Want to stay up to date on the latest startup fundings, launches, and expansions in Austin? Startup Over Coffee’s weekly roundup of Austin startups to watch will keep you in the loop on the latest Austin tech news. Catch up on previous weekly roundups here.

CareHive Health Inc. 

Covid-19 has drastically affected health care providers. Many have had to cut down on staff or completely shut down due to the overwhelming consequences of the pandemic. Remedy Applications was one of those companies affected by the pandemic. According to Austin Inno, due to increased patient needs and health care provider burnout, Remedy Applications had to lay off 82 employees. Luckily, its story doesn’t stop here. 

Remedy Applications has relaunched as CareHive Health and has created a new business model. Instead of focusing on on-demand urgent care, its rebranded company put its focus on digital strategy. CareHive uses AI that assists patients in connecting with the right type of providers through telemedicine communication. Currently, this company is leasing a 5,068 square feet area in Austin. With hopes of striving in Austin’s tech scene, CEO Ronald Dixon plans on relocating this building to a space ranging from 7,500 to 10,000 square feet. 

CesiumAstro

Founded in 2017, CesiumAstro creates faster and more efficient communication systems for space-bound vehicles. This startup has seen an acceleration of growth throughout these past couple of years, as it has had to relocate from its 10,000 square foot space in Hill Country Galleria. With 80 employees and $29.2 million in funding, the company is already looking at doubling its headcount by the end of 2022. 

In addition to its accelerated growth, CesiumAstro anticipates launching its first-ever satellite that’ll orbit the Earth. Partnered with the Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, this rocket will launch two miniature satellites that hold CesiumAstro’s Nightingale 1 communication systems with hopes of connecting military and commercial ground terminals. According to Built In Austin, CesiumAstro also works with big entities such as NASA, the U.S. Navy, and Blue Origin.

Colossal 

From deserts to wildlife, climate change and global warming have been the leading factors destroying so many ecosystems. A bioscience and genetics company, Colossal, has recently received $15 million in a seed-stage funding round to help solve this problem.

Colossal will use its recent funding to genetically engineer woolly mammoths to build up the arctic wilderness after thousands of years of extinct mammoths. According to Silicon Hills, this startup plans to use its technology on a variety of extinct species to restore the ecosystem. Licensing its technology from Harvard, Colossal will be able to commercialize its research from the Church Lab. The funding round was led by Thomas Tull and had contributions from Draper Associates, Animal Capital, At One Ventures, Jazz Ventures, Bold Capital, Global Space Ventures, Climate Capital, Winklevoss Capital, Liquid2 Ventures, Capital Factory, Tony Robbins, and First Light Capital.

Walmart autonomous vehicles 

A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned a Lyft and Argo Al partnership. Their plans on building 1,000 self-driving vehicles, with the help of Ford Motor, are now underway. Now, Walmart is following suit as it looks to launch autonomous cars in Austin, Miami, and Washington D.C. 

For the time being, these self-driven vehicles will have safety drivers monitoring the car and see how it functions on its own. Although customers may not see an immediate change at first, as these vehicles continue to be tested and get closer to the final product, Walmart will eventually have this feature on its app and alert customers when their orders are ready. The ultimate goal is for customers to grab their groceries from the back of these autonomous vehicles. According to Austin Inno, companies like Walmart and Amazon are beginning to use advanced technology, like self-driven vehicles and drone delivery, to stay on top of new developing technology. 

About Michelle Vernaza: Michelle is a Business Development Associate Intern for Swyft, which is a tech PR firm in Austin and Houston and a top digital marketing and PR agency in Denver since its founding in 2011. Swyft also has a small satellite office where it offers tech PR in San Francisco. Swyft has been listed as one of the top tech PR agencies in Texas for two years running by the B2B services review site, Clutch.co.