This Texas startup is helping Houston pets get virtual care during coronavirus

fur-tual care

With some help from there humans, Houston pets can get virtual care through a Texas startup. Image courtesy of TeleVet

A Texas-based, digitally optimized company focused on veterinary care is helping pet owners connect with medical professionals from the comfort of their homes, offsetting the impact of the social distancing measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

TeleVet Inc., which is based in Austin but is used by local veterinarians, recently announced that they will be providing their animal telemedicine platform free for one month to provide essential animal healthcare, connecting animal patients to veterinarians all over the country. TeleVet is used across 1,000 clinics and is accessible on phone, tablet, or computer.

The free month will be provided to cities that have been hard-hit by the virus such as New York City, Atlanta, New Orleans, San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, Las Vegas, and Chicago.

"In some cases, clinics in impacted cities are having to suddenly shut down or doing drop off visits," Steven Carter, co-founder, and CEO of TeleVet, tells InnovationMap. "We see that telemedicine is a huge component to keeping their staff and their client base during a time when social distancing is critical to flattening the curve of coronavirus cases."

Houston-area vet Amy Garrou and the other vets in her practice have been using TeleVet for several months before the outbreak of the virus. Before the platform, animal patients and their owners had to come into the office for post-surgery check-ups or other outpatient procedures. Garrou says her practice has been increasing the number of patients who use the platform since before the social distancing measures, making it a part of their daily workflow.

"We can check for infections such as ear infections or drainage from either a still picture or a video, or even a live video conference with the owner," says Garrou. "The platform has been useful because we can do any of those consultations and get the information we need to manage the case without the pet owner having to come into the clinic."

In January, TeleVet closed a $2 million seed round with investments from Houston-based Mercury Fund and Nebraska-based Dundee Venture Capital. (Amy Garrou is the wife of Mercury Fund Managing Director Blair Garrou.) According to the company's LinkedIn page, TeleVet is hiring.

Since being founded in 2015, the company has become a U.S. market leader in animal telemedicine. Over the last few years, telemedicine has been quickly expanding, and during the coronavirus outbreak, there has been a greater rush to move towards providing telemedicine for humans as well as pets.

"We realized that a lot of stuff can be solved remotely, keeping the client and the pet at home so that the staff does not have to physically interact with the client which offers convenience to both the client and the vet," says Carter.

Vets like Garrou say TeleVet helps them streamline the process by syncing with their medical records software seamlessly. This cuts costs and saves time from administrative duties. This also allows pet-owners to have access to medical notes regarding the health of their pet.

Her office is thinking of offering a curbside pick up service where they use TeleVet to communicate with pet owners to provide a contactless vet visit. A medical professional with personal protection equipment meets them in the parking lot and escorts the pet inside the vet's office where they use live video feed during the consultation so the owner can continue to be part of the process.

"It's proved to be really vital, especially in those cities where there's a complete shutdown," says Garrou. "The number of people that are realizing they've got to do something in this environment to keep their businesses afloat is rising."

As reliance on telemedicine increases due to the crisis, Garrou says it will eventually become part of the options available for pet owners, and especially vets who work long hours and tend to suffer from high levels of stress and burnout.

"We're really focused on helping, not only just to keep vets' businesses afloat right now," says Carter. "We can't stress enough that we care about the individuals in those practices. We want to help vets with work-life balance and reduce the burnout rate."

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Houston ranks No. 3 among rising coding markets in U.S.

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When you think of coders—the wizards who design, write and test programming languages for software and mobile apps—tech hotbeds like Silicon Valley and Austin might pop into your head.

But Houston has earned a spot on the coding map.

A new study puts the Houston area in third place among the fastest-growing metros for coding in the U.S.

The study, published by coding platform Coddy Tech, ranks Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the top on-the-rise market for coding. San Antonio sits in second place.

Houston earned a “momentum score” of 77 out of 100. The momentum category measured job growth for developers, rising interest in coding as measured by online searches, and growth in hackathon activity.

Here are the 10 fastest-rising U.S. metros for coding:

  • No. 1 Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • No. 2 San Antonio
  • No. 3 Houston
  • No. 4 Jacksonville, Florida
  • No. 5 Cape Coral, Florida
  • No. 6 Columbia, South Carolina
  • No. 7 New York City
  • No. 8 Salt Lake City
  • No. 9 North Port, Florida
  • No. 10 Tampa, Florida

The study analyzed the country’s 75 largest metros “to map where coding has taken hold and where it’s catching fire.” It took into account learning searches, GitHub developer density, job growth, interest in bootcamps and hackathon activity. Only 64 metros were eligible for the ranking of fastest-growing markets.

Austin tops ranking of coding capitals

Coddy crowned Austin the coding capital of the country, with Houston landing at No. 24 in the ranking of the most established coding hubs. San Antonio appeared at No. 16 and Dallas at No. 22.

