The rise of ransomware has been striking over the past two years, rapidly dominating headlines with its frequency, its wide range of victims, and its profitability. So when news hit that two of the largest and most notorious delivery systems for ransomware — the Necurs botnet and the Angler exploit kit — had gone dark, … Continue reading “The Real Cracks in the Foundation of Ransomware”
Category: Texas
Biotech Roundup: Scangos’s Exit, Zafgen’s Shakeup, Jounce, Relypsa & More
The top news in biotech this week centers around one big job opening: the head seat at Biogen, now that George Scangos has announced plans to leave the company. Who takes the gig, and the strategic direction he or she chooses for Biogen will have implications not just for the company and its employees, but … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Scangos’s Exit, Zafgen’s Shakeup, Jounce, Relypsa & More”
ESO Solutions Obtains $17,662,326 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=97bb42df-cc87-46b8-93ac-96956d5ade1c Date 7/22/2016 Company Name ESO Solutions Mailing Address 9020 N Capital of Texas Hwy Austin, TX 78759 USA Company Description ESO provides fully-integrated software solutions that are redefining the way healthcare communicates. Website http://www.esosolutions.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $17,662,326 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “ESO Solutions Obtains $17,662,326 New Round”
Soliton Obtains $1,000,001 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=82025196-fb37-4bfa-8fb3-fc026c98bca6 Date 7/22/2016 Company Name Soliton Mailing Address 1225 North Loop West Houston, TX 77008 USA Company Description Soliton’s leadership team has extensive experience with spinoff companies out of M.D. Anderson. Walter Klemp, Soliton’s CEO, was formerly the CEO of Houston-based Tyrell Inc., a life science company that made an acne treatment … Continue reading “Soliton Obtains $1,000,001 New Funding Round”
Indigo’s Microbial Tech for Crops Lands $100M to Fight Plant Stresses
Indigo, an agricultural technology startup, has discovered ways that microbes help a plant grow under dry conditions. Now the company is pulling back the curtain on some of that work as it ramps up efforts to bring this technology to farmers. Boston-based Indigo is announcing this morning it has closed a $100 million Series C … Continue reading “Indigo’s Microbial Tech for Crops Lands $100M to Fight Plant Stresses”
Health IT Startup, Born of Grief, Tackles Home Care After Surgeries
Houston—Kim Bond Evans’s mother checked into the hospital for routine back surgery. But the procedure that was supposed to relieve her pain led to complications and, in the end, her death. As she processed her mother’s loss, Evans, who has worked for firms such as Microsoft and BMC Software, took a technologist’s approach to understand … Continue reading “Health IT Startup, Born of Grief, Tackles Home Care After Surgeries”
After Rival Stumbles, Relypsa Gets $1.5B Buyout Bid From Galenica
Relypsa got a big boost in May when a rival stumbled. Now it’s being rewarded with a buyout offer worth close to three times the price it went public at in 2013. Switzerland’s Galenica Group has agreed to buy Relypsa (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RLYP]]) for $32 a share in cash, or $1.53 billion overall, to grab rights … Continue reading “After Rival Stumbles, Relypsa Gets $1.5B Buyout Bid From Galenica”
NurturMe Lands $3,700,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0112755f-692a-4ec2-b630-4ce0cb2730b8 Date 7/20/2016 Company Name NurturMe Mailing Address P.O. Box 163302 Austin, TX 78716 USA Company Description NurturMe is the first and only family of gluten-free ancient grain-based meals and snacks for little ones. Minimize your baby’s exposure to toxic pesticides that conventional farming uses as a common treatment to kill damaging … Continue reading “NurturMe Lands $3,700,000 New Financing Round”
Invictus Medical, Under Temporary CEO, Pushes Sales and New Products
San Antonio — Effectively pulling off a change in management is no small feat. For Invictus Medical, it may be even more difficult because the departure of its long-time CEO, Tom Roberts, occurred at the same time the company is working to introduce a couple new products and clinch the first sales of its lead … Continue reading “Invictus Medical, Under Temporary CEO, Pushes Sales and New Products”
Is the Future of Cybersecurity in M&A?
Last month Symantec announced its plans to buy Blue Coat for $4.7 billion. Has the consolidation—and creation of this enterprise security giant—put immense pressure on other industry players? In an ideal world, and from the perspective of a venture investor, this would absolutely be the case. In 2015, Cybersecurity startups saw 332 funding deals with … Continue reading “Is the Future of Cybersecurity in M&A?”
