Author: LauraLorek@gmail.com (Page 8 of 347)

Incorrect algorithms in healthcare can mean life or death to patients.

Unfortunately, AI systems designed to help healthcare workers streamline patient care operations might exacerbate biases against people of color, according to Craig Watkins, executive director of IC2 Institute at UT-Austin.

Watkins spoke Tuesday morning at the Future of Health Summit, a half-day conference hosted by Health Tech Austin, at the Austin Public Library’s special events center downtown.

“We need to design systems and AI that are not intended to replace healthcare workers but to augment their work,” Watkins said.

Watkins is one of the principal investigators for UT Austin’s Good Systems Grand Challenge, which examines the social and ethical impacts of artificial intelligence. His research focuses on two core questions: How are bias and systems in inequities expressed in health artificial intelligence? How are researchers designing AI systems to address some of the system factors driving the behavioral health crisis in the U.S.?

Healthcare technology powered by AI needs to work in ways that don’t replicate the bias that exists in society, Watkins said.

Watkins cited a ProPublica investigative series from 2016 that looked at machine bias in software used by law enforcement to target criminals that are biased against Blacks. Watkins also cited a New York Times article that showed false facial recognition software incorrectly matched an eight-month pregnant Black woman to a carjacking.

“Facial recognition has a significantly higher error rate with people of color,” Watkins said.

AI systems are beginning to undermine healthcare, he said

Fixing racial bias in an essential COVID diagnostic tool that measures oxygen in the blood could have helped people of color during the COVID-19 pandemic receive better healthcare, Watkins. He said the diagnostic tool needed to be more accurate when measuring the oxygen level in the blood of people with darker skin.

In another case, Chat GPT-4 was significantly less likely to recommend advanced imaging (CT, MRI, or abdominal ultrasound) for Black patients when compared to their Caucasian counterparts, Watkins said.

And it takes work to correct the bias in existing AI systems, Watkins said. In an experiment using medical X-ray images, Watkins said AI algorithms could detect race even when all markers had been removed.

“Researchers still don’t know how these algorithms can predict race when they remove all markers,” Watkins said. “These models behave in ways we cannot fully understand or comprehend.”

At UT Austin, Watkins and his research team created an AI-powered chatbot to support parents dealing with postpartum depression. His team focused on training a system that could respond in high-stakes situations the way a healthcare provider might respond.

Watkin’s team is also spearheading an effort to design an AI-based chatbot to deal with mental health issues. His team is part of the Texas Health Catalyst program at the Dell Medical School. The focus is to reduce suicide and homicide rates among young people.

“The future of all this is evolving as we convene here today,” Watkins said. “How do you design systems that are inclusive?”

To address the issue further, UT Austin is hosting a conference on April 4 called “Health AI for All.”

Hyve Managed Hosting announced it has opened its North American hub in Austin.

Hyve, based in Brighton, UK, provides infrastructure and management services, including private clouds, dedicated servers, colocation, and security services.

Major brands in the company’s portfolio include Capital, Caffe Nero, RSPCA, Superdrug, and U.S.-based customers such as Orders in Seconds Inc., Virium Technology, and CBHV.  

Stoney Reynolds is heading up the U.S. region for Hyve. Reynolds previously held leadership roles in sales and marketing at companies such as Trend Micro, FutureCom, Nortel, and NEC.

“The cloud has so much potential to accelerate business growth, but organizations lack the in-house knowledge and skillsets needed to get there,” Reynolds said in a news release. “That’s why they’re turning to managed service providers like Hyve. We have a massive opportunity in the U.S. market to empower businesses to innovate through a secure, reliable, and ‘always-on’ infrastructure. I can’t wait to be a part of this exciting new chapter in the company’s story.”  

Hyve’s U.S. expansion follows a substantial period of growth for the company, which has seen revenue grow by 51% over the last three years and its global headcount increase by over 30% in 2023. The company also moved to its new, larger headquarters in Brighton, UK, and was recognized for “Excellence in Service” at the 2023 Storage, Digitalization, and Cloud Awards (SDC).  

“Over the last several years, Hyve has been working hard to refine its best-in-class cloud hosting architecture, which is reflected by our recent successes and industry recognitions,” Charlotte Webb, marketing and operations director of Hyve Managed Hosting, said in a news release. “The U.S. is a key component to our continued growth in 2024, and we are building a strong team in the region to further cement Hyve as a global leader.”  

Hyve Managed Hosting’s U.S. team is located in downtown Austin in one of Industrious’ newly opened premium flexible workspaces, of which Hyve has become a founding member.

