SiliconHills

Former TrendKite Founder and CEO Matt Allison has raised $6.3 million in seed funding to launch Handraise. Austin-based Handraise will create a platform powered by artificial intelligence to help companies increase the impact of their press coverage. Allison built TrendKite into a top media monitoring and analytics platform, which Cision acquired in 2019 for $225 […]

Samsung Austin Semiconductor announced Tuesday that it has donated $1 million to the Taylor Independent School District for a new career and technical education center. The money will pay for equipment, staff, and training needed for classrooms, dual credit labs for coursework, robotics and automation, and other manufacturing-related program-specific laboratories at Taylor ISD’s new CTE […]

The founders of SXSW got the idea for the event from New Music Seminar or NMS, a New York-based music festival in the mid-80s. NMS always featured many Austin-based bands, said Hugh Forrest, Co-President and Chief Programming Officer of SXSW. After a plan to organize NMS South in Austin fell through, the four founders created […]

Startups’ Valuations are down, and entrepreneurs must do more with less money and focus on their core business to become profitable. The days of startups valued at 20 times revenue are over, and now, it’s more common to have five-, six– or seven-times revenue as a valuation, according to Mike Dodd, general partner of Silverton […]

Wise, a global fintech company, announced last week it is expanding its Austin operations and moving its office to The Domain Tower II. Wise has announced plans to increase its Austin-based workforce by 50 percent in 2024. “As our North American business continues to grow, having a full-stack operation based in Austin has allowed us […]

Sana laid off 74 employees last Wednesday, about half of its staff, according to a post on its website. “This is one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to do at Sana,” Will Young, co-founder and CEO of Sana, wrote in a blog post on the company’s website. “We have had to say a […]

Cruise, an autonomous vehicle company of which General Motors owns 80 percent, announced Thursday the shutdown of its Robotaxi operations in Austin. “The most important thing for us right now is to take steps to rebuild public trust,” Cruise wrote in a post on Twitter. “Part of this involves taking a hard look inwards and […]

The number one PC maker, Lenovo, came to Austin this week for its annual Tech World event to promote artificial intelligence PCs. At the Tech World event, Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang announced a $1 billion investment in AI research and development efforts. As part of the event, Advanced Micro Devices, known as AMD, […]

When Decent, a healthcare startup, wound down the bulk of its operations earlier this year, a small group of employees decided to start StretchDollar. “Four of the five of us came from Decent,” said Marshall Darr, CEO and co-founder of  StretchDollar. He previously worked at Decent with StretchDollar Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Kaiza Molina. […]

As an investment partner, Claire England will lead a new office in Austin for Dallas-based GPG Ventures, a venture capital firm. GPG has invested in more than 100 startups nationwide. Its investments range from the seed stage to Series B. Most of its investments are in healthcare, including medical devices, therapeutics, digital health, healthcare diagnostics, […]

“The most important new fact about the human condition is that we are now suddenly connected. And it’s only going to get worse. Connectivity is a thing, is THE thing,” Dr. Bob Metcalfe. Serial Austin Entrepreneur Chris Taylor and Ethernet Inventor Dr. Bob Metcalfe discussed connectivity and more Tuesday evening at the Red Fridge Society, […]

Google for Startups has awarded Austin-based Omaiven, which does workflow automation for clinic operations, $150,000 in cash and additional support services. It also awarded $150,000 to DataScope, a San Antonio-based startup that leverages mobile technology to revolutionize data collection and deliver real-time insights to any industry. “Google for Startups Latino Founders signifies a validation of […]

Corrily, a price optimization software startup used by subscription-based companies, won the global pitch competition at Saastock Austin on Friday. The San Francisco-based company beat five semi-finalists to claim the top prize, including Oneup, Userflow, Uspacey, Laxis, and Forged. Saasgtock, based in London, held its inaugural SaaStock Austin conference last week with more than 800 […]

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with Opportunity Austin and SXSW, hosted a spectacular event last week at the Long Center for the Performing Arts to announce the winners of the highly anticipated 2023 A-LIST Awards. Dedicated to recognizing and honoring local tech and innovation companies of all sizes, the A-LIST Awards showcases […]

Eleven years ago, Alex Theuma was selling software, but he had entrepreneurial aspirations and was fascinated with software companies like Slack and Evernote. Theuma started a Software as a Service (SaaS) blog called SaaScribe. Next, he launched a podcast, The SaaS Revolution Show, in 2015 and created the first SaaStock in Dublin, Ireland, in 2016. […]

