VCs Put More Dollars Into Exosomes as Codiak Bio Lands $76M
Codiak BioSciences, the startup run by former Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) research chief Doug Williams, has rung up its third big round of cash in two years. The Cambridge, MA, company has closed a $76.5 million Series C round from a large group of investors, among them founding backers Flagship Pioneering and Arch Venture Partners, and … Continue reading “VCs Put More Dollars Into Exosomes as Codiak Bio Lands $76M”
Joining Trend, WI Creates New Business Entity: Benefit Corporations
On Monday, Wisconsin enacted legislation allowing companies to incorporate as benefit corporations. Although this may sound like routine, small-time legislative business, it is just as significant as major policy initiatives being debated in the halls of Congress. On issues from net neutrality to workers’ rights, corporations are perceived to—and often do—engage in practices that maximize … Continue reading “Joining Trend, WI Creates New Business Entity: Benefit Corporations”
BetterLesson Collects $10M to Push Teacher Development Software
As more K-12 schools adopt technologies meant to help deliver an education customized to each student, the methods for coaching teachers are becoming more digital and personalized, too. The latest sign comes from BetterLesson, a Cambridge, MA-based edtech company that today announced it raised a $10 million Series B funding round to expand the use … Continue reading “BetterLesson Collects $10M to Push Teacher Development Software”
Marlin Equity Partners to Acquire Austin-based Bazaarvoice for $521M
Austin—Software maker Bazaarvoice (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BV]]) is being sold to Marlin Equity Partners, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, in a deal valued at more than $500 million. As part of the acquisition, Austin, TX-based Bazaarvoice, which makes software for online and social media marketing, will go back to being a private company. The transaction is … Continue reading “Marlin Equity Partners to Acquire Austin-based Bazaarvoice for $521M”
Health IT Firm Cariloop Expands to Include Wider Group of Caregivers
Dallas—A little over a year ago, Michael Walsh rethought his assumptions in using technology to disrupt the eldercare market. He switched the objective of his company, Cariloop, from connecting seniors to appropriate care centers—using analytics software to make the match—to focusing on the family members around them who were navigating a new process figuring out … Continue reading “Health IT Firm Cariloop Expands to Include Wider Group of Caregivers”
Cardiovate Adds $650K for Device Aiming to Replace Clogged Arteries
San Antonio — Medical device maker Cardiovate has closed a $1 million seed round of funding from an existing group of investors to help it begin a year-long animal study on a scaffold that the company believes can regenerate vascular tissue—which is especially useful for repairing blocked arteries. Founded in 2012 by a student and … Continue reading “Cardiovate Adds $650K for Device Aiming to Replace Clogged Arteries”
Stratim CEO Sees Future with Costly Driverless Cars, but Low Ride Fares
Like many tech entrepreneurs, Sean Behr had a young business that was popular with consumers, but was also losing money. So in February of 2016, he decided to refocus his San Francisco startup on the small, but unexpectedly profitable aspect of his service that could operate in the black. That pivot put Behr in a … Continue reading “Stratim CEO Sees Future with Costly Driverless Cars, but Low Ride Fares”
Five Questions For … Barbary Brunner, Austin Technology Council CEO
Austin—Barbary Brunner says Austin has always felt like home. She has made career stops in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Denver, but says the Texas capital was a lodestar. “Every time I’d come visit, it felt like Austin was calling out to me,” Brunner says. “When I lived in Seattle, it’s the place I’d come to … Continue reading “Five Questions For … Barbary Brunner, Austin Technology Council CEO”
Bio Roundup: ICER Eyes Cost, Azar at HHS, Gates’s ALZ Cash & More
In our roundup this week, Alzheimer’s disease is in the news, thanks to billionaire Bill Gates and his personal pledge of $100 million toward R&D. That could equal the amount one startup hopes to raise in an IPO to develop drugs for Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases. If a treatment became available, could our health … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: ICER Eyes Cost, Azar at HHS, Gates’s ALZ Cash & More”
C is for Cash: Cookie Deliverer Tiff’s Treats Good Enough for $25M
Austin—The product is warm cookies, and the service is delivering those made-to-order sweets within 90 minutes. That can only happen with customized proprietary software, says Tiff’s Treats co-founder Leon Chen. “The technology is the brains behind each of our locations,” says Chen, who founded the cookie maker and delivery company with his now wife, Tiffany … Continue reading “C is for Cash: Cookie Deliverer Tiff’s Treats Good Enough for $25M”
Autodesk Leads $12M Round for Assemble Systems in Latest Boston Deal
Autodesk, the 3D design and engineering software giant, is continuing its investing spree in Boston-area technology startups. The latest beneficiary is Assemble Systems, which on Tuesday announced it received a $12 million Series A funding round led by Autodesk’s Forge Fund. Earlier backers Satterfield Vintage Investments and Assemble Investments also chipped in, according to a … Continue reading “Autodesk Leads $12M Round for Assemble Systems in Latest Boston Deal”
