Realtor.com parent company acquires Opcity for $210M
On Wednesday, Austin-based real estate platform Opcity announced it has been acquired by News Corp for an impressive $210 million. News Corp counts Realtor.com among its holdings, and plans to use the Opcity acquisition to bolster Realtor.com’s performance. “This is a natural fit,” said Opcity CEO Ben Rubenstein in a press release. “Both Realtor.com and Opcity share a common purpose of simplifying a consumer’s home buying journey, while helping real estate professionals connect and close more transactions.” [Read More]
Uber expands to serve entirety of Texas
Buckle up! No matter where you find yourself in the Lone Star State, you can now hail an Uber. On Tuesday, the ride-hailing service announced its expansion to serve the state as a whole. According to Uber’s statistics, Texas-based drivers earned $540 million in 2017, adding to the $746 million that the company reportedly funneled into the Texan economy. This latest update serves as a final push for an expansion Uber has been working toward since the summer of 2017. [Read More]
Voting records of 14.8 million Texans exposed
If you’re registered to vote in Texas, there is a 75 percent chance your voting records have been leaked. Earlier this week, a massive breach of Texas voter records was uncovered, containing the names, addresses and voting histories of 14.8 million individuals. While much of this data would otherwise be publicly available, certain elements of the records — such as party affiliation — is confidential. Analysts have found that the data did not originate with the state of Texas itself, but most likely with Data Trust — a data analytics firm that works with Republican campaigns. [Read More]
Local study finds increasing diversity in tech a slow, but steady, climb
A recent report from the Austin American-Statesman attempted to chart changes in the number of women and people of color in the local tech industry. The results? Things are moving in the right direction — but slowly. Since 2015, there has not been “significant change” in employee diversity ratios. One highlight to be proud of? Expedia, owner of HomeAway, is one of the few companies listed to have a majority-female workforce, at 52 percent. [Read More]
Defi Solutions taps former GameStop exec as new CTO
Late last week, defi Solutions announced the appointment of Jason Zubrick as the company’s new chief technology officer. Zubrick joins defi, a developer of auto lending software, from GameStop, where he served for more than 10 years. Defi’s former CTO, Rob Dufalo, will be moving to the role of chief innovation officer. [Read More]
Could a new $50M crypto fund be coming to Austin?
According to a new filing with the SEC, a new cryptocurrency company is looking to raise up to $50 million. Listed as Black Bull Crypto Fund, the organization is spearheaded by tech industry veterans Alexander Artyukhin, Tim Peshkov and Constantine Potamianos. Potamianos currently serves as Chief Strategy and Legal officer of The IPN, and Artyukhin is affiliated with crowdfunding startup SnapExit. While little information is available about the status or future of the crypto fund, it will be worth keeping an eye on. [Read More]
