Tech Roundup: Able backed by $100M, UT ranks #4 and more

by Kelly O'Halloran
September 29, 2016

Investors back Able with $100M to support small businesses

Able Lending, an Austin-based fintech company, received $100 million of funding from Community Investment Management on Tuesday. The company will continue to expand in supporting small businesses to its existing 500 borrowers across 44 states. [Built In Austin]

 

Developers of driver's ed app close $4M Series A

Aceable, the app that provides people an online alternative to drivers education classes, received $4 million in funding from previous investors Silverton Partners and Floodgate Ventures. With the funding, the company plans to enter additional industries that require professional certifications like real estate, corporate HR, nursing and food safety. [Built In Austin]

 

Two tech leaders named to "Most Powerful Businesswomen in Texas" list

Texas Diversity Magazine recently released this year's Most Powerful Businesswomen in Texas list featuring 50 honorees based on their accomplishments, contributions, and ability to serve as a role model. On the list, five women are from Austin, and two of whom work in the tech industry. Both Catherine Schnurr, general counsel at Spiceworks, and Karen Quintos, chief customer officer at Dell Technologies Inc., received recognition. [Austin Business Journal]

 

WP Engine opened Ireland office

On Monday, WP Engine officially opened their new technical support and innovation center in Limerick, Ireland, creating over 100 jobs over three years. Their first international office launched in London in 2015 and has since doubled WP's customer base. This expansion will help support customers across the region as well as the overall growth of WP Engine. [Press Release]

 

T3 gains former execs of Razorfish and Frog on management team

Innovation agency giant T3 gained Christian Barnard as their new COO and Nelan Scwartz as CTO. Barnard previous sat in the vice president role at Razorfish, while Schwartz previously worked as Frog's executive technology director. Ben Gaddis, of T3, will move into the president role, while founder Gay Gaddis will continue to focus on the responsibilities as CEO. [Press Release]

 

HomeAway CEO steps down

Brian Sharples, the HomeAway CEO since 2005, announced he will step down as CEO and shift into a chairman role in January 2017. Expedia acquired the Austin-based vacation rental company in 2015. John Kim, an executive of Expedia, will take over as president. Since the acquisition, HomeAway increased its top line by 22 percent. [Austin Business Journal]

 

UT ranks #4 as top university for innovation in tech and sciences

The University of Texas moved up three spots from last year on the The Reuters 100: The World's Most Innovative Universities. The list ranks the educational institutions doing the most to advance science, invent new technologies and help drive the global economy. [Reuters]

 

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