Texas – Page 84

Innography Lands $1,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8a4d7a5c-a0fb-4fe6-b995-8c1038755659 Date 8/8/2013 Company Name Innography Mailing Address 3900 N. Capital of Texas Hwy. Austin, TX 78746 Company Description Innography launched its intellectual property business intelligence software as a service (SaaS) platform in 2007. Website http://www.innography.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “Innography Lands $1,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

Ecoviate Obtains Seed Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5dd11ab6-edc3-41f5-bb89-bc696574fb85 Date 8/8/2013 Company Name Ecoviate Mailing Address Undisclosed Plano, TX 75093 Company Description Ecoviate is a research and development company that focuses on energy and environmental technologies. We use interdisciplinary sciences to create technologies that mitigate global warming, create alternative sources of energy, and stimulate an unprecedented green initiative. Website http://www.ecoviate.com … Continue reading “Ecoviate Obtains Seed Round”

Infochimps CEO: CSC’s Purchase Plays Up Strengths of Big Data, Cloud

Jim Kaskade, the CEO of Infochimps, had approached Mike Lawrie, his counterpart at Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: [[ticker:CSC]]), to see if he would agree to be an advisor to the Austin, TX, startup. Five months later, the men would be announcing that Falls Church, VA-based CSC would be acquiring Infochimps. “By joining forces with CSC, … Continue reading “Infochimps CEO: CSC’s Purchase Plays Up Strengths of Big Data, Cloud”

Lost in Translation: The Novice’s Guide to BioPharma Idioms

Many fields of endeavor have their own special words, abbreviations, and coded language. People working in each of these disciplines learn over time how to use certain phrases that describe items or situations in the best possible light. In real estate listings, for example, a house will never be designated as “small.” Instead, it might … Continue reading “Lost in Translation: The Novice’s Guide to BioPharma Idioms”

HelioVolt Garners $9,500,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9c0ee3bf-0c8b-4a72-ad70-66deff68f7a9 Date 8/7/2013 Company Name HelioVolt Mailing Address 6301-8 E. Stassney Lane Austin, TX 78744 Company Description HelioVolt has pioneered a method of manufacturing high-performing solar technology and applying it as a coating directly onto conventional building materials. Website http://www.heliovolt.net Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $9,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “HelioVolt Garners $9,500,000 New Funding Round”

The Antidote for Strike Stress: Take Carma to Work

California Governor Jerry Brown intervened to stop another BART strike this week, and observers say he’s likely to impose a 60-day cooling-off period on negotiators, meaning Bay Area commuters may not have to worry about transit disruptions again until October. But memories of last month’s 4.5 day strike, which left 200,000 commuters stranded, spurred long … Continue reading “The Antidote for Strike Stress: Take Carma to Work”

Austin’s Infochimps, Big Data Analysis Software Maker, Bought by CSC

Austin-based Infochimps has been acquired by Falls Church, VA-based Computer Sciences Corp (NYSE: CSC). About 30 minutes after the news filtered out in a series of congratulatory messages through Twitter, Jim Kaskade, the Austin startup’s CEO, confirmed the purchase in a post on his company blog. “By joining forces with CSC, we together will deliver … Continue reading “Austin’s Infochimps, Big Data Analysis Software Maker, Bought by CSC”

Dallas’s GlobeStart Connects Local Entrepreneurs With Global Peers

Accelerators often bring in international startups as part of their slate of budding companies, but rarely do the programs cater entirely to these global entrepreneurs. Yet, that’s exactly the mission of GlobeStart, which is run by Dallas-based Tech Wildcatters. The program, which is less than a year old, brings six to eight startups to Dallas … Continue reading “Dallas’s GlobeStart Connects Local Entrepreneurs With Global Peers”

The Women’s Entrepreneurship Opportunity Is Not For Women Only

My doctoral dissertation, published in 2009, was a phenomenological study of 15 trailblazing women who held board of director positions in life sciences and technology businesses. The findings focused on the common traits and characteristics shared by the study participants, all of whom found success in an industry that is defined and dominated by men. … Continue reading “The Women’s Entrepreneurship Opportunity Is Not For Women Only”

NASA’s Next Mars Mission Leaves Colorado on Trip to the Red Planet

Next stop: Mars. NASA’s next mission to the Red Planet is the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft, or MAVEN, which on Friday arrived at the Kennedy Space Center. The satellite was designed and built outside Denver by Lockheed Martin Space Systems. MAVEN is scheduled to launch this November, following prelaunch setup and testing. The … Continue reading “NASA’s Next Mars Mission Leaves Colorado on Trip to the Red Planet”