IT Services, Healthcare Attract Most Venture Investment in Texas
Venture capital investments into Texas startups and other high-tech companies totaled $255.6 million in 39 deals for the second quarter this year. The amount invested marked a 16 percent increase from the same period last year, while the number of deals was essentially flat. The state data is from the latest MoneyTree report on venture … Continue reading “IT Services, Healthcare Attract Most Venture Investment in Texas”
The Pan-Cancer Screen: Still Early for Prime Time
Imagine you could go to your doctor once a year for a blood test that would detect nearly every common type of cancer at an early stage. If you had a positive result, some further testing could pinpoint the cancer so you could have it treated before it spread. I would be ecstatic to have … Continue reading “The Pan-Cancer Screen: Still Early for Prime Time”
Ex-Shell Venture Exec Rozenfeld Founds Firm For Energy Innovation
Houston—The energy industry is still reeling from low oil prices but Alexander Rozenfeld is placing a bet that this is the right time to back innovative ideas in the sector. Rozenfeld left his position last month as president of Shell Technology Venture to form his own venture firm, Climate Impact Capital. The past several years … Continue reading “Ex-Shell Venture Exec Rozenfeld Founds Firm For Energy Innovation”
Biotech Roundup: Hellos, Goodbyes, “Cures” Delays And Trial News
The week started on a reflective note. Our San Diego editor Bruce Bigelow penned a personal goodbye to entrepreneur Larry Bock, who died last week of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. And then the news flowed, from a fast reprieve for Juno Therapeutics to no mercy for Elizabeth Holmes. There were other goodbyes: … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Hellos, Goodbyes, “Cures” Delays And Trial News”
Xbiotech Responds to ESMO, Other Critics of Phase 3 Cancer Data
Austin—It’s been a wild couple of weeks for Austin, TX, drug developer Xbiotech. On July 2, the maker of a monoclonal antibody that aims to treat colorectal cancer released additional details from a Phase 3 study. Its CEO calls the results beyond doubt “a breakthrough.” But investors, peers, and the medical society whose conference was … Continue reading “Xbiotech Responds to ESMO, Other Critics of Phase 3 Cancer Data”
‘Megadeals’ Dominate Q2 as VCs Invest $15.3B, and Top 10 Deals
Showing little concern for stock-market volatility or worries over the Brexit, venture capital firms pumped $15.3 billion into 961 deals across the United States during the three months that ended June 30, according to the MoneyTree Report on venture capital activity. It was the 10th consecutive quarter that venture firms put at least $10 billion … Continue reading “‘Megadeals’ Dominate Q2 as VCs Invest $15.3B, and Top 10 Deals”
Mangstor Obtains $5,005,077 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fdd04aef-b92e-4f5b-801a-3aaeae94e00f Date 7/15/2016 Company Name Mangstor Mailing Address 108 Wild Basin Drive Austin, TX 78746 USA Company Description Mangstor is a leading developer of NVMe Flash Storage Solutions to accelerate application workloads in Web-scale and Enterprise Data Centers. Mangstor’s NVMe over Fabric Flash Storage Arrays and NVMe Solid-State devices provide the building … Continue reading “Mangstor Obtains $5,005,077 New Financing Round”
Titan Spine Lands Funding from Texas PE Firm for Surgical Implants
[Updated 7/14/16, 5:34 pm. See below.] Mequon, WI-based Titan Spine says it’s raised a “substantial” round of funding from Southlake, TX-based Southlake Equity Group. The surgical implant maker says it will use some of the money to ramp up sales of its devices already on the market and support the launch of a new product … Continue reading “Titan Spine Lands Funding from Texas PE Firm for Surgical Implants”
Why Entrepreneurs Should Care About Inequality and Divisiveness
The horrific news of recent weeks has amplified America’s long-simmering tensions and many divisions, and cast a new and disturbing light on the nature of social and economic inequality in this economy. The shootings that targeted police officers at a peaceful protest in Dallas, which followed the officer-involved shooting deaths of Philando Castile near Minneapolis … Continue reading “Why Entrepreneurs Should Care About Inequality and Divisiveness”
Tour of Texas: Valence, Stellarray, Flux Farms, A&M, StemBioSys
Let’s get caught up on the latest innovation news from Texas’s startup communities. Austin: —Valence Health, a Chicago-based organization with offices in Austin and Corpus Christi, has sold the majority of its business to Evolent Health for $145 million in cash and stock. Founded in 1996, Valence provides advisory and administrative services to hospitals, insurers, … Continue reading “Tour of Texas: Valence, Stellarray, Flux Farms, A&M, StemBioSys”
Texas A&M and Methodist Hospital Bring Engineers to Medical School
College Station, TX—Texas A&M University and Houston’s Methodist Hospital want to bring engineering into medical education. Starting next fall, A&M will admit 50 engineering students to be part of its medical class—out of a class of 200—in a program designed to bring in those students’ expertise to promote innovative thinking in medical schools. “This is … Continue reading “Texas A&M and Methodist Hospital Bring Engineers to Medical School”
How Cyber Visibility Protects Against the Abnormal & the Immoral
Another day, another breach. For many Bostonians, the “privacy incident” recently disclosed by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)—which reportedly involved the personal information of 4,300 dental patients stored by a software vendor—hit close to home in many ways, as most of us have at one time or another been to MGH for ourselves or a loved … Continue reading “How Cyber Visibility Protects Against the Abnormal & the Immoral”
Can Innovation Save Us?