Hyve plans to hire additional employees in the U.S. over the next year. It is also exploring additional opportunities for expansion within Europe, and APAC, including Germany and Australia.  

Austin-based Merit Medicine, a health tech startup, announced it has raised $2 million.

Austin-based LiveOak Ventures led the seed stage investment.

Merit Medicine, founded in 2022, uses AI insights from millions of patients in extensive datasets to generate predictions for each employer.

Ali Panjwani founded the company and serves as CEO. He previously worked at Genentech, BridgeBio Pharma, Coherus Biosciences, and Aetion.

“Large self-funded employers cover over a quarter of the US population today,” Panjwani said in a news release.

And employer contributions to healthcare comprise roughly $600 billion of annual healthcare spending in the United States, Panjwani said. “Using AI insights from millions of patients, Merit Medicine ensures a smoother, more predictable budget for employers’ catastrophic healthcare spend, leading to more people getting affordable access to the care they need when they need it.”

“Stop-loss carriers, responsible for insuring employers against substantial claims arising from these drugs and treatments, handle extensive information to calculate the premiums for employers,” according to a news release. Self-funded employers rely solely on their employee population.

“Self-funded employers are faced with rising healthcare costs and significant financial risk based on the health of their employee base,” Mike Marcantonio, who is leading the investment for Live Oak Ventures, said in a news statement. “Unfortunately, they have very few tools today to evaluate this risk and plan for it.  When I met the Merit Medicine team, I was inspired by their mission to help employers address this risk by using AI to predict high-cost specialty drug usage and rare, chronic, and complex conditions.”

Austin-based Perigon has closed on a $5 million seed stage round of financing led by LiveOak Venture Partners.

Josh Rickel, co-founder, said the company plans to use the money to hire key employees and further develop its technology.

In 2022, Rickel founded Perigon with Joshua Dziabiak, a serial entrepreneur who previously co-founded The Zebra in Austin. They wanted to make sense of public web data and news information. They named the company Perigon, a math term that means a 360-degree view, to make companies aware of what’s happening around them, Rickel said. They call it contextual intelligence or the ability to adapt to new information and situations.

Rickel said Perigon helps businesses and government agencies cut through the Internet’s noise, understand real-time data, and make better decisions. Perigon’s platform seeks to eliminate misinformation and synthetic content and provide companies with helpful information. The company scrapes data from more than 130,000 sources on the web and organizes it to answer queries.

“Perigon is committed to turning the chaos of the web into an organized system, making it possible for AI to understand and interpret the world’s events as they happen,” Dziabiak said in a news release. “It’s all designed to serve people with more context and diverse perspectives on the key issues that shape our world, in business and life.”

Perigon already has more than 70 customers, including government agencies, financial services companies, startups, and consumer products, Rickel said. According to a news release, environmental agencies have used Perigon’s platform to learn about environmental, health, and security risks. The platform also provides valuable insights to financial institutions and trading platforms looking for real-time data on economic trends.

Rickel said Perigon’s platform harnesses AI to update and make sense of all the data. The data is consistently updated and delivers real-time results.

“We are excited about the market opportunities that arise from unlocking contextual insights from public information at scale for business practitioners and consumers,” said Krishna Srinivasan, founding partner of LiveOak Venture Partners. “In a short period of time and with limited investment, Perigon has leveraged AI and powerful models to deliver value directly to end-users and through APIs by dozens of demanding customers all over the world. We believe that repeat entrepreneurs Joshua Dziabiak and Josh Rickel are the right pair to lead this ambitious endeavor and seize this massive opportunity.”

Perigon has over 20 employees, including a team of engineers in Ukraine. It’s a virtual company with employees worldwide, including Algeria.

Colossal Bioscience, the startup bringing the woolly mammoth and other extinct species back to life, announced it has hired Emily Castel as its new Chief Marketing Officer.

Castel previously served as chief marketing officer, president, and brand officer of Teton Ridge, an omnichannel entertainment company.

Castel brings her global entertainment and consumer brand experience to Colossal, where she will lead international efforts to scale the company’s brand, experiences, consumer products, and emerging media properties.

“It is important for Colossal to bring the importance of our scientific achievements and focus on de-extinction and conservation education to consumers in all mediums,” Ben Lamm, Colossal CEO, and Co-Founder said in a news release. “Emily is the global brand leader who is best suited to bring Colossal there given her extensive entertainment background, knowledge of global consumer marketing, and proven track record in franchise marketing.”

Castel previously ran a creative consultancy in Hollywood, FIVE33, which included clients Disney, Pixar, Universal and Paramount. She ran global marketing strategies for numerous entertainment properties, including the one-billion-dollar Tim Burton’s Alice & Wonderland, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and JJ Abrams’s 2013 Star Trek.

