San Antonio — A San Antonio life sciences nonprofit is working with three other organizations to learn how to produce larger volumes of stem cells, and has received $7.8 million from a military-based nonprofit group to do so. BioBridge Global and its subsidiary, GenCure, plan to develop a methodology for increasing the amount of clinical-grade stem … Continue reading “BioBridge Plans to Grow $7.8M into Large-Scale Stem Cell Production”
Category: Texas
Roundup: Caringo, Aging 2.0, Disruptors Agenda, Cloud Sites, Trey Bowles
Let’s catch up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas. —Caringo, an Austin startup that makes software that can enable customers to manage, organize, and search extremely large amounts of data, has raised $8.8 million in a Series B round of funding, bring its total investment raised to $33 million. Investors include New Science … Continue reading “Roundup: Caringo, Aging 2.0, Disruptors Agenda, Cloud Sites, Trey Bowles”
Bio Roundup: CAR-T & Migraine Races, Intra-Cellular, Rockefeller & More
The presidential race captivated millions of TV viewers this week as the first debate took place in Hofstra. But biotech watchers had other races on their mind. Who will be first to market with a new type of cancer treatment known as CAR-T? Who will break free of the pack of companies developing drugs meant … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: CAR-T & Migraine Races, Intra-Cellular, Rockefeller & More”
Caringo Obtains $8,800,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=80b15770-1823-4b64-b9a8-6ad51dd093fc Date 9/30/2016 Company Name Caringo Mailing Address 6801 North Capital of Texas Highway Austin, TX 78731 USA Company Description Caringo develops software-defined object storage software that gives you control over any volume, velocity or variability of unstructured information; radically reducing complexity and costs while extracting the maximum value and performance from … Continue reading “Caringo Obtains $8,800,000 Series B Financing Round”
Tech Giants’ Partnership To Explore Ethics, Societal Impacts of AI
With public interest in artificial intelligence technologies on the rise, five of the world’s largest corporations—vying against each other in so many spheres—are banding together to support research on the ethical and societal issues raised by machines with increasingly human-like capabilities. The Partnership on AI, formally unveiled Wednesday, includes Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, IBM, Google and … Continue reading “Tech Giants’ Partnership To Explore Ethics, Societal Impacts of AI”
Caribou CEO Touts Incubator’s Role Translating Science into Startup
San Antonio — [Corrected 10/3/16, 5 p.m.] For a researcher trying to turn their science into a business, sometimes the big issues—such as perfecting an intricate scientific process like gene editing—feels like a less daunting task than what might seem to be smaller stuff, like finding an attorney to help incorporate a business, says Rachel Haurwitz, the … Continue reading “Caribou CEO Touts Incubator’s Role Translating Science into Startup”
Aging 2.0 Brings Its Focus on Technology and Elder Care to Houston
Houston—Aging 2.0 now has a perch in the home of one of the world’s largest medical centers. The San Francisco-based organization, focused on supporting innovation tailored to the needs of older adults, kicks off its Houston chapter today with a forum to discuss some of the needs in the aging healthcare market. “The mission with … Continue reading “Aging 2.0 Brings Its Focus on Technology and Elder Care to Houston”
LoftSmart Lands $1,700,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=41cf65f1-ece9-45ff-a8a3-4cf02923f230 Date 9/29/2016 Company Name LoftSmart Mailing Address 600 Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78701 USA Company Description LoftSmart – A reviews site and online marketplace that connects college students or their families with providers of mostly non-dormitory student housing in major college towns. Website http://www.loftsmart.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,700,000 … Continue reading “LoftSmart Lands $1,700,000 New Funding Round”
Xtera Communications Obtains $1,200,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ae2b5a4b-ed74-467a-9e4c-e2e60045804c Date 9/29/2016 Company Name Xtera Communications Mailing Address 500 W. Bethany Dr. Allen, TX 75013 USA Company Description Xtera Communications (NASDAQ: XCOM) makes long-haul fiber-optic transmission equipment used for both terrestrial and undersea transport. Its Nu-Wave systems increase the bandwidth capability of fiber-optic strands, making converged voice and data communications possible. … Continue reading “Xtera Communications Obtains $1,200,000 New Financing”
Archeio Technologies Lands $1,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7e8ae7b8-e57b-49c2-b2be-f566630768ee Date 9/29/2016 Company Name Archeio Technologies Mailing Address 901 Main St. Dallas, TX 75202 USA Company Description At Archeio Technologies, our mission is to empower energy professionals to make faster and more confident decisions by transforming unstructured well data into valuable information. We achieve this through an intelligent approach to well … Continue reading “Archeio Technologies Lands $1,000,000 New Funding Round”
