Tour of Texas: SXSW Recap, Houston Tech heart, M-information, Grok, U of H
a cool entrance has blown into the state with warm, sunny days and brisk evenings. Let’s roll down the highest and take a scenic force through Texas’ innovation communities.
Austin
—The thirtieth annual South by way of Southwest Interactive festival is on the books, drawing tens of hundreds to downtown Austin. This yr’s spotlight was on the chief of the free world, President Obama, who kicked things off in a fireside chat. the rest of the week brought celebrities like television chef Anthony Bourdain and Kevin Plank, founding father of beneath Armour. What fizzled was an expected on-line harassment forum, which, regardless of offering a sequence of situations enthusiastic about essential issues equivalent to variety and admire in the gaming trade, failed to draw greater than 50 folks a session.
—every year’s Interactive tends to have a breakout superstar: from Twitter to Grumpy Cat. This yr, the expertise of the moment is virtual truth. My colleague David Holley experiences that VR used to be a characteristic at a few of the shows of some of the world’s greatest brands, together with Samsung and McDonald’s.
Dallas
—M-files, a file administration firm with its US headquarters in Dallas, has raised $ 36 million in a series B funding round. buyers embrace Partech Ventures in San Francisco, along with Finnish trade investment and Draper Esprit of London. M-files is based in Finland. the money will likely be used to increase sales and advertising efforts in addition to increasing into world markets.
Houston
—Walter Ulrich, the CEO of the Houston technology heart, will step down next year after a decade in the function. Ulrich says he would like to frolicked working with non-earnings and medium-sized companies in turning around operations, particularly because the downturn in oil costs have brought about misery among Houston companies.
—The college of Houston’s Ocean safety Institute has created an online database of technologies developed by using federal agencies and different organizations that might lend a hand solve company issues in relation to offshore oil and fuel job. The Ocean power Portal will function data on issues corresponding to a NASA microparticle coating that would reinforce pipeline monitoring and opting for and treating corrosion faster. The portal also includes research from the national vitality technology Labs and the Bureau of safety and Environmental Enforcement.
San Antonio
—The skill shortage facing the tech industry is well-identified. For an hourly fee, tool developers at San Antonio’s Grok will construct internet and mobile applications for startups nationally that would possibly not have the manpower or enough capital to make these full-time hires.
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