How to Think Like a Hacker, Even If You Can’t Code

What do Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page all have in common? Yes, they’ve founded multi-billion dollar businesses with virtually no formal business training, with combined revenues of over $80 billion. But they are also former software engineers and hackers, an experience that undoubtedly taught them skills in critical thinking and problem solving. Making … Continue reading “How to Think Like a Hacker, Even If You Can’t Code”

Celgene Emerges as Biotech’s Shrewdest, Nimblest Dealmaker

Celgene is best known for taking a notoriously dangerous compound, thalidomide, and turning a derivative into a hugely successful cancer drug. But what fewer people may realize is that it is fast building the biotech industry’s best network of partnerships with innovators. This feels odd to say, even though Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) has been a … Continue reading “Celgene Emerges as Biotech’s Shrewdest, Nimblest Dealmaker”

Texas Roundup: EIV Capital, Appconomy, and UTMB

Temperatures are rising in Texas, but it’s not tamping down startup activity across the state. Our latest Texas Roundup includes new funds for energy investment, a new partnership that brings a Boston startup to China (with its Austin partner), and how reality TV can influence a top medical institution. —EIV Capital Management Company in Houston … Continue reading “Texas Roundup: EIV Capital, Appconomy, and UTMB”

Buyout Battle Highlights Dell’s History, Role in Austin Startup Scene

While it’s still uncertain if Michael Dell will succeed in bringing his namesake company private, the approval of his more generous buyout terms by a special committee on Friday does seem to make his path easier. Shareholders convened very briefly Friday to accept a proposal that sweetens the bid by Dell and Silver Lake Management … Continue reading “Buyout Battle Highlights Dell’s History, Role in Austin Startup Scene”

What’s In Your Earthquake Kit? Here’s a Look at Mine

If you live in California, where earthquakes measuring 4.0 or above hit once or twice a month, you can’t ignore the fact that the continental plates are shifting. Frequent, minor temblors help to remind us that someday, the Big One could instantly disable our fragile highways, aqueducts, and communications networks. In that scenario, all of … Continue reading “What’s In Your Earthquake Kit? Here’s a Look at Mine”

Four Startup Challenges that Technology Can Help Solve

Many startups think that their greatest challenge is to get funding. Sure, that’s tough. And when you do find a willing investor, half the battle is won. But after that, the real work begins. You need to build a good team, put in place processes and infrastructure, innovate, and of course, pursue aggressive marketing strategies. … Continue reading “Four Startup Challenges that Technology Can Help Solve”

Pumps & Pipes Aims to Bring Together Energy, Medicine, Space Innovators

Companies often struggle within themselves to get different departments to collaborate. So trying to bring together completely disparate sectors—say, innovators in energy and medicine—to work together for mutual benefit would seem like madness. But that’s exactly the mission of the Houston organization Pumps & Pipes. “We work very hard to establish that even dissimilar areas … Continue reading “Pumps & Pipes Aims to Bring Together Energy, Medicine, Space Innovators”

The Sowing of a Startup Community in Telluride

All it takes are the right seeds and soil for a startup community to take root and thrive. I recently saw this first hand in a seemingly off-the-beaten-path city—Telluride, CO. I discovered Telluride’s entrepreneurial aspirations last summer, when I received a call from Jesse Johnson, an entrepreneur who relocated from New York City to Telluride … Continue reading “The Sowing of a Startup Community in Telluride”

Building Great Founding Teams

There’s been a lot written about the individual characteristics of what makes a great founder, but a lot less about what makes a great founding team and how that’s different from a great founding CEO. I think we’ve been imprecise in defining three different roles. In doing so we’ve failed to help founders understand what … Continue reading “Building Great Founding Teams”

Workshops Illustrate Growth of Houston Startup Scene

The Dog Days of August are soon upon us, but the startup scene in Houston is not showing any sign of slowing down. The Saturday afternoon traffic was brisk across Morningside Drive. And it wasn’t just the patrons of the bars and restaurants in the Rice Village, a shopping center tucked in between the Texas … Continue reading “Workshops Illustrate Growth of Houston Startup Scene”