In 2013, Castel joined Legendary Entertainment as Chief Marketing Officer after Legendary acquired FIVE33.  While on the executive team, Castel oversaw all movie, TV, and entertainment launches, including global marketing, licensing, consumer products, and event activations. Castel successfully worked with distribution partners Warner Bros and Universal on Legendary-produced IPs, including Pacific Rim, Godzilla, Jurassic World, Warcraft, and Kong: Skull Island. Castel led the development of the MonsterVerse franchise mythology, which has gone on to gross $2 billion worldwide.

After leaving Legendary in 2017, Castel launched her UK-based consultancy Castel Creative, where she served as founder and CEO.  During that time, she focused on adding strategic value to brands and IPs, including the Kingsman franchise and Rocketman for Marv Studios, while maintaining an advisory role at Legendary Entertainment.

Now at Colossal, Castel will lead a growing team of brand and consumer hires, including the newly appointed EVP of Design, Chris Klee. An award-winning design team leader, Klee was formerly the Chief Creative Officer of Hypergiant Industries.

“I look forward to building the Colossal brand into the market leader in the space and continuing the inspiring work that the team has been undertaking,” said Castel.  “I’m excited to start the next chapter of my career with the world’s first de-extinction company. It is an opportunity to drive innovation in the sector, using entertainment to inspire global communities to engage in Colossal’s pioneering mission to preserve species and further their existence on earth.” 

Since launching in September 2021, Colossal has raised $225 million in total funding led by the United States Innovative Technology Fund (“USIT”), with participation from At One Ventures, West River Group, Paul Tudor Jones, Breyer Capital, Animal Capital, Bob Nelson, Tim Draper, Victor Vescovo, In-Q-Tel, Builders VC, Peak6, among others.

Colossal was founded by emerging technology and software entrepreneur Ben Lamm and world-renowned geneticist and serial biotech entrepreneur George Church, Ph.D.  Colossal creates disruptive technologies for extinct species restoration, critically endangered species protection, and the repopulation of critical ecosystems that support the continuation of life on Earth. 

Ten Austin area startups made the SXSW Pitch competition’s list of finalists and alternates for its 2024 competition.

It’s the 16^th year for the SXSW Pitch competition, which showcases innovative global startups. To date, finalists involved in the competition have raised more than $23 billion in funding since 2009, according to Pitchbook.

The event occurs from March 9-10^th at the SXSW 2024 Conference & Festivals in Austin. KPMG is the sponsor of SXSW Pitch.

The categories for 2024 include Artificial Intelligence, Voice & Robotics; Enterprise & Smart Data; Entertainment, Media & Content; Extended Reality and Web3; Future of Work; Food, Nutrition, & Health; Innovative World Technologies; and Smart Cities, Transportation & Sustainability and Student Startup.

Austin had two finalists in the Artificial Intelligence, Robotics & Voice categories. They include Autonomize, which created AI for healthcare workers and healthcare institutions. The other Austin finalist is Nava AI, which created an AI assistant that helps immigrants navigate the complexities of the U.S. immigration system.

In the Enterprise and Smart Data category, Aiki of Austin is a finalist. It created a system prioritizing student safety with dynamic two-way communication, connecting occupants and first responders.

Applix of Austin is a finalist in the Extended Reality and Web3 category. It created an AR-based automated visual quality inspection app for automotive, industrial, and medical tech firms.

Connected Athletics of Round Rock is an alternate in the category. The company empowers athletes to forge meaningful connections and form relationships with key influencers to optimize their sports careers during/after their eligibility.

In the future of work category, Layerpath is an alternate. “Layerpath revolutionizes team efficiency with AI-powered interactive product demos. Our platform enhances self-serve help experiences and boosts software adoption among customers and employees,” according to the SXSW website.

In the Smart Cities, Transportation & Sustainability category, Austin-based Terralytiq is an alternative. It is a climate tech startup specializing in enterprise decarbonization through its SaaS platform.

In the Student Startup category, MACH Transit of Austin is a finalist. “MACH’s pilot product is a levitating camera vehicle utilizing maglev to maintain zero contact with its guideway, enabling the capture of ultra-stable footage at over 200 mph.” Paradigm Robotics of Austin is also a finalist for creating a robotic platform to provide mission-critical situational awareness for firefighting, disaster response, industrial/manufacturing, and other industries. Merge Conflict Studio is also an alternate. It is a minority-led video game development studio focusing on centering marginalized perspectives and environmental awareness.

Go to the SXSW site for the full list of finalists and alternates.