Here are the top 10 coding hubs:
  • No. 1 Austin
  • No. 2 San Jose, California
  • No. 3 Seattle
  • No. 4 San Francisco
  • No. 5 New York City
  • No. 6 Salt Lake City
  • No. 7 Denver
  • No. 8 San Diego
  • No. 9 Los Angeles
  • No. 10 Raleigh, North Carolina

Why do coders matter?

Without coders, cellphones, laptops, smart TVs and other devices might not work well — or at all. Coding allows people to communicate with these devices, according to ComputerScience.org.

“Since computers do not communicate like humans, coding acts as a translator,” ComputerScience.org explains. “Code converts human input into numerical sequences that computers understand.”

NASA awards Texas Space Commission role in $10M aerospace workforce initiative

space hub

The Texas Space Commission is one of seven organizations tapped by NASA to lead the space agency's new state and regional Skilled Technical Workforce Hubs.

The $10.5 million initiative aims to help foster the next generation of skilled workers in the aerospace industry.

Through the new program, the hubs will work together over the next three years to meet growing industry needs by aligning “industry employers, community colleges, high school career and technical education programs, and workforce systems,” according to a news release from NASA.

It aims to create clear pathways for workers in technical jobs, like welding, electrical work and machining, plus other jobs that require advanced STEM knowledge but do not require a bachelor’s degree.

“The need for technical talent is already urgent and will only continue to grow as we return humanity to the Moon and set our sights on Mars and beyond,” Elaine Ho, associate administrator for the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA, said in the release. “NASA is uniquely positioned to be the catalyst and convener that accelerates America’s aerospace workforce development and fosters the next generation of technicians.”

As part of the initiative, the TSC plans to launch the statewide network known as the Texas Space STEM Alliance (TSSA). According to a TSC release, the TSSA will link up schools, colleges, workforce groups and aerospace companies to build a pipeline for space-industry workers.

Additionally, the TSC is developing the Texas Aerospace Pathways Plus (TAP+) portal to consolidate information on training programs, internships, apprenticeships, employment opportunities and scholarships, while also identifying regional gaps in workforce opportunities.

Other state and regional organizations to receive the award include:

  • Antelope Valley Community College District in Lancaster, California
  • Georgia Tech Research Corporation
  • Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
  • Southern Utah University
  • Space Florida
  • State Board for Community Colleges and Occupation Education, Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colorado

The Houston area is home to more than 43,000 aerospace and aviation professionals, according to the Greater Houston Partnership. The Texas Space Commission has been awarded $150 million for 24 projects since being established to increase the state’s space economy in 2023.

The funding for the NASA state hubs comes from NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement through its Next Gen STEM Project.

Amazon's robotaxi service Zoox rolls out in 'sprawling' Houston market

On the Road

Amazon-owned robotaxi ride-hailing service Zoox is zooming into Houston in September, becoming the latest robotaxi operator jockeying for local riders.

Initially, self-driving retrofitted SUVs with safety drivers on board will serve downtown Houston, centrally located tourist hotspots, and certain residential neighborhoods. The SUVs will test Houston roads before Zoox rolls out autonomous robotaxis here, the company says.

Zoox takes Houston for a test drive

At the outset, Zoox says, a limited number of vehicles will be driven by people to gather data about Houston roads.

Zoox test drive Photo courtesy of Zoox

“This helps create a detailed picture of each street, from road geometry to traffic lights,” the company says. “Once we have mapped out an area, we will test autonomous driving capabilities. Safety and operational readiness govern the pace of our rollout.”

Zoox says its robotaxi differs from vehicles operated by other ride-hailing services.

The all-electric robotaxi “is purpose-built for autonomous ride-hailing and designed for riders from day one,” the company says. “It has no traditional driving controls and instead has carriage-style seating, sliding glass doors, and features that let the rider personalize their journey.”

To help manage the fleet, Zoox plans to open a depot in Houston for vehicle charging and maintenance, a representative says via email.

Along with Houston, Zoox is launching this month in San Diego. The ride-hailing service already operates in Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Zoox breaks into “sprawling” Houston market

Zoox describes Houston as its “most sprawling market to date.”

“Driving here means navigating complex service-road networks, unique merging scenarios, and challenging environmental conditions, including severe heat, heavy rain, and urban flooding,” the company says. “It’s a rigorous test of our technology across geography and terrain.”

Zoox will join two other autonomous ride-hailing services in Houston:

  • Waymo began rolling in Houston in February. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, owns Waymo.
  • Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla began offering robotaxi services earlier this year.

A third Zoox competitor is arriving within the next year. A partnership comprising rideshare provider Uber, EV manufacturer Lucid, and autonomous technology company Nuro plans to launch a robotaxi service in Houston by mid-2027.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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