Austin-based Setpoint has acquired Resolute Diligence Solutions, which provides asset-level reviews for real estate loans. Setpoint, founded in 2021, is a fintech and proptech startup that raised a $43 million Series A round in December 2022. Setpoint’s capital and technology platform enables real-estate, auto, consumer, and other asset-backed borrowers to offer credit options to consumers […]

Google Fiber is looking for testers in the Austin market to see what they can do with 20 Gig Internet. The applications can be drug development, virtual reality, artificial intelligent humanoid robot assistants, flying cars, or something else. According to Google, an organization or company might be an excellent candidate to test a symmetrical 20 […]

Eagle Eye Networks, specializing in cloud video surveillance, and Brivo, which provides cloud-based access control and smart space technologies, Wednesday announced it received a $192 million investment from SECOM CO., LTD. SEACOM, a security integration company, is investing  $100 million in Eagle Eye Networks and $92 million in Brivo. Both Austin-based companies are majority owned by […]

By Laura Lorek, publisher and senior writer of Silicon Hills News Newchip entered into bankruptcy liquidation last week. The Austin-based company rebranded as Astralabs, doing business as Newchip and Newchip Accelerator, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on March 17th, listing $1.7 million in total assets and $4.8 million in total liabilities, according to its […]

Special Contribution by Evisio Every startup in the world has one thing in common: a dream. From humble beginnings in a basement or garage, entrepreneurs set out to build the next big thing. It’s a tale as old as time and has always been part of the American dream. For most entrepreneurs, there’s inevitably one […]

Hypergiant Galactic Systems has received a $61.4 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract from the U.S. Air Force. The company, based in Blanco, received the contract to provide user interface and user experience development services for cloud-based command and control. Hypergiant will perform the work in Blanco by May 4th, 2026. Hypergiant Galactic […]

As a kid, Armir Harris immigrated to the United States from Albania. Harris learned the ins and outs of the transportation business at a young age from his uncle. “I picked up the ground transportation business at the dinner table,” Harris said. “I had no plans on going into the transportation or bus industry at […]

SaaStock is Europe’s largest conference focused on Software as a Service or SaaS. It takes place in Dublin, Ireland. But this year, SaaStock is launching its first Austin-based SaaS conference for a three-day event running May 31-June 2. The conference, which is called SaaStock USA, features panel discussions and networking. It brings SaaS founders together […]

By Laura Lorek, Publisher of Silicon Hills News Last year, cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens, blockchain technologies, and the metaverse dominated at South by Southwest. This year, the buzz was all about conversational AI, particularly ChatGPT, which released GPT-4 during the conference. ChatGPT is a chatbot that uses conversational AI capable of understanding, processing, and responding to […]

Sponsored Post: GovExec, the market-leading sales and marketing intelligence company for government leaders and contractors, announced Friday their upcoming Austin event in partnership with VMware (NYSE: VMW), the leading multi-cloud services provider for all apps, enabling digital innovation with enterprise control. As companies continue to scale, support a hybrid workforce, and need secure flexibility for […]

The Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) has awarded the 2022 ACM A.M. Turing Award to Bob Metcalfe, recognizing his contributions to Ethernet’s invention, standardization, and commercialization. This award, often called the “Nobel Prize of Computing,” is named after Alan M. Turing, the British mathematician who laid the foundations of computing. It carries a $1 million […]

By Laura Kobylecky, Special Contribution to Silicon Hills News During SXSW 2023, The Courtyard on 4th Street was transformed into an official SXSW venue that hosted various events focusing on British innovation, culture, and music. One of these events brought Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, to the stage to talk about what’s happening in […]

At South by Southwest, ZenBusiness hosted a talk on entrepreneurship with Billionaire Mark Cuban and U.S. Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, the highest-ranking Latina in a government office. Austin-based ZenBusiness, a tech platform that makes it easy for anybody to start and run their own business, has helped form about 500,000 small businesses since […]

Quantum computing startup, Strangeworks has announced the completion of a $24 million round of funding. The Austin-based company previously raised a $4 million seed stage round, bringing the total funds raised to $28 million. Strangeworks, founded in 2018, reported Hitachi Ventures led the funding round with investment from IBM, and Raytheon Technologies. It also had […]

By Laura Kobylecky, Special Contribution to Silicon Hills News PentoPix won the 2023 SXSW Pitch Awards in the “Entertainment, Media & Content” category. PentoPix also won the “Best In Show” award at this competition.  PentoPix uses AI-assisted technology to transform text into 3D animations. SXSW Pitch showcased innovators and tech industry pioneers, from “indie tech […]