The Future of Innovation at Xconomy’s Upcoming Disruptors Event
Houston—From the zero-gravity environment of outer space to molecules deep within the body, Texas innovators are using technology to change the way we live, work, and play. Xconomy’s upcoming Disruptors conference in Houston will explore all of this and more. Today, we are releasing the full agenda for this daylong forum, taking place October 27 … Continue reading “The Future of Innovation at Xconomy’s Upcoming Disruptors Event”
Biscotti Obtains $850,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3a37f8bb-953c-4a83-869a-475a4db10544 Date 9/28/2016 Company Name Biscotti Mailing Address 5900 South Lake Forest Drive Plano, TX 75013 USA Company Description Biscotti is a camera that connects to your HDTV and enables you to video chat with others. Website http://www.biscotti.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $850,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes … Continue reading “Biscotti Obtains $850,000 New Funding Round”
Liquid Web Eyes San Antonio for Tech Talent After Cloud Sites Deal
San Antonio—A Lansing, MI-based Web hosting and server management company has plans to make more hires in the Alamo City after an acquisition, in part because its CEO thinks he’ll have better luck finding employees here. Liquid Web, which was founded in 1997, bought a Web server business from Rackspace called Cloud Sites in August, … Continue reading “Liquid Web Eyes San Antonio for Tech Talent After Cloud Sites Deal”
Kite Unveils Anticipated CAR-T Cancer Data: Positive But Not Complete
Kite Pharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:KITE]]) has dipped into a highly anticipated clinical trial of its cancer treatment, KTE-C19, to release a partial set of data. Although not complete, the data bolster the view that Kite could be the first among its peers, all developing cutting-edge cancer treatments from a patient’s own white blood cells, to win … Continue reading “Kite Unveils Anticipated CAR-T Cancer Data: Positive But Not Complete”
Roundup: Aceable, Richards-Kortum Wins MacArthur, DivInc & More
Let’s catch up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas: –Austin edtech startup Aceable has raised $4 million in a Series A round of funding to help it further expand its line of online testing products beyond driver’s education. The round was co-led by earlier investors Silverton Partners in Austin and Floodgate in Palo … Continue reading “Roundup: Aceable, Richards-Kortum Wins MacArthur, DivInc & More”
Aceable Obtains $4,000,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6fd762a3-70b6-46c7-ad42-f5c5b094b331 Date 9/26/2016 Company Name Aceable Mailing Address 610 West 5th Street Austin, TX 78701 USA Company Description Learn to drive, get your license, or dismiss a ticket with Aceable’s certified Drivers Ed & Defensive Driving apps Website http://www.aceable.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “Aceable Obtains $4,000,000 Series A Financing”
In the Driver’s Seat: Austin Edtech Startup Aceable Brings in $4M
Austin—Aceable has raised $4 million in a Series A round of funding to help it further expand its line of online testing products beyond driver’s education. The round was co-led by earlier investors Silverton Partners in Austin and Floodgate in Palo Alto, CA. In total, the startup has raised $8.7 million, including a $3 million … Continue reading “In the Driver’s Seat: Austin Edtech Startup Aceable Brings in $4M”
Bio Roundup: Mylan Grilled, Duchenne Kids Thrilled, Zuck-Chan & More
Another biopharma executive went before Congress to explain drug price hikes. Unlike Martin Shkreli, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch actually answered questions. Taking heat over the EpiPen scandal, she tried to stick to her script, getting testy when legislators brought up a USA Today story about her mother helping market the life-saving anti-allergy injection to schools. … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Mylan Grilled, Duchenne Kids Thrilled, Zuck-Chan & More”
Tech Transforms the Election Experience, From VR to Voter Registration
My friend Eileen and I are planning to “phone-watch” the first presidential debate together on Monday. Just by calling her number in Louisiana from my couch in the Bay Area, I’ll hear hilarious commentary on the Clinton-Trump exchange from Eileen, a terrific reporter who’s wittier than most standup comics. I found another name for this … Continue reading “Tech Transforms the Election Experience, From VR to Voter Registration”
TenantCloud Garners $2,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4c2e622e-beff-4124-aee5-6beec6108590 Date 9/23/2016 Company Name TenantCloud Mailing Address 4301 W.William Cannon Dr. Austin, TX 78749 USA Company Description TenantCloud is a top of the line system that provides Landlords with marketing site, one-click postings on multiple listing sites, online applications, tenant screening, automatic invoicing, online payments, full accounting, photo based maintenance requests, … Continue reading “TenantCloud Garners $2,000,000 New Funding Round”
