Summer is here and the Austin tech scene is heating up. The past week saw investments in a robotics startup and a cybersecurity firm relocated to the area. Read up on these latest developments and more tech news with the Built In Austin Weekly Refresh.
Apptronik got $14.6M. Apptronik is a robotics startup that is looking to create humanoid robots to ease the worker shortage across the country. The company spun out of the University of Texas at Austin in 2016 and already provides robotics solutions to manufacturing, automotive and supply chain companies. Apptronik stated that it is looking to develop robots that can work in human environments, not just environments designed for robots. [Built In Austin]
A cybersecurity firm relocated its HQ to Austin. The firm, named “[redacted],” moved its headquarters from San Fransisco to Austin and is planning to hire 50 new employees. The company is remote-first but CEO and co-founder Max Kelly stated that Austin is the next cybersecurity hub and [redacted] wanted to join the city’s “growing and vibrant security industry.” Kelly built Facebook’s security team before working for the National Security Agency and later launching [redacted]. The startup emerged from stealth last year and has raised $60 million in funding. [Built In Austin]
Austin TECH QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Austin Technology Council appointed a new CEO. Thom Singer, a veteran in the nonprofit ecosystem, was appointed as the new CEO of the Austin Technology Council (ATC). ATC was founded in 1992 and empowers tech companies and their workers by hosting programming for over 200 companies in the Austin metro. [Austin Technology Council]
Eggschain was highlighted as a Future 5 startup. Wei Escala launched Eggschain to safeguard medical information by storing it on the blockchain. According to Escala, keeping medical information on the blockchain would eliminate any problems with obsolete software in the future, and she has already received a patent to work on the technology. The Eggschain platform focus on storing reproductive health data but plans to expand to data on organs, tissues, blood, stem cells, DNA and RNA. [Built In Austin]
Self Financial unveiled a new sponsorship with the San Antonio Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs announced that the fintech company, which provides credit-building solutions, will be a new sponsor for the 2022-23 NBA season. As part of the deal, the Spurs will also acquire an equity stake in the company. Self Financial’s logo will be displayed on the left shoulder of the team’s game, practice and warm-up jerseys. [NBA]