Why Deborah Dunsire’s Unusual Bet on Alzheimer’s Makes Sense

Just because a biotech company has landed a high-profile chief executive, does that mean its product is going to work? I’ve been asking myself that question in the wake of the unexpected July 11 announcement of the hiring of a biotech superstar, the Novartis veteran and former Millennium Pharmaceuticals CEO Deborah Dunsire, by Boston-area biotech … Continue reading “Why Deborah Dunsire’s Unusual Bet on Alzheimer’s Makes Sense”

After Raising Private Equity, Sapphire Energy Repays Loan Guarantee

San Diego’s Sapphire Energy, a leading developer of algae-based biofuels, says today it has repaid a $54.5 million federal loan guarantee. As a result of the loan guarantee, made in 2009 through the Department of Agriculture’s Biorefinery Assistance Program, Sapphire says it is now producing the world’s first renewable “green” crude oil at its demonstration … Continue reading “After Raising Private Equity, Sapphire Energy Repays Loan Guarantee”

Xtreme Power Solutions Receives $1,935,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c9a586cd-9db2-4a52-940a-a114ce02e6c4 Date 7/30/2013 Company Name Xtreme Power Solutions Mailing Address 1120 Goforth Road Kyle, TX 78640 Company Description Xtreme Power is a Power Systems company with sophisticated technology to deliver efficient solutions. Xtreme Power Solutions is a manufacturer of power systems from the small sized, (2kW) generator replacement, through large scale Megawatt … Continue reading “Xtreme Power Solutions Receives $1,935,000 New Round”

Fort Worth’s Athlon Energy to Raise $363 Million in IPO

Athlon Energy, a Fort Worth-based oil and natural gas company, could raise as much as $363 million in an initial public stock offering this week, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, which was founded in 2010, focuses its drilling activities in about 220 wells in the Permian Basin in … Continue reading “Fort Worth’s Athlon Energy to Raise $363 Million in IPO”

TrueAbility, San Antonio Online Recruiting Tool, Raises $2 Million

San Antonio startup TrueAbility today announced it has completed a Series A fundraising of $2 million in venture capital. TrueAbility sells a cloud-based service that allows recruiting managers to assess candidates’ technical skills in an online environment that mimics the workplace. “In the typical interview process, it isn’t easy to assess the technical skills of … Continue reading “TrueAbility, San Antonio Online Recruiting Tool, Raises $2 Million”

Pharma Fails Credibility Test, Misses Opportunity, on Transparency

Some of the biggest scandals in the pharmaceutical industry (think Vioxx and Avandia) have been about drug safety, and how much of the clinical trial data on prescription drugs—especially the negative stuff—is kept hidden. Not surprisingly, some scientists, physicians, regulators, and patients have joined forces to push for all clinical-trial results, positive or negative, to … Continue reading “Pharma Fails Credibility Test, Misses Opportunity, on Transparency”

Texas Oilman Created The Fracking Boom, Ignited Energy Startups

Texas billionaire oilman George Mitchell, who spawned a modern-day gold rush as the “father of fracking,” died Friday in Galveston. He was 94. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, refers to a procedure that injects fluids under pressure to increase the yield of underground oil and gas formations. Mitchell’s innovation set off an entrepreneurial boom in the … Continue reading “Texas Oilman Created The Fracking Boom, Ignited Energy Startups”

Abbott to Acquire Medical Device Startup Idev Technologies

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) is acquiring Idev Technologies, a suburban Houston medical device company, in a $310 million deal. Idev manufactures stents used by interventional radiologists, vascular surgeons, and cardiologists to treat blockages in arteries in the leg. The market for peripheral artery disease is expected to grow to $3.3 billion by 2017, according to Millennium … Continue reading “Abbott to Acquire Medical Device Startup Idev Technologies”

What Will the End of Moore’s Law Mean for Consumers? Not Much

“The party isn’t exactly over, but the police have arrived, and the music has been turned way down.” That’s how Peter Kogge, an ex-IBM computer scientist who teaches at Notre Dame, described the state of supercomputing in a 2011 article in IEEE Spectrum. The giant machines that researchers use to simulate things like climate change, … Continue reading “What Will the End of Moore’s Law Mean for Consumers? Not Much”

Telligent Lands $5,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=979cc33f-c270-4fa8-992b-569bca9befd4 Date 7/26/2013 Company Name Telligent Mailing Address 17950 Preston Rd Dallas, TX 75252 Company Description Telligent is a leader in enterprise-proven solutions for online communities and social networks. With a focus on implementing social computing solutions to facilitate collaboration and improve organizational efficiency, Telligent offers a social suite that services both … Continue reading “Telligent Lands $5,000,000 New Financing Round”

