Tech roundup: Offers.com and MX Toolbox acquired, OneSpot's new CRO and more

 

j2 Global, Inc. completed four acquisitions in the fourth quarter of 2015, including Austin-based and the email security business of MX Toolbox. Financial details of the two, separate acquisitions were not announced. [Press release]

 

 

 Acquires Unnamed Company in California

 

Upland paid $8.2 million in cash and up to $1.2 million in earn out for the asset acquisition. It’s Upland’s tenth acquisition in four years. The company, which makes cloud-based enterprise work management applications, said the buy will add $4.5 million to its revenues in 2016. [Press release]

 

 

 

Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car project and Dr. Regina Dugan, the search giant’s vice president of Engineering, Advanced Technology and Projects, will join Twitter co-founder Biz Stone as speakers at SXSW interactive. Follow the link for the full list of SXSW featured speakers.

 

 

 

In his new role at , Driscoll will be responsible for sales strategy, business development and expanding the portfolio of blue-chip companies with which OneSpot works, which includes Kraft Heinz, Mondelēz International, Whole Foods Market and Delta Faucet. [Press release]

 

 

 

On Monday, Ford announced it will test a new vehicle leasing program in Austin for consumers who only need occasional access to a car. Ford Credit Link will allow groups of three to six family members, neighbors or friends to go in on a lease together and manage the car’s sharing and maintenance schedules through a companion mobile app. [Built In Austin]

 

 

 

Lowe’s wants to boost its technical edge through stronger ties to the local community. To that end, the North Carolina-based home improvement retailer is offering $22,000 in prizes to teams who built the best project during a coding competition judged by the company’s own IT pros, including Chief Information Officer Paul Ramsay. [Built In Austin]

 

 

 

Stoic, an independent game developer based in Austin, and Versus Evil, a publisher, announced the long-anticipated sequel to the viking-themed RPG on Tuesday for PlayStation 4 and Xbox. The game’s original installment was an early Kickstarter darling and won a host of awards. [Press release]

 

 

 

 

 

, the on-demand lawn care service, introduced its offering January 11 to lawn care customers in four Texas markets — Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio — along with Jacksonville, Florida. [Press release]

 

 

 

 

will acquire Emmoco’s assets,intellectual property and product solutions, including Emmoco’s proprietary BlueJoule software platform. Financial details were not disclosed. [Austin Business Journal]

 

 

 

Jeff Byal has joined LiveOps Cloud as Chief Financial Officer. Reporting to CEO Vasili Triant, Byal will be responsible for all elements of LiveOps Cloud’s global financial, treasury and accounting operations. [Press release]