Apparently, I’m pushy. I can’t help it. It’s my genes, and also all I’ve been through. When you’re a woman in engineering, there are a host of voices (some residing in your head, some not), telling you that you’re not good enough, not smart enough—that when you’re alone amid a sea of male faces at … Continue reading “Women in Engineering, and a Global Call for the Next MacGyver”
Category: Texas
IntegriCo Composites Receives $2,250,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=830eba68-2f6e-4570-b7b4-d776befb6897 Date 4/6/2015 Company Name IntegriCo Composites Mailing Address 4310 Lucius McCelvey Drive Temple, TX 76504 USA Company Description IntegriCo Composites is a Texas-based manufacturer of composite plastic products made from landfill-bound plastic waste. The Company’s initial product is a composite plastic railroad tie, and the technology can be widely applied to … Continue reading “IntegriCo Composites Receives $2,250,000 New Financing”
Robot Revolution: Disrupting the Workplace as We Know It
We’re on the brink of the Third Industrial Revolution, with robots moving off the factory floor and emerging in the white-collar office. These “software robots” are being leveraged by businesses across industries to tackle rules-based processes and improve overall operational agility. Operational roles are well-suited for automatons since they, by definition, automatically follow and execute … Continue reading “Robot Revolution: Disrupting the Workplace as We Know It”
Conceivable Secures $800,000 Seed Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eb7d6dee-7207-4b7b-a809-05f5a651c168 Date 4/3/2015 Company Name Conceivable Mailing Address 1011 San Jacinto Blvd. Austin, TX 78701 USA Company Description During my 15 years running one of the largest and most influential fertility wellness clinics in North America, I’ve worked with thousands of couples diagnosed as infertile. They wish desperately for a child, but … Continue reading “Conceivable Secures $800,000 Seed Funding”
MD Anderson’s Chin Heads to UT to Lead Efforts to Fight Diabetes
Lynda Chin, who led the University of Texas MD Anderson’s efforts to corral big data to fight cancer, is leaving that post to join the UT System as its first associate vice chancellor for health transformation and chief innovation officer for health affairs. In her new position, Chin will create and lead the new Institute … Continue reading “MD Anderson’s Chin Heads to UT to Lead Efforts to Fight Diabetes”
Via Hails $27M Series B For Ride-Sharing Service
The makers of an app that allows users to request a ride on a shared-car service closed a $27 million Series B round today. New York-based Via has only operated in Manhattan since September 2013, and it plans to use the funding to bring the service to new markets. The company will also make new … Continue reading “Via Hails $27M Series B For Ride-Sharing Service”
Renamed SKU, Consumer Goods Accelerator Announces New Startup Class
Fresh off a name change, Austin, TX-based consumer goods accelerator SKU has unveiled the seven startups that make up its fourth class. The former Incubation Station recast itself as SKU in homage to what founder Shari Wynne calls the “atomic unit of consumer goods.” Stock keeping unit, or SKU, is how individual products and services … Continue reading “Renamed SKU, Consumer Goods Accelerator Announces New Startup Class”
Conceivable Produces Fertility App With Seed Funding
An Austin, TX-based company is introducing an app today that incorporates Chinese medicine practices that are meant to help women get pregnant. The company, called Conceivable, has raised $800,000 in seed funding to make the app available for consumer use. A user of the app answers questions about, among other things, any abnormalities in her … Continue reading “Conceivable Produces Fertility App With Seed Funding”
Austin, TX’s Toopher Acquired By Cloud-Computing Giant Salesforce
Online security company Toopher has been sold to Salesforce, according to a note from its co-founders that appeared Wednesday on the company’s website. San Francisco-based Salesforce confirmed the sale. Terms were not disclosed. Toopher developed a technology that uses a person’s cell phone location to authenticate a user’s identity, in an effort to prevent online fraud … Continue reading “Austin, TX’s Toopher Acquired By Cloud-Computing Giant Salesforce”
H-1Bs And How Changing The System Will Help Startups
In order for the American economy to thrive, we must rely on our ability to innovate. The U.S. government now estimates that job growth is almost three times faster in the innovation-rich fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics than the rest of the economy. Yet despite the explosion in demand, the steady supply of … Continue reading “H-1Bs And How Changing The System Will Help Startups”
Q1 Texas News: Investments, Accelerator Startups & Mark Cuban at SXSW
Innovation news in Texas started off the year with the announcement that billionaire IT entrepreneur and “Shark Tank” judge Mark Cuban would judge at the Impact Pediatric Health pitch day at South By Southwest. The first quarter of the year concluded with a story on the contest’s winning company—and its largest customer, Cuban himself. There … Continue reading “Q1 Texas News: Investments, Accelerator Startups & Mark Cuban at SXSW”
Equity Crowdfunding Backers Clash Over Fundraising Limits in States