Richards-Kortum Named MacArthur Fellow For Work in Global Health
Houston—Rice University’s Rebecca Richards-Kortum is among this year’s recipients of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, known as the “genius grants.” A bioengineering professor at Rice, Richards-Kortum became the first woman and youngest faculty member to earn Rice’s highest academic rank of university professor. She directs the Rice Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering and she also leads … Continue reading “Richards-Kortum Named MacArthur Fellow For Work in Global Health”
Progenerative Plans Bone, Business Growth From Revived Acelity Tech
San Antonio — After any acquisition, jobs can be lost, programs are cut, and the business changes its focus. That was true in the years after Kinetic Concepts was acquired by a private equity group led by Apax Partners for more than $6 billion. The business changed its outward-facing name to Acelity. It turned its … Continue reading “Progenerative Plans Bone, Business Growth From Revived Acelity Tech”
Intellectual Ventures Co-Founder Jung to Speak at Disruptors Oct. 27
Houston—Two of the brand names that speak loudest to innovation in this country are Microsoft and Intellectual Ventures. Edward Jung is co-founder and chief technology officer of Intellectual Ventures, as well as the former chief architect at Microsoft. He is the latest addition to our program for Xconomy’s upcoming Disruptors conference in Houston on October … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures Co-Founder Jung to Speak at Disruptors Oct. 27”
When Self-Driving Cars Turn Corner, Other Autos Become Irrelevant
Austin—Autonomous cars are coming. How quickly they take over the automobile market will largely depend on how soon consumers are willing to trust the cars, governments are able to manage the sector, and insurers are able to assess the risk, says Peter Stone, a professor who works in the artificial intelligence laboratory at the University … Continue reading “When Self-Driving Cars Turn Corner, Other Autos Become Irrelevant”
Announcing Xconomy’s Agtech and Food Channel
A core tenet of Xconomy—and the reason behind our broad coverage across information technology, life sciences, energy, and more—is that the most interesting and important innovations often arise from the intersection of different disciplines. One of the most important intersections today is between agriculture, the life sciences, and information technology—as evidenced by the growing field … Continue reading “Announcing Xconomy’s Agtech and Food Channel”
Vroom Secures $50,000,000 Series E Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=07c7e57a-bf21-428c-b6e6-dc5dd0741549 Date 9/21/2016 Company Name Vroom Mailing Address 2615 W. Interstate 20 Grand Prairie, TX 75052 USA Company Description Vroom empowers you to buy a quality pre-owned car online and get it delivered right to your doorsteps with a 7 day in-home test drive. Website http://www.vroom.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Vroom Secures $50,000,000 Series E Funding”
Austin’s DivInc Accelerator Focuses On Minority Startup Founders
Austin—Preston James left his position as chief of Dell Computer’s Global Center for Entrepreneurs two years ago, and decided to mentor and invest in startup founders full-time, most notably through an affiliation with Austin’s Capital Factory and the Central Texas Angel Network. He quickly noticed that, as an African-American, the faces he saw rarely resembled … Continue reading “Austin’s DivInc Accelerator Focuses On Minority Startup Founders”
Pharmaceutical Price Controls Might Be Closer Than You Think
Amid the hue and cry over the Mylan EpiPen pricing debacle, Hillary Clinton unveiled her “Plan to Respond to Unjustified Price Hikes for Long-Available Drugs.” Clinton’s plan calls for “dedicated oversight to protect consumers.” To that end she would “convene representatives of federal agencies…to create a dedicated group charged with protecting consumers from outlier price … Continue reading “Pharmaceutical Price Controls Might Be Closer Than You Think”
After $70M Boston Scientific Deal, CeloNova CEO Heads to Nonprofit
San Antonio — Martin Landon, a long-time San Antonio life sciences executive, has left the chief executive role at medical device maker CeloNova Biosciences a year after selling a portion of the business to Boston Scientific for $70 million. Landon has taken a new job as the CEO of nonprofit BioBridge Global. San Antonio-based BioBridge … Continue reading “After $70M Boston Scientific Deal, CeloNova CEO Heads to Nonprofit”
Roundup: DIUx, Scraffic, Peloton, Pitchocracy, & Alamo City Angels
Let’s get caught up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas. —EverlyWell wants to deepen our knowledge of our quantified selves. The year-old startup sells what it calls “health and wellness” at-home assays that can check hormone and blood sugar levels, among other biological markers. EverlyWell partners with certified labs that process the samples, … Continue reading “Roundup: DIUx, Scraffic, Peloton, Pitchocracy, & Alamo City Angels”