Poshmark Picks Up $87.5M to Power the Social, Digital Wardrobe
Poshmark, a social media e-retail company, has raised $87.5 million in a Series D investment round led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek. That brings the total funding raised by the Redwood City, CA-based company to $160 million. Other investors in the firm include Mayfield, Menlo Ventures, GGV Capital, Inventus Capital, SoftTech VC, Union Grove … Continue reading “Poshmark Picks Up $87.5M to Power the Social, Digital Wardrobe”
DFJ Co-Founder Jurvetson Exits Firm Amid Harassment Charges
[Updated 11/15/17, 11:10 am. See below.] One of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capital firm founders has joined the list of VCs who departed from their positions this year in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. Steve Jurvetson, co-founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), confirmed via a Twitter post Monday that he has left the … Continue reading “DFJ Co-Founder Jurvetson Exits Firm Amid Harassment Charges”
IPO to Fuel Denali’s Drugs for Alzheimer’s, Other Brain Diseases
One of biotech’s richest private companies, Denali Therapeutics, has set its sights on an IPO to push ahead with treatments for Alzheimer’s and other confounding brain diseases. The filing marks $100 million as its IPO target, but market conditions often shift a company’s sights in the run-up to a debut. Denali’s disclosure comes on the … Continue reading “IPO to Fuel Denali’s Drugs for Alzheimer’s, Other Brain Diseases”
First Star Ventures Pushes Deeper Into Genomic Data & Blockchain
First Star Ventures might be Boston’s most interesting early-stage startup investor you’ve never heard of. The venture firm has flown somewhat under the radar since it launched three years ago as Procyon Ventures. But it’s starting to make more noise. First Star announced its new moniker last month. “We got tired of people mispronouncing Procyon,” … Continue reading “First Star Ventures Pushes Deeper Into Genomic Data & Blockchain”
Milestones of Innovation 14: The Biggest Damn Firecracker I Ever Saw
At exactly 7 a.m. on Nov. 9, 1967, the roof of the press viewing stand at Cape Canaveral began shaking from what was happening more than three miles from us. The sky seemed to be cracking as a gleaming 363-foot tall rocket began pushing up from Launch Pad 39 and eastward over the Atlantic. As … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 14: The Biggest Damn Firecracker I Ever Saw”
Bio Roundup: Barron Joins GSK, Sage Bounces Back, Valeant Dumps Addyi
Call it a week of second chances. Multiple biotechs breathed new life into drugs sorely in need of it. Sage Therapeutics proved a drug that had failed a trial a rare form of epilepsy could be the first ever approved therapy for postpartum depression. Otonomy, reviving a hearing loss drug thought to be on the … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Barron Joins GSK, Sage Bounces Back, Valeant Dumps Addyi”
What Sean Parker Shares with Einstein and the Labradoodle’s Inventor
Sean Parker, Facebook’s first president, just joined a group that’s a favorite topic of history listicles: He’s an innovator who has become abashed by the breakthrough he helped to create. Parker, in an interview with Axios on Wednesday, said Facebook’s founders consciously exploited “a vulnerability in human psychology,” by luring users into an addictive engagement … Continue reading “What Sean Parker Shares with Einstein and the Labradoodle’s Inventor”
ImmunoMet Therapeutics Promotes Benjamin Cowen to CEO
Benjamin Cowen, chief operating officer of ImmunoMet Therapeutics, is taking on a new role as CEO of the Houston-based drug developer. Founder and former CEO Sung-Wuk Kim will continue to serve as chairman of the company’s board of directors. Before joining ImmunoMet, Cowen was vice president of corporate development at Milestone Pharmaceuticals. ImmunoMet’s lead drug … Continue reading “ImmunoMet Therapeutics Promotes Benjamin Cowen to CEO”
JNJ’s First-Ever Center for Device Innovation Opens at Houston’s TMC
Houston—Christmas has come early for Billy Cohn this year. Cohn, the renowned Houston heart surgeon and inventor, doesn’t bother to contain his excitement as he shows me around the Center for Device Innovation. The center opens today at the Texas Medical Center’s innovation campus, located in an old Nabisco cookie factory. The center is a … Continue reading “JNJ’s First-Ever Center for Device Innovation Opens at Houston’s TMC”
ScaleFactor Nabs $2.5M as A.I. Marches into Business Services
Austin—ScaleFactor, a company that sells small businesses a machine learning-based program that automates accounting work like bookkeeping, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding from a group of investors that include Next Coast Ventures and Techstars Ventures. ScaleFactor plans to use the funding on product development. The company participated in the Austin Techstars accelerator earlier … Continue reading “ScaleFactor Nabs $2.5M as A.I. Marches into Business Services”
Texas Medical Center Steps Into the Venture Arena with $25M Fund
Houston—The Texas Medical Center announced Wednesday it has created the TMC Venture Fund, a $25 million fund to support early stage biotech and life sciences companies. The companies don’t need to have been part of the medical device or health IT cohorts in TMCx, the medical center’s accelerator, but do need to have some sort … Continue reading “Texas Medical Center Steps Into the Venture Arena with $25M Fund”
Microsoft’s Strategy for Finding What’s Next in Healthcare A.I.