After five years of bootstrapping his startup, Instancy, Harvey Singh’s company has a finished education software product, revenue, and a growing roster of employees. As Singh looks overseas to expand Instancy’s sales reach, he says he is now ready for outside investors. He wants to raise that capital through crowdfunding. The federal Jumpstart Our Business … Continue reading “Equity Crowdfunding Backers Clash Over Fundraising Limits in States”
KeepTrax Garners $1,000,000 Seed Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=af0fbd42-9896-4f41-a988-871ef47b259a Date 4/1/2015 Company Name KeepTrax Mailing Address 222 West Las Colinas Blvd Irving, TX 75039 USA Company Description KeepTrax automatically captures all your important visits as you go about your day. No check-in required. Website http://www.keeptraxapp.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The company initially … Continue reading “KeepTrax Garners $1,000,000 Seed Round”
EyeQ Lands $1,200,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0dc11dc4-d567-4b1f-9b12-ec8a4486d277 Date 4/1/2015 Company Name EyeQ Mailing Address 3925 West Braker Lane Austin, TX 78759 USA Company Description Today, consumers shop using a multichannel environment, fluidly switching between brick-and-mortar, and online retail outlets. The increased use of the internet and social media provides consumers with a greater amount of information to make … Continue reading “EyeQ Lands $1,200,000 New Financing”
Testlio Receives $1,000,000 Seed Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8b646fc9-f235-4090-8923-f1977b4bf6f2 Date 4/1/2015 Company Name Testlio Mailing Address 701 Brazos Street Austin, TX 78701 USA Company Description We believe that a small yet dedicated team can still build a simple, elegant, and useful platform that can enable new forms of testing and better products for millions of people. Website http://www.testlio.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Testlio Receives $1,000,000 Seed Funding Round”
Salesforce Acquires Toopher for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e88ed7da-f92f-4e0c-8953-9b50829cce56 Date 4/1/2015 Company Name Toopher Mailing Address 1616 Guadalupe 7th Floor Austin, TX 78701 USA Company Description We’re just normal people that think security is a right, not a privilege. We scoured the interwebbings for a viable solution but didn’t find anything worthwhile. So we nerded up and built Toopher – … Continue reading “Salesforce Acquires Toopher for Undisclosed Sum”
At Q1’s End, Three Texas Technology Startups Announce New Funds
Three Texas technology companies have announced million-dollar investment rounds this week. —KeepTrax, a Dallas-based mobile app company, said Tuesday it has raised $1 million from Naya Ventures, a Dallas venture firm that focuses on mobile tech startups. KeepTrax, which calls itself an “Internet of Me” company, uses GPS and other mobile sensors to compile a … Continue reading “At Q1’s End, Three Texas Technology Startups Announce New Funds”
The Innovator’s Gender Dilemma and Venture Rites of Passage
After 40 years as a professional woman who by many standards has “made it,” I am struck by the extent to which young and highly educated—even Ivy-league educated—employees are challenged by the ambiguities and realities of the contemporary competitive workplace. Having always been exceptional, and having done what was expected of them, usually by their … Continue reading “The Innovator’s Gender Dilemma and Venture Rites of Passage”
From Iceland to White House, Precision Medicine’s Promises & Hurdles
[Updated and corrected, 4/5/15, 6:51 pm. See below.] There is talk, and there is action. In the drive toward healthcare tailored for smaller and smaller groups of people, there was both last week, and both illustrated not just the promise of precision medicine, but the long haul until that promise is fulfilled. First, Iceland’s deCODE … Continue reading “From Iceland to White House, Precision Medicine’s Promises & Hurdles”
Peter Thiel Brings Libertarian Standup Routine to Harvard
In staccato, stand-up comic style, Peter Thiel brought his version of libertarianism to Harvard, a notable cheering section for positive government. Last Wednesday, a packed lecture hall heard the investor and co-founder of PayPal and secretive data-analysis company Palantir Technologies say, “You can’t do it on a government scale. So I work on the business … Continue reading “Peter Thiel Brings Libertarian Standup Routine to Harvard”
LandlordStation Secures $750,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=390e4067-f7db-406f-871f-072424793540 Date 3/30/2015 Company Name LandlordStation Mailing Address 2633 McKinney Avenue Dallas, TX 75204 USA Company Description Our goal is to provide you with the best service possible. We provide all the tools necessary for landlords and property managers to manage their listings, tenants, vendors, and data in a simple and easy … Continue reading “LandlordStation Secures $750,000 New Financing Round”
EyeQ Raises $1.2M for Personalized Shopping
[Updated 3/30/15, 12:25 p.m. See below.] The ease and prevalence of online shopping can make it hard for many consumers to see physical stores as anything other than show rooms. One Austin, TX, company, eyeQ, is attempting to bring consumers back to physical retail stores by using data about the shoppers themselves. The company’s technology … Continue reading “EyeQ Raises $1.2M for Personalized Shopping”
Innovation Hub: XPRIZE Founder Tackles Entrepreneurship