Workforce Trends, Economy, & More: Q&A With Alexandria’s Joel Marcus
Think “innovation” and you might picture some scrappy entrepreneurs toiling away in a kitchen or garage, hoping the landlord doesn’t notice what they’re up to. But the reality is that turning science into big business often requires far more sophisticated infrastructure—and the landlord who provides that infrastructure sometimes has one of the best windows into … Continue reading “Workforce Trends, Economy, & More: Q&A With Alexandria’s Joel Marcus”
Survey: Tech Startup Leaders Want Diversity, Not Sure How to Reach It
Tech startup leaders “want to create an inclusive and diverse workforce, but many simply don’t know what to do to build inclusive teams.” That’s how Techstars co-founder and co-CEO David Cohen put it in a blog post earlier this week summarizing the results of a survey of 680 startup founders and top executives, mainly of … Continue reading “Survey: Tech Startup Leaders Want Diversity, Not Sure How to Reach It”
Austin’s EverlyWell Helps Consumers Do More Health Tests at Home
Austin—Now that we consumers are used to tracking our steps and sleep via our wrists, health IT startup EverlyWell wants to take health tracking a little deeper. The Austin, TX-based company sells what it calls “health and wellness tests”—at-home assays that check hormone levels, blood sugar, cholesterol, and more—that can help a person learn more … Continue reading “Austin’s EverlyWell Helps Consumers Do More Health Tests at Home”
Biotech Roundup: CRISPR’s 3rd IPO, Gender Diversity, Buyouts & More
Across the nation, and even looking back into the past, health was in the headlines this week. Our presidential candidates were either recovering from pneumonia or talking up their health records. New documents came to light that showed the sugar industry paid for studies downplaying the ties between sugar and heart disease. And the drug-price … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: CRISPR’s 3rd IPO, Gender Diversity, Buyouts & More”
What Startups Can Do About Cyber Attacks
A cybersecurity report by Ponemon Institute, in association with Keeper Security, found that in the 12 months leading up to June 2016, 55 percent of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) experienced a cyber attack, while 50 percent encountered data breaches involving customer and employee information. These statistics belie the common notion that cybercriminals attack only … Continue reading “What Startups Can Do About Cyber Attacks”
Iris Plans Obtains $750,000 Seed Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1419b5f7-6eb9-4cbe-8667-653eefb78a72 Date 9/16/2016 Company Name Iris Plans Mailing Address 1300 Guadalupe Street Austin, TX 78701 USA Company Description Millions of American families do not receive the education, support, and guidance required to make complex medical decisions, consider future care, and understand how illness may impact their families or those they care about. … Continue reading “Iris Plans Obtains $750,000 Seed Financing Round”
Dallas-Based Peloton Raises $52.4M for Kidney Cancer Drug Candidate
Dallas—Peloton Therapeutics, which is developing small molecule cancer therapies, announced Thursday it has raised $52.4 million in a Series D financing round. Investors included Foresite Capital Management, a new investor, and previous backers Remeditex, The Column Group, Tichenor Ventures, Topspin Fund, and Nextech Invest. Jim Tananbaum, Foresite’s CEO and managing director, said in a prepared … Continue reading “Dallas-Based Peloton Raises $52.4M for Kidney Cancer Drug Candidate”
How to Teach Computational Thinking
Computational thinking is going to be a defining feature of the future—and it’s an incredibly important thing to be teaching to kids today. There’s always lots of discussion (and concern) about how to teach traditional mathematical thinking to kids. But looking to the future, this pales in comparison to the importance of teaching computational thinking. … Continue reading “How to Teach Computational Thinking”
San Antonio Investors Create Angel Network, Hire Executive Director
San Antonio—[Updated 9/16/16, 11:36 p.m.] South Texas now has its own angel network, and the network officially has its own executive director. The San Antonio Angel Network announced this morning that it has hired Chris Burney, a former finance manager and analyst at Rackspace, for the position. The group quietly got its start this summer and … Continue reading “San Antonio Investors Create Angel Network, Hire Executive Director”
Scraffic Developers Simplify Traffic Tech for Retail Businesses
San Antonio—Tracking the foot traffic of retail stores may not be sexy work, but it’s big business. Dozens of companies provide some sort of related offering, from analytics programs and software services that piggyback on the iBeacon to something as simple as camera and equipment makers. A San Antonio-based startup, Scraffic, announced its launch yesterday … Continue reading “Scraffic Developers Simplify Traffic Tech for Retail Businesses”
