Tech Roundup: Austin founder named to 30 Women to Watch list, Audi acquires Silvercar and more

by Kelly O'Halloran
March 30, 2017

EverlyWell's founder named to 30 Women to Watch in Tech 2017

Inc. released this year's Inspirational Women to Watch in Tech list, recognizing female technology leaders making an impact on the tech world. Julia Taylor Cheek, the CEO and founder of Austin startup EverlyWell, was named to the list for her leadership guiding the company's influence in using technology to make the lab diagnostic testing process more efficient. [Inc.]

 

Audi to acquire Silvercar

Silvercar, the Austin startup with Audi A4s for rental cars, announced Thursday the plans for an acquisition from Audi via a blog posted from Silvercar's CEO Luke Schneider. Details of the acquisition were not announced and the deal is still pending regulatory clearance. In 2016, Audi also led a $28 million round of funding for the company. [Silvercar]

 

San Francisco-based digital media and marketing agency to open Austin office

DWA, a global media and marketing agency for tech companies, announced the opening of an Austin office, headed by GM Chris Leger. The Texas-based office will allow DWA to provide more on-the-ground support for various local clients — including Austin's SolarWinds — while also tapping into new areas. [Press Release]

 

eRelevance adds leadership roles with senior software development and client success appointments

eRelevance announced the addition of two new leadership roles, bringing on Melonie Poole as director of client success and Michael Norman as vice president of software development. Poole joins the organization after previously serving in leadership roles at Strategic SaaS and Catapult Systems, while Norman's previous leadership roles in software engineering span BorrowersFirst, RetailMeNot and Bazaarvoice. [Press Release]

 

Clearhead launches London office led by Ed Tomalin

The digital optimization company Clearhead opened the doors to its London office this week, adding Ed Tomalin as its head of European business to lead the branch. The expansion allows the growing Austin company to meet increasing demands from their global clients. Founded in 2012, Clearhead supports brands looking to optimize business outcomes through continuous testing and personalization, data-driven redesigns and strategic consulting. [Press Release]

 

Digital Pharmacist acquires PocketRx

Austin-based healthtech startup Digital Pharmacist announced on Friday the acquisition of PocketRx, a mobile app where patients can manage their prescriptions. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Robert Terrell, ProcketRx's product manager will join Digital Pharmacist as part of the acquisition. This news follows January's announcement of RxWiki and Telemanager merging and rebranding as Digital Pharmacist. [Texas TechPulse]

 

Next Coast Ventures adds new partner

Next Coast Ventures, an Austin-based venture capital firm, announced on Monday the addition of new venture partner Zeynep Young. Young is the CEO of wellness and beauty company milk + honey. She also previously founded and served as CEO at edtech company Double Line Partners. [Press Release]

 

SparkCognition welcomes on Dr. Bruce Porter as CSO

Dr. Bruce Porter, professor and chairman of the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, will join SparkCognition's executive team as chief science officer. Amir Husain, CEO of the security cognitive analytics company, met Porter initially when he was a student in Porter's class. The two continued to work together with Porter acting as an advisor to SparkCognition. Porter will continue to serve as the Chair of Computer Science and AI Faculty at UT.  [Press Release]

 

NewsUp opens Austin team out of Capital Factory

NewsUp co-founder Andrew Schuster moved to Austin earlier this year to expand the company's team here. Currently operating out of Capital Factory, the company is looking to bring on a team of developers. In addition to expanding to Austin, Schuster said they are also looking to build a presence in New York and Los Angeles. NewsUp is a Baltimore-based startup that develops current events quizzes. [Technical.ly Baltimore]

 

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