In Austin, Logictry hosted World Logic Day on Sunday at the Long Center downtown.

According to one of the organizers, the event featured more than 300 speakers, and an estimated 850 people attended a Friday event and the day-long Sunday event. Logitrcy’s co-founders Chris Fronda and Chelsea Toler organized World Logic Day and a handful of other co-hosts.

“As co-hosts, Logictry is enthused to spearhead this catalytic forum bridging innovation and collaborative community engagement,” Fronda said.

World Logic Day began as a movement organized by UNESCO in association with the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences.

Emily Gupton, COO of FOLIO and Community Partnerships Director for Austin Women in Technology, is also a Co-Chair for World Logic Day Austin. “I am deeply passionate about community and collaboration as a cornerstone to rise the tides together,” Gupton said in a news release. “UN World Logic Day brings local and global communities together to drive solutions to real-world problems.”

World Logic Day focuses on the importance of logic in addressing contemporary challenges.

Logictry began hosting the United Nations Austin World Logic Day in 2019, and the event has grown dramatically since then. Logictry also unveiled its Logic.Wiki, which shares how AI, business leaders, creators, and community builders are partnering together to share knowledge.

The event started Sunday morning with a keynote on “Innovation and Impact: Charting the Course Ahead.” Quite a few of the following panels focused on artificial intelligence and its effect on the educational industry, healthcare, and business. Other panels discussed community building.

“In the face of this new wave of AI, we are all a little uncertain of the future, but together we can utilize tools like Logic.Wiki and communities like our Logic Circle to leverage this moment for positive change,” Chelsea Toler, co-founder of Logictry, said in a news release.

One afternoon panel focused on YouTube content creators. Collectively, the five panelists had more than 30 million followers. Kenzie Yolles, a 15-year-old beauty, makeup, and fashion content creator, has a manager.

The event concluded with a panel of changemakers, five women who were highlighted in the most recent issue of Austin Women Magazine. Austin Women Magazine compiled a World Logic Day Changemaker List.

“I see logic bringing a brighter future for all when sustained by character,” Sofia Sunaga, Co-Founder and Director of Intergen.Family and Co-Chair for World Logic Day Austin said in a news release. “Logic, coupled with character development, invites us to step deeper into the realm of AI, creating a future where human logic and ethical development go hand-in-hand.”

The event engaged people of all ages to discuss change and the problems that must be solved. Chief among them was Anika Chokhavatia, student leader, founder, and co-chair for World Logic Day. “We are the emerging leaders of tomorrow, and it is our responsibility to be aware of the changing world and our place in it,” Chokhavatia said in a news release. “This initiative fuels the future we hope to build. I’m particularly looking forward to the Responsible AI, Consumer Protection, AI Innovation, and Business panel, exploring concepts of accountability and bias in shaping our worldview.”

Austin startups raised more than $1.12 billion in venture capital in the fourth quarter of 2023,  an almost 10 percent increase from the same quarter a year ago, according to the latest Pitchbook-National Venture Capital Association Venture Monitor Report.

The fourth quarter VC funding is also an almost 46 percent increase from the $607 million Austin startups raised in the third quarter of this year.

The number of deals funded in the Austin Round Rock metropolitan area also hit 126 deals in the fourth quarter, an almost 11 percent increase from 114 in the fourth quarter of 2022.

For all of 2023, Austin startups raised $3.8 billion, down 30 percent, compared to $5.5 billion for 2022. The number of deals funded in the Austin Round Rock metropolitan area also dropped to 416 in 2023, down 15 percent from 492 deals in 2022.

The top deal financed in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $300 million to Firefly Aerospace, based in Cedar Park, creating rockets for commercial launches to orbit.

The second largest deal was Infinitum Electric, which makes electric motors and received $200 million in venture funding. The third largest funding went to Mach Industries, a defense startup developing hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial vehicles, weapons, and generators, and received $84.1 million.

Deal, fundraising, and exit activity were down for the fourth quarter, according to the National Venture Capital Association. But the market isn’t in crisis, according to Bobby Franklin, president and CEO of the NVCA.

“Rather,  the market has changed,” he wrote in a statement. “From interest rates to foreign conflict, the world looks very different than it did two years ago, and a new set of problems needs to be solved for.”

Overall, startups nationwide attracted $170.6 billion in venture capital, down $71.6 billion from 2022.

Top Austin VC Deals in the Fourth Quarter

Firefly Aerospace.   $300.0 million

Infinitum                   $200.0 million

Mach Industries          $84.1 million

Saronic                         $55.0 million

Paradromics                $50.1 million

Source: Pitchbook