Peter Diamandis is, I think it’s fair to say, an optimist. After all, how many other space-obsessed kids ended up founding an International Space University? Or inaugurated an XPRIZE, to inspire a new generation of passenger spacecrafts? But Diamandis’s current obsession is entrepreneurship, and the idea that the economy is radically shifting to accommodate a … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: XPRIZE Founder Tackles Entrepreneurship”
The Incredible Shrinking Seed Stage and Other Venture Trends of 2014
By now the 2014 data for venture capital investments from the most important regions of the world have been compiled and disseminated. When laid out next to each other, some fascinating themes emerge. It’s no surprise that the U.S. continues to set the pace with over $48 billion invested in 4,356 companies, compared to 2013, … Continue reading “The Incredible Shrinking Seed Stage and Other Venture Trends of 2014”
Amid Gene Editing Worry, A Return To Biotech’s 1st “Asilomar Moment”
Biotechnology leaders—and the rest of us—should “count to 10” as they read the March 19 call in Science to consider limits on using revolutionary new gene-editing techniques for germline gene therapy. The techniques are powerful and simple to use and key scientists, worried about misuse, want us to pause, confer, and set limits. But we … Continue reading “Amid Gene Editing Worry, A Return To Biotech’s 1st “Asilomar Moment””
Hi, I’m in Delaware… For the Fast Internet
Internet speeds are becoming increasingly important to consumer markets, as users of streaming content such as Netflix, Hulu, and HBO multiply. Those people are expecting quality streaming, too, especially with the advent of 4K, or “ultra” high-definition, video. It may be no surprise that broadband Internet speeds vary from state to state, with Virginia, Delaware, … Continue reading “Hi, I’m in Delaware… For the Fast Internet”
Code for the Kingdom’s Hackathon Tackles Human Trafficking, Food Deserts
Hackers from last weekend’s Christian-oriented Code for the Kingdom in Dallas were called from as far as Toronto and Washington state. The assembled group of 100 programmers spent the weekend working on 22 projects, such as developing apps to better connect adults and kids with the Bible. For Chris Armas, who has organized the Code … Continue reading “Code for the Kingdom’s Hackathon Tackles Human Trafficking, Food Deserts”
WP Engine Garners $23,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=32141f45-9b10-47a6-b20a-54969458388c Date 3/25/2015 Company Name WP Engine Mailing Address 504 Lavaca Street Austin, TX 78701 USA Company Description WP Engine offers a WordPress VIP-type experience for smaller-scale websites. The service includes top-notch support, one-click backups, optimization for speed and scalability, and security features that include automatic software upgrades. Website http://www.wpengine.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “WP Engine Garners $23,000,000 New Funding”
Noesis Energy Receives $5,000,001 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c041184c-0438-4d5c-bb01-d667d195f3ae Date 3/25/2015 Company Name Noesis Energy Mailing Address 303 North Mopac Expwy Austin, TX 78759 USA Company Description Every year US commercial and industrial organizations spend over $350 billion on energy and it’s estimated that over $70 billion is wasted due to inefficient buildings, outdated lighting, poorly performing HVAC systems and … Continue reading “Noesis Energy Receives $5,000,001 New Financing”
From FantasyHub to Self Lender, The Techstars Austin 2015 Class
[Updated 3/24/15, 5:17 pm. See below.] A business that connects hunters with landowners and a company that helps consumers establish a credit history are among the latest participants in Techstars’ accelerator in Austin, TX. Techstars posted the names of the 10 companies yesterday that will participate in its three-month intensive boot camp from now through … Continue reading “From FantasyHub to Self Lender, The Techstars Austin 2015 Class”
Austin’s Aeglea Biotherapeutics Raises $44M for Cancer Drug
Aeglea Biotherapeutics closed a $44 million Series B financing Monday. The Austin, TX-based biotech company is developing drug therapies to exploit what my colleague Bernadette Tansey has called the “Achilles’ heel” of cancer, exploiting a vulnerability in which cancer cells can import arginine from the bloodstream to keep growing after tumors no longer produce the … Continue reading “Austin’s Aeglea Biotherapeutics Raises $44M for Cancer Drug”
Pediatric Pitch Day Highlights Kids’ Health Innovation at SXSW
For many entrepreneurs, there is a moment when all the work, planning, hope, and praying comes together to set the business’s growth to warp speed. For Kezia Fitzgerald, who founded CareAline, a Boston maker of a cloth sleeve that securely hides intravenous lines and prevents kids from tugging or pulling them off, that moment could … Continue reading “Pediatric Pitch Day Highlights Kids’ Health Innovation at SXSW”
Fastest Turtle: Healthcare Investing and the U.S. Economy
Given the investment horizons for venture capitalists, we do not necessarily try to time public markets when making new investments—although they obviously influence pre-money valuations, particularly for later rounds. Greater concerns revolve around portfolio companies’ ability to access capital on reasonable terms, and that the general macroeconomic environment is conducive to strong revenue growth. Notwithstanding … Continue reading “Fastest Turtle: Healthcare Investing and the U.S. Economy”
Stop the Bleeding: Can Gene Therapy Finally Cure Hemophilia?