During a summer that’s been marred by political upheaval and horrific violence inside and outside the U.S., it’s natural for startup entrepreneurs and others immersed in the technology world—including us journalists—to wonder about the role of innovation in solving social problems. In the wake of the murder of five police officers in Dallas, which followed … Continue reading “Can Innovation Save Us?”
Alkami Technology Secures $2,750,008 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8b8113b8-06c4-4ef0-b4d2-c244f9997f2c Date 7/13/2016 Company Name Alkami Technology Mailing Address 5601 Granite Parkway Plano, TX 75024 USA Company Description Alkami provides next-generation online banking software solutions to financial institutions, ranging from in-house installations to software-as-a-service (SaaS) Website http://www.alkamitech.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,750,008 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “Alkami Technology Secures $2,750,008 New Funding Round”
San Antonio’s StemBioSys Brings Product to South Korea With SeouLin
San Antonio — StemBioSys has inked its second distribution deal in as many months, announcing plans today to bring its stem cell production products to South Korea in the coming weeks. Korean life science equipment distributor SeouLin Bioscience Co. will begin selling StemBioSys products in the country, with products going on the market in the next few … Continue reading “San Antonio’s StemBioSys Brings Product to South Korea With SeouLin”
From Drones to Sharing Economy, Don’t Disrupt the Disruptors
Napa Valley met the Silicon Valley at the recent Xconomy Retreat on Technology, Jobs, and Growth (aka the Napa Summit). Experts in cutting-edge technology huddled with business leaders and investors in the California wine country to explore what’s on, and just over, the technological horizon. Over the course of the two-day event, drones and the … Continue reading “From Drones to Sharing Economy, Don’t Disrupt the Disruptors”
Industrial Giant Siemens Seeks VR/AR Startups To Help Revolutionize Manufacturing
During this, the first year when virtual reality headsets are widely available, games are the lure commonly spurring consumers to try VR. And that’s spreading beyond digital games. Early next month, some headset owners will be able to watch finals matches in basketball and other sports recorded for VR at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. … Continue reading “Industrial Giant Siemens Seeks VR/AR Startups To Help Revolutionize Manufacturing”
Data.World Lands $14,000,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=519c213e-292a-40ce-8ffd-294488029328 Date 7/12/2016 Company Name Data.World Mailing Address 7000 N. Mopac Expy Austin, TX 78731 USA Company Description We are building the most meaningful, collaborative, and abundant data resource in the world. Website http://www.data.world Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $14,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “Data.World Lands $14,000,000 Series A Financing”
Dallas’s Flux Farms Brings A.I., Sensor to Hydroponic Farming
Dallas—Flux Farms likens the company’s technology to the brain of a smart farm. Eddy, the name of Flux Farms’ software technology, is made up of a robotic sensor as well as artificial intelligence that can monitor the water and nutrient levels of crops like tomatoes or lettuce, and then either trigger an automatic feeder or … Continue reading “Dallas’s Flux Farms Brings A.I., Sensor to Hydroponic Farming”
Tissue Analyzer 3Scan Builds Out Machine Learning With $14M Series B
3Scan, a San Francisco company that uses knife-shaped diamonds to cut, scan, and analyze biological tissue, has raised a $14 million round of funding from Lux Capital and Data Collective. The company plans to use the cash for expanding its existing imaging systems and software, as well as pushing forward its ability to help with … Continue reading “Tissue Analyzer 3Scan Builds Out Machine Learning With $14M Series B”
The Gap Has Two Sides
About two years ago, I was asked to join a Babson College panel discussing the gender gap in venture capital. At the center of the conversation would be the results from the Diana Project, a research study that examined our industry and the stark lack of representation of women investors and funded entrepreneurs. I accepted … Continue reading “The Gap Has Two Sides”
Filestack, Owned by Scaleworks, Rides Wave of Interest in API Services
San Antonio—If you build it, will they buy your application programming interface? Increasingly, it seems so. With tech companies such as Uber and Lyft or Facebook and Instagram aiming to provide faster services to more people, a subset of companies has emerged that aims to provide niche software tools that are meant to take at … Continue reading “Filestack, Owned by Scaleworks, Rides Wave of Interest in API Services”