Telligent Secures $7,275,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=24194623-3957-4072-83e8-6c660a378f61 Date 7/26/2013 Company Name Telligent Mailing Address 17950 Preston Rd Dallas, TX 75252 Company Description Telligent is a leader in enterprise-proven solutions for online communities and social networks. With a focus on implementing social computing solutions to facilitate collaboration and improve organizational efficiency, Telligent offers a social suite that services both … Continue reading “Telligent Secures $7,275,000 New Round”

StreetCred Secures $25,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=11071bd5-d386-4098-ad21-28d0276c4940 Date 7/25/2013 Company Name StreetCred Mailing Address 420 N. Carroll Ave Southlake, TX 76092 Company Description StreetCred Software, Inc was founded by two Texas police officers. One is a veteran investigator and fugitive hunter, the other a technology industry veteran who became an officer after working as a security, intelligence and … Continue reading “StreetCred Secures $25,000 Seed Financing”

Bee Cave Games Garners $1,300,000 Seed Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=aa44cb3a-df12-4e37-a0a3-f99ce51328a6 Date 7/24/2013 Company Name Bee Cave Games Mailing Address 512 East Riverside Drive Austin, TX 78704 Company Description Bee Cave Games is dedicated to entertaining the world with the best casino games. Website http://www.beecavegames.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,300,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The round is aimed at … Continue reading “Bee Cave Games Garners $1,300,000 Seed Financing Round”

We’re Number 9! U.S. Slips in Internet Connection Ranking

Here’s something to add to your decline-of-the-empire files: the U.S. is falling further behind in world rankings of average Internet connection speeds. That’s the verdict from the latest State of the Internet Report by Akamai (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKAM]]), the Cambridge, MA-based networking company that handles about a third of global Web traffic. The latest stats cover … Continue reading “We’re Number 9! U.S. Slips in Internet Connection Ranking”

An MVP Is Not a Cheaper Product—It’s About Smart Learning

A minimum viable product (MVP) is not always a smaller/cheaper version of your final product. Defining the goal for an MVP can save you tons of time, money and grief. Drones over the Heartland I ran into a small startup at Stanford who wants to fly unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) with a hyper-spectral camera over … Continue reading “An MVP Is Not a Cheaper Product—It’s About Smart Learning”

Ex-Prometheus Exec Takes the Reins at Dallas’ Gradalis

Gradalis, a Dallas-based life sciences startup, announced today that it has hired pharmaceutical veteran Joseph M. Limber to lead the company as it further develops its personalized vaccine for ovarian cancer. Limber comes to Gradalis having already spent three decades in the life sciences industry. Most recently he lead Prometheus Pharmaceuticals in San Diego to … Continue reading “Ex-Prometheus Exec Takes the Reins at Dallas’ Gradalis”

The Biotech IPO Phenomenon of 2013: Enjoy It While It Lasts

The year is only half over, but one of the biggest biotech stories of 2013 is going to be the resurgence of the biotech IPO market. It’s a good news/bad news story, depending on where you stand, and how far you look out into the future. First, the good. The IPO surge is a vote … Continue reading “The Biotech IPO Phenomenon of 2013: Enjoy It While It Lasts”

How to Save $200 Billion and Cure Hepatitis C

Wall Street is buzzing with anticipation about the first new all-oral drugs for hepatitis C approaching the market. The high rate of HCV infection and dissatisfaction with current treatments have created a potential multi-billion dollar bonanza for drug companies. It’s estimated that Gilead, the frontrunner in this race, will charge as much as $90,000 per … Continue reading “How to Save $200 Billion and Cure Hepatitis C”

OpenIncubate to Boost Open-Source Startups in Austin, Boston, and SF

[Updated at 2:06 p.m.] Austin, TX, will be one home to a new incubator designed to promote innovation in open-source technology. OpenIncubate is a joint project by Austin Ventures, Battery Ventures in Boston, and The Valley Fund, located in Menlo Park, CA. The firms hope to boost open-source startups in each region with mentoring and … Continue reading “OpenIncubate to Boost Open-Source Startups in Austin, Boston, and SF”

