On demand bus company Shofur launches in Austin
Airline alternative Shofur is launching its bus service in Austin this week. The company lets customers book seats on buses with WiFi, reclining seats and power outlets. Catering to commuters who travel between large cities for work, the on-demand service lets users track buses in real time. [Press release]
TomTom debuts Austin traffic dashboard
GPS maker TomTom wants Austinites to spend less time in traffic, and its new TomTom City tool lets users get a picture of exactly what is happening on the city’s streets at any given moment. More than just a map, the dashboard includes info on weather, traffic level and the average speed across the city. [Austin Business Journal]
Austin tech talent breaks into the top 5
Only a few cities have more tech talent than the Texas capital according to a CBRE Group ranking out this week. Austin ranks fifth behind only San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; Seattle and New York City. That’s up from the no. 8 spot last year, in part thanks to the homegrown tech scene that draws in out-of-state talent. [Silicon Hills]
TriNet looks to expand Austin workforce
HR cloud services provider TriNet opened a new 33,557-square-foot space this week in Research Park, near Apple’s Austin campus. In conjunction with the new space, the California company is looking for more than 25 new employees, mostly engineers and IT professionals. The larger office and workforce will help the company expand its customer base in the area. [Press release]
Kony appoints chief human resources officer
Enterprise mobility startup Kony appointed Todd Riesterer as chief human resources officer. Riesterer comes to Kony from InsideSales.com, where he helped champion employee growth. He also led international growth at VMware’s 9,000-employee strong Global Customer and Business Operations organizations. The company also hired Wayne McCulloch as senior vice president of customer success. [Press release]
Britain's World First adds Austin jobs
Currency transfer platform World First is hiring at its North American headquarters in Austin, with plans to add 20 new faces by year’s end. The company is also looking for more space less than a year after its last move. The London-based company’s Austin office is home to its chief revenue officer along with about 50 other employees right now. [Austin Business Journal]
Gyst enterprise texting launches new app with pro mode
Everyone has texting, and now businesses are texting too in part thanks to Austin-based Gyst. The company announced it's bringing an app to Android that allows businesses to interact with customers over SMS. The new app launches with both the free and $0.99 pro versions, the latter of which provides file attachment and the ability to set yourself as away. [Press release]
Samsung moves to larger local development space
South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung is moving its Austin development office into a larger space. As one of its 24 worldwide research and development spaces, the current plant focuses on semiconductors. Last year, 2,400 people worked at the facility. The new 112,000-square-foot office space is scheduled to open by the end of the year. [Austin Business Journal]
Hear from Austin’s top tech companies at NewCoATX
NewCoATX is expected to bring 2,000 techies out to hear from executives at Austin’s top tech companies. Host companies include Indeed Prime, Bazaarvoice and Zello, with executives from DoStuff, WP Engine and Haven giving presentations. The two-day conference starts July 26 and tickets start at $20. [NewCoATX]
New York’s Industrious opens co-working space in Austin
New York-based Industrious is headed to Austin. The coworking provider is opening a 19,000-square-foot space in the Fifth + Colorado building. More than 80 offices spaces and plenty of common areas are available starting at $500 per month. [Austin Business Journal]
Atlassian make first post-IPO acquisition
Colorado-based StatusPage is getting acquired by Atlassian. The Y-combinator grad’s 15 employees will head to Atlassian’s San Francisco offices. The enterprise software maker will roll StatusPage’s products, used by companies like Twillo and Intuit, into Atlassian’s products in addition to maintaining the standalone service. [Atlassian blog]
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