March 21, 2025

First Up

Before we begin...

Brent: Good afternoon, y'all!

LinkedIn listed the 25 fastest-growing job titles over the past three years today, and perhaps you won't be surprised to see that many of them, including No. 1 and 2, are focused on AI (AI engineer and AI consultant). Physical therapist, workforce development manager and travel advisor rounded out the top five. 

Alright, let's click the sticks and kick a Beat... 

The Big One

A breakdown of the day's biggest story

After failed trial, local biotech co. announces layoffs

Brent: Cassava Sciences Inc., a company trying to detect and treat Alzheimer's disease, is reeling from a failed drug study and said it plans to lay off 10 people, which is about a third of its staff.

The layoffs follow several years of ups and downs for the company as it sought to get its drug to combat Alzheimer's disease through several phases of studies and trials. During the course of that effort, its stock dramatically increased at times before falling rapidly in 2023 as controversies around its studies emerged and later phases showed the drug wasn't working as hoped.

Now, with its stock near an all-time low, the company is cutting costs and working on a plan for the future, though there aren't many details about its next steps.

The company didn't immediately respond to an interview request.

In a Jan. 7 news release, company President and CEO Rick Barry said Cassava plans to continue its mission to develop new medicines for central nervous system disorders. It is working through the discontinuation of its Phase 3 studies and plans to create a plan to move forward in the months ahead, he said.

The company said its layoffs would be completed in the first quarter of this year and would cost it about $400K.

“Cassava is a closely-knit organization, and so I want to thank each one of our employees being affected by this workforce reduction," Barry stated.

Keep reading to learn more about Cassava's journey.

Making Moves

Local tech news to know

CMS startup makes major acquisition

Austin- and San Francisco-based headless CMS platform company Contentstack said today that it has acquired real-time customer data platform Lytics for an undisclosed amount. The companies said the deal will bring audience insights, content analytics and profile management to the Contentstack platform. The deal will also bring some of Lytics' customers, such as Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Glassdoor, Universal Music Group, LiveNation and Clorox to the Contentstack platform.

Lytics, co-founded in 2013 by James McDermott and Aaron Raddon, is based in Portland, Ore. and had raised about $58M. Contentstack, meanwhile, was founded in 2018 and has raised $169M, according to Crunchbase. It is led by founder and CEO Neha Sampat. 

As part of the deal, McDermott will become the new global head of data products at Contentstack, which now has over 500 employees.

Startup with Austin offices promotes two leaders

Virginia-based Hypori, which provides virtual access to enterprise apps and data from mobile devices, said today that it has promoted Jim Cushman to president and Eric Wang to senior VP of product and engineering.

The company, which also has offices in Austin, was founded in 2021 and has raised about $43M, according to Crunchbase. Wang, who joined the startup in 2020, appears to be based in Austin. He was previously a senior VP of cloud operations at Austin-based Serenova. 

HR tech company names new leader

Austin-based HR software company Asure (Nasdaq: ASUR) said Jan. 7 that it has selected Jay Whitehead to lead its AsurePay Platinum VIP Banking card and Marketplace businesses. He previously founded Human Resources Outsourcing Today magazine and HRO World conferences. He is also a partner at UCLA Ventures.

Asure, led by chairman and CEO Pat Goepel, has sustained double-digit revenue growth for the last three years running, going from $65M in 2020 to $119M last year, the ABJ reported in October last year.

Asure was founded as Forgent Networks in 1985. It went public in 1992 and rebranded as Asure in 2007.

Featured Jobs

To post a job in this newsletter, read more.

• Senior Lifecycle Marketing Manager - WIN Reality
• Sr. Product Manager, Catalog & Marketplace - data.world
• Paid Media Coordinator - Aceable

In the Know

The tech stories you need to read today.

• Flying taxis are on the horizon as aviation soars into a new frontier - AP

• Apple’s inaccurate AI news alerts shows the tech has a growing misinformation problem - CNBC

• Musk Vaulted to the Top of a Popular Videogame. Everyone’s Asking Where He Found the Time. - WSJ

Elsewhere in Inno

Stories from the Inno network we think you'll enjoy. 

• Chicago food startup Simple Mills to be acquired in $795M deal - Chicago Inno

• What this week's Blue Origin New Glenn launch will mean for Florida's space business - Orlando Inno
• Sandia CRADAs reach highest level in three decades - New Mexico Inno
  

In the Community

January
10

Angel Speed Dating w/ Central Texas Angel Network

January
16

Austin Open Coffee Club

January
28

Facilitation Lab Austin

Keeping Austin Weird & Wired

A lil bit extra...

Another tear in my beer

I've bemoaned the closure and relocation of several Austin breweries here on the north side of the city. Now comes another big loss, and it's not just beer-lovers who are losing a neighborhood staple.

Black Star Co-op is shutting down this weekend. In a post on its website, the co-op said it will shut down after regular hours on Sunday, Jan. 12. The community-owned brewpub had been around for about 14 years (and I enjoyed several great meals and beers there during that span). 

"We understand this news will be disappointing, and we share in that disappointment," the post said.

Here's hoping something cool and locally owned fills the void.

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Got news to share? Reach Brent Wistrom at bwistrom@bizjournals.com.