Ben Haugstad is 12 years old and loves Taekwondo. He’s been doing it for six years, and soon he’ll be a black belt. He also has a severe form of hemophilia. His body doesn’t produce the machinery needed to clot blood, and at any moment a bad tumble or a bruise could quickly turn into … Continue reading “Stop the Bleeding: Can Gene Therapy Finally Cure Hemophilia?”
Aeglea BioTherapeutics Garners $44,000,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e6858dc9-95ca-4d03-9a43-484c567abb9f Date 3/23/2015 Company Name Aeglea BioTherapeutics Mailing Address 901 S. MoPac Expressway Austin, TX 78746 USA Company Description Aeglea BioTherapeutics is a Texas based start up developing two drugs invented at UT Austin, novel engineered human enzymes that degrade the amino acids L-methionine (L-Met), or L- arginine (LArg) in the circulation. … Continue reading “Aeglea BioTherapeutics Garners $44,000,000 Series B Round”
Innovation Hub: Did a Computer Write This Story?
Forget Malcolm Gladwell and Tom Friedman. The next great journalist could be a computer program. Already, artificial intelligence has been put to work at Forbes, the Associated Press, Reuters, and The Big Ten Network. Coverage of NCAA basketball games, earnings reports, and dips in housing prices are regularly penned by this new breed of “journalist.” … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Did a Computer Write This Story?”
What Would Jesus Hack? Code for the Kingdom Hackathon Comes to Big D
This weekend, Dallas will be the latest outpost for a Christian-inspired hackathon, an event that is expected to draw about 100 hackers from around the region. Chris Armas, who has organized the effort since its launch in 2013, says the idea is to leverage technology’s ability to shape culture within a Christian context. “The world … Continue reading “What Would Jesus Hack? Code for the Kingdom Hackathon Comes to Big D”
Lessons From Building a Global Engineering Team
It used to be that if you referenced a “global engineering team” you had contracted with a few freelance developers in a remote location to do a few hours of work per week. There’s a good reason for that: historically, recruiting, retaining, and growing global engineering teams has been a significant challenge. At HubSpot, we … Continue reading “Lessons From Building a Global Engineering Team”
Honest Dollar Receives $3,000,000 Seed Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=28bf1070-f102-4523-b37f-b6800e03bd8f Date 3/20/2015 Company Name Honest Dollar Mailing Address 600 Congress Ave. Austin, TX 78701 USA Company Description A new stealth startup founded by some of the most innovative individuals in the technology and Financial Services industries. What are we doing? Well it wouldn’t be much of a stealth startup if we … Continue reading “Honest Dollar Receives $3,000,000 Seed Financing Round”
RealMassive Pitches Data Analysis Tool For Commercial Real Estate
To RealMassive, an Austin, TX-based data provider for the commercial real estate industry, the sector has its eyes on the wrong prize. Data in commercial real estate largely breaks down into two types, the company says: relatively public information, like the rent or square footage of an office space that any broker might have, and private information, such … Continue reading “RealMassive Pitches Data Analysis Tool For Commercial Real Estate”
Milestones of Innovation 4: The Letter That Led to the Atomic Bomb
Crisp statements of a case to a prepared, if skeptical, mind have often changed the history of innovation. Perhaps the most critical example of this in the 20th Century is the memorandum that reached Sir Henry Tizard, chief scientific advisor to Britain’s Air Ministry, 75 years ago today, on the 19th of March, 1940. This … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 4: The Letter That Led to the Atomic Bomb”
Hypori Receives $6,700,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1533a5ef-6c72-415e-bcee-d23f86f772a4 Date 3/19/2015 Company Name Hypori Mailing Address 9211 Waterford Centre Blvd. Austin, TX 78758 USA Company Description Enterprises have embraced the convenience, cost savings and collaboration that come with mobility and BYOD, but many still struggle to strike a balance between functionality and security. Website http://www.hypori.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Hypori Receives $6,700,000 Series A Funding Round”