Dallas Police Shooting Highlights Role of Robots in Law Enforcement
Dallas—Robots have become a regular feature of combat, used by soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. But Dallas police’s use of such a device early Friday morning may be the first time law enforcement has deployed a robot to detonate a bomb to kill a suspect. Dallas Police Chief David Brown said police had tried to … Continue reading “Dallas Police Shooting Highlights Role of Robots in Law Enforcement”
Austin’s Stellarray Tackles Radiography in Space for NASA Project
Austin—Imaging startup Stellarray is looking to the next frontier for its imaging technology. The Austin, TX company has begun a project with NASA to develop a next-generation imaging system that can produce both traditional two-dimensional X-rays as well as 3-D, computer-generated images such as digital tomosynthesis. The effort is part of a $125,000 phase 1 … Continue reading “Austin’s Stellarray Tackles Radiography in Space for NASA Project”
Biotech Roundup: Fighting Addiction, Obama Precision, Juno Deaths & More
This week started with celebrations of America’s birthday, and it has been dominated—biotech-wise—by America’s government. The Obama administration continued its high-profile involvement in the life sciences by updating its Precision Medicine Initiative, easing limits on doctors who want to fight opioid addiction, and stopping a clinical trial in one of the hottest biomedical fields, cancer … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Fighting Addiction, Obama Precision, Juno Deaths & More”
Pernix Therapeutics Slashes Staff to Shake Up Sales Strategy
Pernix Therapeutics is slashing its headcount by more than 20 percent as the specialty pharmaceutical company tries to move toward profitability after a streak of acquisitions. Morristown, NJ-based Pernix (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PTX]]) will cut 60 workers, mostly from its neurology sales staff, the company said today. As of the end of 2015, Pernix reported a headcount … Continue reading “Pernix Therapeutics Slashes Staff to Shake Up Sales Strategy”
Recruitment Goal In Obama Precision Med Study: 1M in 3 or 4 Years
The Obama administration’s push to sign up one million Americans for a long-term health study will start in New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Tucson, AZ, top health officials said today. National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins (pictured) and FDA commissioner Rob Califf spoke on a call this afternoon to update the Precision Medicine Initiative, … Continue reading “Recruitment Goal In Obama Precision Med Study: 1M in 3 or 4 Years”
San Antonio’s Invictus Medical Board Member Replaces Roberts as CEO
San Antonio—Invictus Medical, the San Antonio maker of a medical device designed to alleviate pressure on the heads of newborns, has a new chief executive officer. Invictus board member Dennis Kane is now the company’s acting CEO, according to Invictus chief financial officer Eric Eisbrenner. Eisbrenner deferred further commentary to Kane, who has not responded … Continue reading “San Antonio’s Invictus Medical Board Member Replaces Roberts as CEO”
Tour of Texas: Cancer Moonshot, Luminex, Integricote, & Rising Barn
Let’s catch up with the latest innovation news in Texas. Austin: —-Luminex (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LMNX]]) completed its acquisition of Nanosphere, an Illinois maker of diagnostic tests, for $77 million. The Austin-based Luminex, which also makes diagnostic tests, announced the purchase in May for an initial price of $58 million, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Dallas: —Dallas’s Tech … Continue reading “Tour of Texas: Cancer Moonshot, Luminex, Integricote, & Rising Barn”
Ortho Kinematics Obtains $4,155,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=22df8224-0eb9-44d9-af8a-0129c19a22a0 Date 7/6/2016 Company Name Ortho Kinematics Mailing Address 110 Wild Basin Road Austin, TX 78746 USA Company Description Ortho Kinematics, Inc. is a spine diagnostics company focused on spine motion analysis products and services. Website http://www.orthokinematics.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,155,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “Ortho Kinematics Obtains $4,155,000 New Financing Round”
An Entrepreneur’s Journey: UH’s C-Voltaics Becomes Integricote
