FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021

THIS WEEK
Here are the Most Popular Stories on Dallas Innovates   

⓵ Ask Doctor Bitcoin: This Dallas Entrepreneur and Blockchain Expert Offers Free Advice for Emerging Crypto Market

⓶  AT&T Unveils a New Innovation Studio That Will Unlock the Power—and Potential Applications—of 5G

North Texas Executive Moves 

• Kimberly-Clark makes executive changes
• Medecision gets a new CEO
• Comerica Bank names a national director of Wealth Planning

Need to Know

⟫ FAST WINS: Dallas-based Shokworks has a new skills-based game called High Speed Hands based on the TV pilot Poker Showdown. The game, developed in collaboration with entrepreneur and poker aficionado Rob Huxley, uses the studio’s proprietary X/R, writes D CEO. The company, which moved from Miami to Dallas last year, has generated over $100M in direct revenue and cost-savings for its clients that includes Fox Sports, Real Madrid, Dupont Chemicals, FC Barcelona, Telemundo, and the United Kingdom government, the company said at the time. “Dallas has become a spot that tech companies, green energy and financial institutions are pouring into to call home,” said Founder and CEO Alejandro Laplana (above).


⟫ ON-THE-GO OPERA: The Dallas Opera has put its show on the road with a special tricked-out truck. Perfect for pop-up performances and private events, the OperaTruck will make its debut in May, per CultureMap Dallas. Dallas innovator Quincy Roberts (above), who is CEO of Roberts Trucking and a trained opera singer, retro-fitted and donated the truck. Roberts, who also is a TDO trustee and chorus member, said the pandemic was a chance to “become even more bold and creative in our approach to our mission.”

MORE DEALS

⟫ Dallas-based Applied Blockchain has launched into the Ethereum and Altcoin mining business with a new strategic partnership and an oversubscribed $16.5 million private equity investment. The partnership with blockchain companies SparkPool and General Mining Research (GMR) will allow the new pure play publicly traded Ethereum mining company to scale quickly, the startup said in a news release. The company plans to list on the Nasdaq “soon,” per Seeking Alpha.

⟫ Car Capital closed $20 million in debt financing. The recently launched Grapevine-based fintech startup—led by CEO and Co-Founder Justin Tisler and Chairman Brian Reed—closed on a $8.8 million Series A funding round in early April.

⟫ COMSovereign’s latest deal eyes signal processing tech, according to Washington Technology. The Dallas holding company on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Innovation Digital for $8 million in cash, debt and stock. Founder Scott Velazquez, who is “credited as a pioneer and expert in signal processing technology that mixes analog and digital techniques,” will become chief research officer at COMSovereign. The holding company’s drone aviation arm delivered its first drone-deployed LTE network in December.

⟫ Nashville-based Premier Parking has partnered with AI-powered autonomous commerce platform Metropolis to deploy proprietary tech in Dallas and four other cities in the coming months. It plans expansion to 40 markets this year: Additional markets are based on urban density and demand for innovation in parking. Metropolis raised a $41 million Series A in February.

Opportunities for Innovators

Browse our curated selection of contests, nominations, pitches, and grants. From entrepreneurs to corporates, creatives to inventors, educators to social innovators, here's a roundup of goodies. Deadlines coming up include:

• Kubota’s Hometown Proud Grant Program (April 27)
• The J.M. Kaplan Fund’s 2021 J.M.K. Innovation Prize (April 30)
• Inc. 5000 (April 30)
• The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program (May 27)
• Business Council for the Arts' Obelisk Awards (May 28)
• Texas Pride Impact Funds 2021 Grants Program (May 31)
• TiE Women’s Global Pitch Competition (May 31)
• Deloitte's 2021 Technology Fast 500 Awards (June 25)
• Mouser’s Create the Future Design Contest (July 1)
• Call for Code Global Challenge (July 31)

PLUS

Dallas’ Marcus Graham Project has collaborated with Hennessy on a $1 million accelerator for Black entrepreneurs. Applications are open for "Never Stop Never Settle Society," a growth accelerator that offers high-impact funding, resources, and infrastructure to emerging Black entrepreneurs.

Not-to-Miss Events

There are plenty of things to do with your socially distanced time next week. Here are a few from our curated selection for innovators:

• EarthxFilm 2021 (Through April 25, pictured above)
• Inclusive Innovation Summit (April 21)
• United Way of Metropolitan Dallas: The Pitch (April 22)
• The Pulse Breakfast: Get to Know "Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs" 
  (April 22)
• UT Dallas: Artificial General Intelligence Is Coming (April 26)

"Creativity happens within constraints. This is the world we have to play with, so let’s do more than make it work, let’s make it dope."

J. Damany Daniel and his team plan to marry storytelling and technology to host accessible, unforgettable virtual events for both large and small companies through The Event Nerd.

Their new studio is set to open in Deep Ellum to continue producing experiences for clients across the globe next month. Recently, they worked with Denton-based Sally Beauty and Cosmo Prof Beauty.

Daniel is also a founding member of Dallas’ Mayor’s Star Council, a board member of the Deep Ellum Foundation, and City of Dallas Cultural Affairs Commissioner for District 6.