Five years ago, Will Hurley launched his quantum computing company, Strangeworks, on the main stage at South by Southwest. On Wednesday morning, he returned to SXSW to present the power of quantum computing and artificial intelligence to solve the world’s biggest problems and change how everyone works and lives. “I think there’s a lot of […]

Colossal is on track to produce a woolly mammoth by 2028, said Ben Lamm, the company’s CEO, and Co-founder. “I think we’re on the path for that,” Lamm said during a discussion on Colossal’s De-Extinction Mission at South by Southwest Tuesday afternoon. TechCrunch’s Managing Editor Darrell Etherington interviewed Lamm in Salon H of the Hilton […]

By Laura Kobylecky, Special Contribution to Silicon Hills News South by Southwest announced the 2023 Innovation Award winners during an awards ceremony at the Austin Convention Center on Monday evening. The winners are: Immersive Move.ai of London, an OS Application, uses AI, computer vision, and machine learning to capture high-fidelity motion without the traditional markers […]

As great as Austin’s trajectory has been, the best is yet to come. That’s the gist of the conversation between Jay Hartzell, president of the University of Texas at Austin, and Jim Breyer, founder, and CEO of Breyer Capital. They participated in a fireside chat on “Building a Hub of Academic & Business Innovation at […]

Tech startups at South by Southwest could breathe a little easier on Monday after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced Sunday that it would cover Silicon Valley Bank’s depositors. It also will cover depositors affected by the closure of Signature Bank. On Friday, regulators took over SVB, based in Santa Clara, Calif., with $210 billion […]

At SXSW 2023, ICON plans to unveil a 3D-printed performance center at the Long Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday. The event will begin with a discussion, “a Moonshot for Affordable Housing,” with ICON CEO Jason Ballard, Bjarke Ingels with BIG, Michaelle Addington with the University of Texas, and Sarah Satterlee with Mobile Loaves […]

By Laura Kobylecky, Special contribution to Silicon Hills News The 2023 SXSW Pitch competition winners are Reality Defender, Climatiq, PentoPix, GPx, Reach Pathways, SXD Ai, Numbers Protocol, and Urban Machine. The 15th annual SXSW Pitch competition, presented by ZenBusiness, occurred Saturday and Sunday at the Hilton Austin Downtown. It featured 40 tech companies from eight categories […]

The Silicon Valley Bank failure can have downstream consequences depending on how the government responds to it, said Mark Cuban, billionaire tech entrepreneur. “The rich people got wiped out already,” Cuban said at a South by Southwest panel discussion Sunday morning. “What’s at stake is the depositor. If they can’t get their money out come […]

South by Southwest kicked off Friday on the same day Federal regulators took over the failed Silicon Valley Bank. It’s the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history behind Washington Mutual in 2008. Silicon Valley Bank is “where a large share of VC firms and VC-backed startups all across the country held deposits,” according to the […]

In 2021, Empower a Billion Women topped the list of Austin’s fastest-growing companies on Inc Magazine’s list. Ingrid Vanderveldt founded the company in 2013 and launched a healthcare business to supply personal protection equipment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vanderveldt announced last week that she had sold EBW Cares Distributors to Shield Manufacturing, based […]

In California in the early ‘90s, a man bought a ketchup bottle, and when he got it home, he found that it contained less ketchup than the specified weight. That turned out to be true, said Arati Prabhakar, now Chief Advisor on Science and Technology to President Joe Biden and director of the White House […]

South by Southwest is best done with an official badge. The SXSW badge lets you into all the keynote talks, panel discussions, and some of Austin’s best parties, movies, music, and more. But if you don’t have a badge, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the festivities. You can attend many badge–less events–some are free, […]

Sponsored Post Builders + Backers, an accelerator program and investment firm that backs entrepreneurs at the idea stage, finds, funds, and equips builders nationwide. “We want to put more ideas into action,” said Kathleen Hale, Partner at Builders + Backers. Donna Harris, a native of Detroit, founded Builders + Backers and previously founded 1776 Ventures […]

Every year, there are amazing experiences created at South by Southwest. Mr. Robot put up a Ferris Wheel at Fourth and Congress one year, and General Electric had a solar-powered carousel. Giant Spoon created one of the most talked about experiential marketing activations ever at SXSW when it recreated HBO’s Westworld in a ghost town […]