[Updated 11/10/17, 10:25 a.m. See below.] Microsoft is applying the same model it used to launch its quantum computing and chatbot efforts to innovation in healthcare, signaling the company’s ambition and optimism about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence technologies in this enormous endeavor. Peter Lee is the Microsoft Research executive in charge of the … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Strategy for Finding What’s Next in Healthcare A.I.”
OncoResponse Buys Paganini Biopharma to Add Cancer Drug to Pipeline
Houston—OncoResponse has acquired biotech startup Paganini Biopharma in a move that brings a clinical trial-ready compound to the Houston cancer drug developer. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was announced Tuesday. But the acquisition complements the pipeline of OncoResponse, whose research focuses on antibody cancer drugs. Los Angeles-based Paganini’s lead drug, ONCR-201, … Continue reading “OncoResponse Buys Paganini Biopharma to Add Cancer Drug to Pipeline”
With $40M for Exonics, Duchenne’s Gene Therapy, CRISPR Race Heats Up
Exonics Therapeutics, one of the players in an emerging race to use gene therapy or gene editing techniques to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, has just landed a big round of funding to take its first treatment into clinical testing. The Cambridge, MA, company, seeded last year by a subsidiary of the nonprofit group CureDuchenne, will … Continue reading “With $40M for Exonics, Duchenne’s Gene Therapy, CRISPR Race Heats Up”
JumpFiber Gives San Antonio Cord Cutters New Internet Option
San Antonio—Starting a new Internet service business is no easy task, from building the technological infrastructure to wooing customers away from ubiquitous cable companies. But JumpFiber, a new wireless Internet service provider in San Antonio, isn’t shying away from the challenge, and it will now attempt to follow in the footsteps of similar companies like … Continue reading “JumpFiber Gives San Antonio Cord Cutters New Internet Option”
Rightpoint Buys Mobile Firm Raizlabs to Form “Agency of the Future”
Raizlabs, one of the Boston area’s best-known mobile app development shops, has been acquired by Rightpoint, a Chicago-based consulting firm. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed. With the addition of Raizlabs, the combined companies employ 400 people across nine U.S. offices. The two firms’ Boston offices will consolidate, while Raizlabs’ Oakland, CA, office adds a new … Continue reading “Rightpoint Buys Mobile Firm Raizlabs to Form “Agency of the Future””
Spawned by Harvey, Entrepreneurs For Houston Hires Inaugural Leader
Houston—Born out of the destruction and dislocation caused by Hurricane Harvey, the Entrepreneurs for Houston group has taken a step to codify itself as it plans its mission for the long term. Elena White, a former management consultant and native Houstonian, has been appointed executive director of E4H, as the philanthropic group calls itself. “The … Continue reading “Spawned by Harvey, Entrepreneurs For Houston Hires Inaugural Leader”
Is Your Company Independent or Co-Dependent?
Steve Jobs was once famously quoted stating, “the secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world.” Employees are a critical part of any company’s backbone, no matter the size or industry of the business. They are the driving force that executes the company … Continue reading “Is Your Company Independent or Co-Dependent?”
