Startup

Dallas Invents: 144 Patents Granted for Week of September 20

by | Oct 3, 2022
Dallas-Fort Worth ranked No. 10 for patents out of 250 metros. • Frito-Lay’s plant protein snack with meat-like texture
• Treble Innovations’ portable wireless endoscope
• Toyota’s systems and methods for automatically cleaning wheels
• Good Sportsman Marketing’s communication device for hearing protection devices
• Panacea Quantum Leap Technology’s bidirectional sensor circuit
• Badge’s biometric public key system providing revocable credentials
• AMS International AG’s method and device for estimating ambient light
• Heart Test Laboratories’ quantitative heart testing
• Futurewei Technologies’ transaction-based hybrid memory
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o9 Solutions Targets Supply Chain Disruptions With New Supply Sensing Platform
by | Oct 3, 2022
Dallas-based unicorn o9 Solutions is using its Digital Brain technology to predict weather patterns, transportation hiccups, and employment fluctuations months before problems occur. Then its digital twin technology can recommend solutions. CEO Chakri Gottemukkala says o9's new Supply Sensing tool applies longstanding methods to "predicting and steering clear of future supply disruptions."
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The Last Word: Colossal’s Ben Lamm on Seeing His Startup Fuel a ‘Jeopardy’ Answer
by | Oct 3, 2022
In August, Colossal Biosciences announced it is working to "de-extinct" the Tasmanian tiger with the help of an Australian university and “marsupial biobanking.” It didn't take long for the TV show "Jeopardy" to notice—and work it into an answer.
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Follow the Money: Book.io Aims to Put E-Books on the Blockchain with New Funding, Tech Startup Kalpa Aims to Raise $1M, and More

by | Sep 30, 2022
In this week’s North Texas deal flow, you’ll also find news about crowdfunding platform Harvest Return landing $2.5M; Supply’s acquisition by Foundry Brands; Moss Adams acquiring local CPA firm Kurtz & Company P.C.; Tri Global Energy being acquired for $270M by Canada's Enbridge; and more.
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Supply, the Fort Worth-Based Men’s Grooming Brand of ‘Shark Tank’ Fame, Acquired by Foundry Brands
by | Sep 29, 2022
Husband-and-wife co-founders Patrick and Jennifer Coddou launched their men's grooming startup Supply out of their spare bedroom, stored products in their garage, and shipped from their laundry room. After raising $256K on Kickstarter and getting a $300K investment on ABC's "Shark Tank," they expanded their business. Now, with the acquisition by Foundry Brands, Patrick is living what he calls the most attainable American Dream: "Have an idea, work your tail off for years, scale it to millions, sell it for millions," he wrote on Twitter.
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With Fresh Funding, Firehawk Aerospace Is Developing Rocket Engines and 3D-Printed Fuel As It Plans Move to New HQ in Addison
by | Sep 28, 2022
Firehawk Aerospace is developing hybrid rocket engines and 3D-printed solid rocket fuel to provide a safer, more cost-effective approach to launching payloads as it nears the close of a $17 million fundraising effort.

Co-founder and CEO Will Edwards has said his company's rocket engine "will power the next generation missile and defense systems and plans to support both launch and other systems requiring in-space propulsion."
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Dallas Invents: 142 Patents Granted for Week of September 13
by | Sep 28, 2022
Dallas-Fort Worth ranked No. 10 for patents out of 250 metros. Patents granted include: DoorDash’s automatic floor-level retail operation decisions using video analytics, Toyota’s automated pest warning and eradication system, Textron’s aircraft weapon system, Paradigm Shift Technologies’ food ordering via embedded links in video game advertising, O’Reilly Winship’s rechargeable USB electrical outlet with integrated lighting, BMIC’s self-adhered roofing systems and methods, iPMachine’s system for mixed reality experiences, Samsung’s methods for gesture recognition and control, Sleep Technologies’ adjustable sleeping system with massage function, SRFC Bio’s analysis of antimicrobial coatings using X-ray fluorescence, and an unassigned mobile legal counsel system and method.
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Follow the Money: tree3 Aims to Raise $2M, Traveller Capital Raises $28.5M, IBM Acquires Dialexa, and More