The SXSW Pitch competition has selected 40 finalists for its 15th annual SXSW Pitch Competition. “Since its inception, SXSW Pitch has been front row to some of the most ambitious startups from around the world, using creative ideas to change their industry’s future,” SXSW Pitch Event Producer Chris Valentine said in a news release. From […]

A new mobile phone service, REALLY, announced last week that it had received $18 million in seed-stage funding. Adam Lyons, the founder of TheZebra.com, is the company’s founder and CEO. “We raised this capital to create the modern telco. REALLY is a tech company. A lifestyle brand. A movement. We are building the telecommunications company […]

DivInc, the premier startup accelerator for BIPOC and women entrepreneurs, announced the nominees for its 5th Annual Champions of Change Awards held in Austin, Texas. The awards ceremony will occur on Thursday at Distribution Hall. This year’s theme is ‘Rise,’ a reflection of the champions who embody the organization’s mission and power initiatives that spark […]

Allison Jenkins Schickel wanted a robe with a built-in bra to provide support after she got out of the shower.  When she couldn’t find one, she created it by sewing a sports bra into a bathrobe. Schickel took the bathrobe bra combination to Fredericksburg for a girl’s weekend wine trip and her friends fell in […]

This year’s South by Southwest is going to be bigger than 2022, but not yet back to the pre-pandemic level, according to Hugh Forrest, Co-president and Chief Programming Officer at SXSW. More than 51,000 people are expected to attend SXSW 2023, which runs from March 10th to March 19th. There’s going to be a big […]

The intent of the healthcare system isn’t aligned with improving things, said Dr. S. Claiborne “Clay” Johnston. “It’s not about making healthcare better,” said Johnston, the inaugural deal of the Dell Medical School, who left that job in 2021 after seven years and co-founded Harbor Health in 2022. Austin-based Harbor Health is disrupting the way […]

Curative started in 2020 as a company focused on improving outcomes for sepsis patients. But then the Pandemic struck. It quickly pivoted to become one of the nation’s largest testing centers for COVID-19 with 19,000 locations. Its test sites completed 36 million tests and 2.5 million vaccinations, said Fred Turner, the company’s CEO, and co-founder. […]

Health Tech Austin is hosting the Future of Care Delivery System Summit on Thursday at Capital Factory. The event takes place from 8:30 a.m. until noon. The event features opening remarks from Dr. Desmar Walkes, a public health expert, family physician, and medical director for the City of Austin, and Hugh Forrest, co-president and chief […]

Sana, a healthcare insurance company, Tuesday announced it has laid off 19 percent of its staff. Will Young, Sana CEO and Co-Founder, announced the layoffs in a LinkedIn Post late Tuesday afternoon. He also posted a statement on the company’s blog. He said the layoffs were painful but necessary to keep the company operating successfully […]

By Laura Lorek, Publisher of Silicon Hills News First, Colossal Biosciences announced in September of 2021 plans to bring the woolly mammoth back from extinction. The next year, the synthetic biology company announced plans to bring the Tasmanian tiger, also known as the thylacine, back to life. Now Colossal is announcing the launch of its […]

Decent, the Austin-based health insurance provider is “shutting down all of its operations to just a core team,” according to a blog post published Friday afternoon by Nick Soman, the company’s founder, and CEO. “Decent’s mission since Richard Luck and I founded the company five years ago has been to deliver affordable health insurance for […]

The Austin area saw a huge slowdown in venture capital invested in the fourth quarter with $775 million flowing into 78 deals, according to PitchBook-National Venture Capital Association Venture Monitor data. That is down 50 percent in dollars invested from the fourth quarter of 2021 which recorded $1.5 billion in 122 deals, according to the […]

Protopia AI, based in Austin, announced it has closed on a $6 million seed round of funding led by ATX Venture Partners. The company has developed a software solution that allows big companies to tap into key data by using artificial intelligence and machine learning to extract insights without exposing sensitive information. Protopia cites a […]

Austin-based Ribbon has closed on $2.7 million to help nonprofit organizations. The company has created a software platform that gives individuals and businesses the banking, accounting, fundraising, and organizational tools they need to build a successful charity under the umbrella of a fiscal sponsor. Ribbon’s fiscal sponsorship model allows individuals looking to conduct charitable work […]

A ransomware attack at San Antonio-based Rackspace Technology has caused service disruptions for thousands of its customers. The attack began last Friday, Dec. 2nd, and continues although the company reported Friday night that two-thirds of its customers’ services have been restored. The ransom wear incident affected Rackspace’s Hosted Exchange Email business, which represents one percent […]