Don’t Call Me “Girl,” Sir: Women, Tech, and a Chat with Olivia Munn

It is long past time to stop regarding the presence of women in technology as an anomaly—yet achieving widespread acknowledgment of their work remains a challenge. Multiple organizations in New York—including Girls Who Code, Cornell NYC Tech, and L’Oréal—and across the country are taking on this task while also encouraging new generations of women to … Continue reading “Don’t Call Me “Girl,” Sir: Women, Tech, and a Chat with Olivia Munn”

VC Funding Levels Out as Early Stage Turns Up & Top 10 Deals

Consistent and modest are the words that seem to best describe U.S. venture capital activity during the second quarter, as VC investments remained more or less level with the first three months of 2013, according to recent data from several venture-tracking surveys. But the pace of venture investing is down in comparison to the second … Continue reading “VC Funding Levels Out as Early Stage Turns Up & Top 10 Deals”

RetailMeNot Obtains $191,100,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=28ba4a7f-d644-4743-9f24-afe6900a2b00 Date 7/19/2013 Company Name RetailMeNot Mailing Address 301 Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78701 Company Description RetailMeNot.com (NASDAQ: SALE) is the most widely used online coupon site in the United States. Our mission is to help consumers save money and enjoy a hassle-free discount shopping experience. Website http://www.retailmenot.com Transaction Type IPO Transaction … Continue reading “RetailMeNot Obtains $191,100,000 New Financing”

Whole Foods Commits $1M to Grameen America for Detroit Microlending Program

As part of Texas-based Whole Foods’ investment in Detroit, its Whole Planet Foundation has committed $1 million to the microfinance organization Grameen America to assist Detroit entrepreneurs. Grameen America, which was founded by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus, is a domestic microfinance nonprofit assisting women in poverty and operating in New York City (its … Continue reading “Whole Foods Commits $1M to Grameen America for Detroit Microlending Program”

Startup MD: Group Aims to Help Houston Doctors Become Entrepreneurs

Physicians are used to having complete authority when in an operating room, a command-and-control environment that doesn’t allow for deliberation or consensus. That mentality, however, doesn’t work very well when it comes to entrepreneurship and building startups. “Physicians are terrible at entrepreneurship because they work in a bubble,” says Sudhen Desai, a Houston radiologist. “You … Continue reading “Startup MD: Group Aims to Help Houston Doctors Become Entrepreneurs”

iSIGHT Partners Lands New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e782dd63-9ef2-4682-af2d-39b2f3e60205 Date 7/17/2013 Company Name iSIGHT Partners Mailing Address 8333 Douglas Avenue Dallas, TX 75225 Company Description iSIGHT Partners is the leading global cyber threat intelligence firm, delivering intelligence services to over 150 public sector and commercial entities. We provide Fortune 100 companies with detailed, actionable intelligence essential to a comprehensive security … Continue reading “iSIGHT Partners Lands New Financing”

Would More SEC Paperwork Really Scare Away Angel Investors?

[Updated 7/17 with correction, see below.] Letting startups advertise that they’re raising money is supposed to be a boon for early stage companies. But a big advocate for angel investors says new federal regulations could have the opposite effect. Those new rules, approved by the SEC last week, could effectively “kill angel investing” by making … Continue reading “Would More SEC Paperwork Really Scare Away Angel Investors?”

Intel’s Diane Bryant Blazing Trail From Data Centers to Next Era of IT

In a world of apps, big data, and cloud connectivity, it can be hard to remember that there’s more to tech innovation than just software. Then you meet someone like Diane Bryant, and your worldview shifts. Bryant is senior vice president and general manager of the datacenter and connected systems group at Intel. You know, … Continue reading “Intel’s Diane Bryant Blazing Trail From Data Centers to Next Era of IT”

U of H’s Bose Focused on Bringing Innovation to Market

Rathindra N. Bose’s business cards read the University of Houston’s vice chancellor/vice president for research and technology. But he should’ve chosen the job title: technology evangelist. You might not realize, he says, but the university is a top-tier research institution, graduating 300 PhD’s each year, with $150 million in research dollars, and a portfolio of … Continue reading “U of H’s Bose Focused on Bringing Innovation to Market”

U.S. Venture Activity Remains Steady as IPOs Rise in Second Quarter

Venture-backed IPOs staged something of a comeback during the second quarter, as 22 VC-backed startups went public with an aggregated valuation of about $9.6 billion. Healthcare companies made up about half of those IPOs, according to the venture-data tracking firm, CB Insights. Still, it was a relatively modest period for VC activity. CB Insights says … Continue reading “U.S. Venture Activity Remains Steady as IPOs Rise in Second Quarter”