Austin Digerati “Awaken” To Opportunities in Civic Tech Innovation
Austin—Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Austin earlier this year were a wake-up call for Dan Webb. Webb is director of strategic partnerships at edtech startup Civitas Learning, and his wife is an immigrant who had just become a U.S. citizen in February. “We were getting calls from friends of ours asking, ‘If my wife … Continue reading “Austin Digerati “Awaken” To Opportunities in Civic Tech Innovation”
Biotech Roundup: Opioid News, ASH Preview, Boston Bio IPOs & More
The rising death toll from opioids has prompted policymakers to try various ways to take on the problem. President Trump’s opioid commission released its final report this week, calling for expansion of drug courts, better physician training, and penalties for insurers that don’t cover treatment. But the commission did not say how much its recommendations … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Opioid News, ASH Preview, Boston Bio IPOs & More”
Congress Urges Tech Firms to Control Content—But With Qualms
At Congressional hearings this week on Russia’s use of social media to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election, lawmakers pressed Facebook, Twitter, and Google to take exhaustive measures to stop the same thing from happening again. Lawmakers urged the companies to scour their networks to root out foreign advertisers, trolls, and bots; to eliminate messages … Continue reading “Congress Urges Tech Firms to Control Content—But With Qualms”
Pitchbook Report: SXSW Accelerator Investments, Exits Since 2007
Austin—The South by Southwest technology conference draws executives from countless companies worth billions of dollars to Austin every year and, with them, investors that want a piece of their equity. But the companies that often get the most attention are the ones that aren’t worth much at all—yet. One way SXSW attendees get to see … Continue reading “Pitchbook Report: SXSW Accelerator Investments, Exits Since 2007”
Few Opioid Alternatives In Sight as Crisis Gains Political Attention
As opioid-related deaths skyrocket across the U.S., momentum to combat the epidemic has been mounting in Washington. But the crisis has also highlighted a glaring problem that no amount of politics or policymaking will solve soon: The lack of non-addictive pain medicines. “What is disappointing over the last half-century is that we haven’t really created … Continue reading “Few Opioid Alternatives In Sight as Crisis Gains Political Attention”
ASH Sneak Peeks: Novartis, Juno Update CAR-T Lymphoma Competition
[Corrected, 11/1/17, 5:20 p.m. ET. See below.] The annual American Society of Hematology meeting is next month. But previews of the big data presentations are out today, yielding more insight into what promises to be the first major competition in CAR-T cell therapy: Treatments for people with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who have run out of … Continue reading “ASH Sneak Peeks: Novartis, Juno Update CAR-T Lymphoma Competition”
As Facebook Fights Fake News, LeCun Sees Bigger Role for A.I.
As top lawyers from Facebook, Google, and Twitter testify on Capitol Hill this week about Russians using their platforms to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, it’s becoming clearer that the fight against the spread of fake news won’t be won by humans alone. That’s according to Yann LeCun, a machine learning expert and … Continue reading “As Facebook Fights Fake News, LeCun Sees Bigger Role for A.I.”
SailPoint & WatchGuard IPO, HX, Technium, ResMan, & More Texas News
Houston and the rest of the Texas Gulf Coast are largely back to business following Hurricane Harvey. Among the more notable news is Houston tech and civic leaders unveiling a new fund of funds aimed at better connecting the city’s large corporations and startups to venture capital across the country. —Houston Exponential is planned to … Continue reading “SailPoint & WatchGuard IPO, HX, Technium, ResMan, & More Texas News”
Ash & Erie Make a Splash on Shark Tank, Score Deal with Mark Cuban
As Venture for America prepares to host a demo day event in Detroit later this month, two entrepreneurs who met as part of the VFA program recently made a splash on Shark Tank, the ABC reality show that features young companies pitching celebrated investors for growth capital. We caught up with Steven Mazur, co-founder of … Continue reading “Ash & Erie Make a Splash on Shark Tank, Score Deal with Mark Cuban”
Techstars Sustainability Adds to Growth of Sponsored Accelerators
After Techstars opened its first program in Boulder, CO, in 2007, the startup accelerator program expanded into three cities over the next four years. But then the real growth started happening. In 2011, Techstars began launching accelerators that focused on startups innovating in a specific sector in partnership with big companies. It partnered with Nike … Continue reading “Techstars Sustainability Adds to Growth of Sponsored Accelerators”
New Survey Highlights “Lethargic Pace” of Healthcare Gender Equity
To close the healthcare and life sciences gender gap, there have been programs to move women into the boardroom. People are building mentoring networks. And there have been public pledges to do better. But women in the industry aren’t optimistic about big changes coming soon, according to a new report and survey from digital healthcare … Continue reading “New Survey Highlights “Lethargic Pace” of Healthcare Gender Equity”
As Russians Hacked U.S. Election, Did Big Tech Firms Break Any Laws?
News is constantly streaming out these days about the role of Facebook, Twitter, and Google in the 2016 presidential election; most disturbing to the public is the apparent use of social media, search, and video channels by Russian operatives seeking to influence U.S. voters. Critical lawmakers have blasted the big tech companies for failing to … Continue reading “As Russians Hacked U.S. Election, Did Big Tech Firms Break Any Laws?”