Vapogenix Garners $7,978,130 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b1d60287-aef2-41c2-a830-5b5a6647e64a Date 9/15/2016 Company Name Vapogenix Mailing Address 8285 El Rio St. Houston, TX 77054 USA Company Description Vapogenix is a clinical stage company developing a new class of non-narcotic analgesics for localized pain. While most pain is localized, most pain medications are administered orally (systemically), resulting in side effects. Website http://www.vapogenix.com … Continue reading “Vapogenix Garners $7,978,130 New Funding”
LoftSmart Obtains $1,430,607 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=dff3991f-7454-4faf-9d30-ad684324e00d Date 9/15/2016 Company Name LoftSmart Mailing Address 600 Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78701 USA Company Description LoftSmart – A reviews site and online marketplace that connects college students or their families with providers of mostly non-dormitory student housing in major college towns. Website http://www.loftsmart.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,430,607 … Continue reading “LoftSmart Obtains $1,430,607 New Financing Round”
Fund Worth Up To $100M Seeks to Increase Diversity in Tech Workforce
A first-of-its-kind fund has launched with the mission to increase diversity in the tech industry by removing financial barriers and increasing access to tech education for anyone interested in pursuing it. The Tech Opportunity Fund is a partnership between the Iron Yard and Code Fellows, which offer tech training, and the financial literacy organization Operation … Continue reading “Fund Worth Up To $100M Seeks to Increase Diversity in Tech Workforce”
Roundup: Qentelli, Health Wildcatters, Fannin, & Texas Disruptors
Let’s get caught up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas. —Qentelli wants to make the quality assurance process in software development more agile by bringing in modern methodology to testing practices. The Dallas startup has built a process that will test QA during the development process rather than after the software has been … Continue reading “Roundup: Qentelli, Health Wildcatters, Fannin, & Texas Disruptors”
For Fledgling San Antonio Companies, Startup Resources Trickling In
San Antonio—Echolase, a young startup with a product that crosses over between technology and life sciences, is on the brink of getting its first outside funding from a local investment group. But with the future of the company dependent on getting more money—Echolase needs funds to further test its medical imaging device, to rent office … Continue reading “For Fledgling San Antonio Companies, Startup Resources Trickling In”
Disruptors 2016: The Future of Software, Transportation Tech & More
Houston—Texas is synonymous with cars: wide roadways that extend into open spaces. The state hosts the Cadillac Ranch (a public art installation made up of the iconic automobile), and, course, the city of Houston is home to the global oil and gas industry. Plenty of innovation in the transportation sector is also taking place in … Continue reading “Disruptors 2016: The Future of Software, Transportation Tech & More”
How We Won $50,000 in SBA Growth Accelerator Fund Contest
Recently, the student accelerator program mystartupXX, a joint program of UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management and the Jacobs School of Engineering, won a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration as a Growth Accelerator Fund Competition winner. We were one of 68 winners announced Aug. 31 in the nationwide contest. This was … Continue reading “How We Won $50,000 in SBA Growth Accelerator Fund Contest”
Caringo Obtains $5,295,951 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0f819031-011f-4805-82db-ed8aad45c445 Date 9/12/2016 Company Name Caringo Mailing Address 6801 North Capital of Texas Highway Austin, TX 78731 USA Company Description Caringo develops software-defined object storage software that gives you control over any volume, velocity or variability of unstructured information; radically reducing complexity and costs while extracting the maximum value and performance from … Continue reading “Caringo Obtains $5,295,951 New Round”
Houston’s Arundo Taps Into the Industrial Internet for Energy Firms
Houston—Oilfield operations are increasingly digitized, with each piece of equipment loaded with software and sensors spitting out reams of data. “Heavy equipment is becoming instrumented. Now, what do I do with all of that information?” asks Stuart Morstead, COO at Houston-based Arundo Analytics. He says the company can help oil and gas companies, as well … Continue reading “Houston’s Arundo Taps Into the Industrial Internet for Energy Firms”
Bio Roundup: Cancer Wishes and Shopping Lists, Allergan Pricing & More
[Corrected, 9/12/16, 4:28 p.m. See below.] What do cancer experts want? The moon, perhaps. As part of the Obama administration’s “cancer moonshot” program, a panel of scientists this week presented a set of broad, ambitious recommendations to speed up the pace of cancer research, treatment, and prevention. The scientific goals, writ large, included nationwide data … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Cancer Wishes and Shopping Lists, Allergan Pricing & More”