Houston—Three years ago, when I first met Seamus Curran, he was one of the pioneer entrepreneurs coming out of the University of Houston’s Energy Research Park. His startup, C-Voltaics, produced a chemical solution that could stain-proof wood, carpets, and even your best white clothing from water, coffee, red wine, or other damaging substances. The company … Continue reading “An Entrepreneur’s Journey: UH’s C-Voltaics Becomes Integricote”
Affordable Homes Through Software and Design: The Rising Barn Story
San Antonio—The founders of Rising Barn didn’t even know each other when they started working on what would become their San Antonio, TX-based company, which uses software to build affordable housing with designs developed by an architect. Pegy Brimhall is the architect. She wanted to take her expertise in designing manageable, easily constructible skyscrapers for … Continue reading “Affordable Homes Through Software and Design: The Rising Barn Story”
3 Things You (Probably) Don’t Know about Indiana Innovation
People who live outside of Indiana probably know a few things about it: The Indianapolis 500, a.k.a. “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” is run every Memorial Day weekend; Indiana limestone was used to build the Empire State Building, the National Cathedral, and the Pentagon; and Indiana sugar cream pie is the best dessert ever. But … Continue reading “3 Things You (Probably) Don’t Know about Indiana Innovation”
Xconomy’s Top Innovation Stories of the Half Year
Here we are at the midpoint of 2016 already. Time to look back on the past six months—and some of the top stories of the year so far. The following represent a cross-section of what Xconomy offers on a daily basis: in-depth reporting from the front lines of technology and business innovation; coverage from 11 … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Top Innovation Stories of the Half Year”
Milestones of Innovation 12: Overflight Of Russia’s Ultimate Weapons
Sixty years ago, on the Fourth of July, 1956, the American President gained a capacity that has never been lost: clear pictures from above of Russia’s thermonuclear weapons delivery system. Because the images ended up shrinking the world’s appetite for tools of ultimate destruction, it is hard to think of a more significant innovation. The … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 12: Overflight Of Russia’s Ultimate Weapons”
Biotech Roundup: Moonshots, Pink Slips, Gilead, Brexit & More
The word of the week was “moonshot,” as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s cancer initiative convened a summit in Washington, DC. At the gathering, Biden took verbal shots at scofflaw cancer researchers and at drug prices, while the FDA said it would take a shot at restructuring the way it evaluates oncology products. Gilead Sciences … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Moonshots, Pink Slips, Gilead, Brexit & More”
Why Finance Should Take a Page Out of the Credit Card Industry’s Book
U.S. federal and financial regulators recently advised banks nationwide to assess the strength of their safeguards against cyber fraud. The warning comes after a string of cyber heists and attempted heists against banks around the world, including the $81 million theft from the Bangladesh central bank. These crimes have opened the financial industry’s eyes to … Continue reading “Why Finance Should Take a Page Out of the Credit Card Industry’s Book”
San Antonio Buys Time on Regulations to Find Place in Uber Economy
San Antonio—For those engaged in the ongoing saga of Uber and Lyft versus fingerprinting, the next date to mark is in October, at least in the Alamo City. Uber, Lyft, and Get Me will be able to continue offering rides to the people of San Antonio until at least October, after a decision yesterday by … Continue reading “San Antonio Buys Time on Regulations to Find Place in Uber Economy”
Riding Moonshot, FDA Will Revamp Its Cancer Practice. To What End?
As part of a national cancer “moonshot” initiative led by Vice President Joe Biden, the FDA said Wednesday it would retool the way it evaluates cancer treatments and tests. But to what end? The goals of the FDA’s new Oncology Center of Excellence remain vague, as does its structure. In a speech Wednesday morning at … Continue reading “Riding Moonshot, FDA Will Revamp Its Cancer Practice. To What End?”
Meshify Secures $1,045,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1e0a75fe-3b4c-4268-88f5-82c50b71c602 Date 6/30/2016 Company Name Meshify Mailing Address 1113 Vine St. Houston, TX 77002 USA Company Description Meshify brings devices online. Tank monitoring, energy management, electronic pest control, and more. Website http://www.meshify.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,045,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. 16 investors participated … Continue reading “Meshify Secures $1,045,000 New Funding”