Meerkat and the Live Streaming Phenomenon at SXSW: A Tech Timestamp
[Updated, 2:59 p.m.] What better place than South by Southwest to encounter technology that distracts you from the world around you? At Capital Factory’s A-List pitch event on March 13, a young woman in the middle of the audience seemed engrossed—not in what the speaker was saying, but in what her phone was recording and the … Continue reading “Meerkat and the Live Streaming Phenomenon at SXSW: A Tech Timestamp”
Consumption Rules, E-mail Thrives, Enterprise Agreements are Dead
Microsoft opened its Office suite to play with other cloud services, Box debuted on Wall Street, and Google reinvented the inbox. Not even three months into 2015, and we’ve already had several interesting developments in the online collaboration software market. Here’s how these announcements fit into trends we’re seeing at Smartsheet. Consumption-Based Pricing Eats Per-User … Continue reading “Consumption Rules, E-mail Thrives, Enterprise Agreements are Dead”
As FAA OKs Commercial Drones, 3D Robotics Aims for Blue Sky Market
The largest U.S. maker of lightweight, multi-rotor drones and unmanned aerial systems is looking to substantially expand its commercial business—targeting companies that want to use drones to inspect railways, monitor construction sites, and for all sorts of other things. After raising $50 million late last month, 3D Robotics is at a watershed moment made possible … Continue reading “As FAA OKs Commercial Drones, 3D Robotics Aims for Blue Sky Market”
Glooko Gets $16M Injection to Upgrade Digital Diabetes Product
Digital health firm Glooko has a new round of cash to expand its diabetes management product, but it’s not ready to say how much the product is actually helping diabetics. The Palo Alto, CA-based company has raised a $16.5 million Series B round, led by Canaan Partners. With the cash, Glooko will add more ways … Continue reading “Glooko Gets $16M Injection to Upgrade Digital Diabetes Product”
In Mental Health Therapy, Cautious Steps Toward the Pharmacodigital
[Corrected 3/17/15, 7:55 pm. See below.] The phrase “better living through chemistry,” derived from an old DuPont corporate slogan, has accumulated all kinds of ironic and wink-wink connotations over the decades. But there’s a fascinating revival and upgrade underway. For people with debilitating mental health problems, many researchers, doctors, and businesspeople think the new phrase … Continue reading “In Mental Health Therapy, Cautious Steps Toward the Pharmacodigital”
Admetsys Wins Top Prize at SXSW Hatch Pitch, Astroprint and Plum Follow
Part of the value pitching in a competition at South by Southwest is getting to speak to a room packed with potential investors and users. But winning, and the prizes that come with it, never hurts. At the Hatch pitch competition Monday, five companies came away victorious, including a few big winners. Here they are, as … Continue reading “Admetsys Wins Top Prize at SXSW Hatch Pitch, Astroprint and Plum Follow”
Vista Equity Reportedly Seeks Buyer after Moving Websense to Texas
[Updated 3/17/15 10:40 am. See below.] Vista Equity Partners, the private equity firm that acquired San Diego’s Websense in 2013 and moved 445 jobs to Austin, TX, has hired Citigroup to assist in the company’s sale, according to a recent Bloomberg News report. Websense spoksman Charles Saunders declined comment, writing in an e-mail this morning, … Continue reading “Vista Equity Reportedly Seeks Buyer after Moving Websense to Texas”
Innovation Hub: Wadhwa’s Dystopian Future
Vivek Wadhwa is a big-picture guy. A guy whose vision of the future includes printing meat, banning humans from the road, and sidelining Wall Street. Wadhwa currently juggles appointments at Stanford, Duke, and Singularity Universities, and he says that massive technological advances will reroute our lives, a shift that may lead to massive dislocation, perhaps … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Wadhwa’s Dystopian Future”