by | Sep 26, 2022
In this week’s North Texas deal flow, you’ll also find news about Universal EV Chargers landing $10M in grants; The Beneficient Company Group's plans to go public in a deal valued at $3.5B; NTT DATA’s acquisition of Apisero, ‘one of the largest all-stock transactions in the mid-to-upper-management recruiting space'; and more.
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The Last Word: Sentiero Ventures’ David Evans On the Pure Entrepreneurship Narrative: ‘Find a Need and Fill It’
by | Sep 22, 2022
Writing on LinkedIn, Evans links to an intriguing AIGA Eye on Design story: "We Spoke With the Last Person Standing in the Floppy Disk Business." According to the article, the long-ago-and-faraway floppy disk is "more in demand than you'd think," as the founder of FloppyDisk.com could tell you.
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The Shadow CEO:
A Founder’s Guide to Calculating Share Price
by | Sep 21, 2022
Entrepreneur, investor, and corporate governance authority Dennis Cagan shares insights on seldom-taught things an entrepreneur needs to know about equity and governance—before making needless mistakes—in The Shadow CEO series.

Part 10: Calculating Share Price
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The Last Word: Mansfield EDC’s Jason Moore on an Incubator Space in Hoque Global’s $50M Development
Dallas' Hoque Global plans to build a $50 million mixed-use development in downtown Mansfield, the DFW suburb south of Arlington, with 249 residences, nearly 12,000 square feet of retail, office, and restaurant space, and a nearly 8,000-square-foot civic plaza, the DBJ reports. In a conversation with Moore and Todd Tonore, Mansfield's Mayor Pro Tem and Chairman of the Historic Downtown Mansfield Revitalization Subcommittee, the DBJ explores how "one of the oldest historic downtowns" in North Texas is about to get rebuilt.
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Dallas Route Optimization Startup Routora Aims to Help You Save Time, Money on the Road

by | Sep 20, 2022
It's easy to get from A to B. But what if you have to go from A to B to C to D to E? Finding the fastest way to complete all the stops can be daunting. But now a UT Dallas computer science student has co-founded Routora—a free Google Maps extension tool that reorders your stops for the fastest, most efficient trip. While still in beta, the tool has already attracted around 3,000 users from 70 countries. “By creating more efficient routes, not only are they saving money on gas, but they're also emitting less carbon into the atmosphere," says Routora Co-founder and CEO Tom Vazhekatt.
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HiFAB Studio and Plant in Grand Prairie Will Create Modern Modular Homes by Lake/Flato Architects
by | Sep 20, 2022
HiFAB, a new venture from Dallas-based Oaxaca Interests, will be building modular homes from its new plant on a seven-acre site in Grand Prairie. The first offering: two- and three-bedroom "Haciendas" designed by the noted San Antonio architecture firm Lake|Flato, starting at $249K and $375K. "Simple design is hard to pull off, but it allows us to focus on the details for a cleaner, more efficient way of living," says Oaxaca and HiFAB founder Brent Jackson.
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Local Accelerator and Investment Platform MLTPLY Launches Insurance Tech Startup Proxima
by | Sep 19, 2022
Dallas-based MLTPLY launched late last year with the goal of helping seed-stage insurtech startups get to market up to 18 months sooner than they would on their own. Today it announced the launch of its third portfolio company, Proxima—which helps clients develop "highly complex" insurtech projects while providing back-office support via "operations hubs" in Latin America. “This partnership also allows MLTPLY to expand our footprint into Latin America, where extraordinary talent is already yielding impressive results for the insurance sector," MLTPLY Founder and CEO Gloria Gutinas says.
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Follow the Money: Cerebro Sports Lands Mark Cuban Backing, Ryan Snags Tax Products from Thomson Reuters, and More
by | Sep 19, 2022
In this week’s North Texas deal flow, you’ll also find news about Pathway Healthcare’s Texas expansion via Innovation360 acquisition; NEW A.G.E Inc’s $2.5M deal with Healing the Earth; donor software firm NPact's acquisition of products from Blackbaud; and Irving-based Commercial Metal Company’s acquisition of Advanced Steel Recovery among other deals.
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