Appconomy, Inc. announced today that it has closed a $10 million round of Series A equity and venture debt funding intended to accelerate the company’s strategic initiatives and operations in China. Shanghai-based Qiming Ventures led the round, and will have a representative join Appconomy’s board of directors. Neusoft Corporation became a significant minority shareholder of Appconomy. Other participants in the round included existing investors Western Technology Investment and True Ventures. “With these two, new cornerstone [...]

That’s not a catchy headline. That’s what Ethernet inventor and current UT innovation czar Bob Metcalfe told me at a recent Dell Entrepreneur event. And if you caught Metcalfe’s keynote at this year’s Clean Energy Venture Summit, you know he’d likely tell you to invest in a handful companies in the so-called “enertech” sector. “I’m waiting for all those tech and social networking investors and VCs to come over to energy,” he said. Jokingly taking [...]

As we go into 2012 there’s definitely a good sized group of companies that are primed for rapid growth and market acceptance. I’ll give you my list of the few that I’m watching, and if you leave a comment with your pick, and why you think they’re poised for growth I will update the blog post to include the info you posted. FYI: I’m talking about the emerging companies, not the HomeAway and Bazaarvoices of [...]

Facebook has been poking around several Austin startup companies lately looking for talent acquisitions, and rumors are swirling that they’ve found a taker in beleaguered Gowalla. The company caused great excitement in the Austin tech community years ago when they relocated from Dallas to Austin, and garnered venture capital from top tier west coast venture and angel investors, spurning offers from locals. But no matter how hard they tried, they could never emerge from the [...]

Being the tech tire-kicker I am, when Google+ launched I was curious. Would the web giant get it right this time, or stumble through another missed opportunity a la Buzz? There was also a certain sense of fatigue that crept over me. I immediately felt compelled to tee up my best app configuration and social sharing skills for yet another destination on the web. So what gives after a few months with Google+? Can It [...]

Snoball Inc. today announced the launch of a revolutionary online platform designed to affect change through viral social giving. Snoball is the first to offer a user-friendly web interface enabling anyone to define and automate donation parameters, making giving social and easily replicable. The underlying foundation of the company’s approach is the “Snoball” effect. Through snoball.com, users anywhere can create momentum around donations for their favorite charities. When a user creates a Snoball account, they [...]

Registration closes today for Austin Tech Happy  Hour. You can save a few bucks by registering today, or you can pay $10 at the door. When: Thursday, December 1st from 6p – 8p Where: Molotov Lounge Sponsors Equitable Commercial Realty | ECR is the premier commercial real estate leasing and sales firm in Austin, Texas with expertise in office, industrial, manufacturing, warehouse, retail and medical property types. Our goal is to exceed your expectations. To [...]