Tech roundup: Google’s hiring plans, Tovala and Trader Joe’s plan to save your dinner, and more

by Alton Zenon III
February 21, 2019
Google moniker at an office
image via shutterstock

Google set to bring hundreds more jobs to the city 

Google’s Chicago office is going to have a lot of new faces walking through its doors soon. As part of a national expansion initiative, the tech giant announced it plans to hire hundreds of new tech, sales and finance professionals in Chicago, although the exact number is still undisclosed. Google currently employs over 1,000 staff in the city, and last year, it announced its move to expand into another 100,000 square foot office. It looks like they’re well underway to fill that space. [Crain’s]

 

Tovala oven in use
image via tovala

Tovala integrates with Trader Joe’s for smart-cooked frozen meals

Smart-oven manufacturer Tovala recently announced that its hardware has a new functionality. Oven owners can now grab a frozen food item from Trader Joe’s, scan the bar code and let the oven do the work of cooking the meal to its ideal specifications, whether it be via steaming, baking, broiling or all three. The newly implemented feature, called Scan the Store, is available in the company’s first and second generation ovens and comes in addition to the curated meals provided by the company’s meal subscription service. [Press release]

 

female nurse uses iPad to tend to nursing home patient
image via shutterstock

Third Eye gets healthy $7.25M funding

Third Eye Health, a company that provides late-night and weekend nursing home staff with remote assistance from physicians, announced a $7.25 million funding raise. The round was led by Generator Ventures and assisted by Cane Investment Partners, Ziegler Link-Age and Senior Care Development CEO David Reis. Reis, along with Russell Hirsch and Katy Fike from Generator Ventures, and Amish Patel from Integrated Rehab Consultants will join Third Eye’s board. Funding will be used to hire in-office staff and remote physicians, expand coverage to new states, and integrate the platform with a large electronic health record company and new reporting functions. [Built In Chicago]

 

Two men shake hands at a desk
image via shutterstock

Acquisitions abound

CityBase, a govtech platform that streamlines communication between the general public and city governments, was acquired by GTY Technology Holdings for $160 million in cash and stock. GTY is a Las Vegas-based special purpose acquisition company that focuses on investing in businesses within emerging tech industries. CityBase will function as a fully owned business unit of GTY — one that will continue to expand its individual client reach but will act as part of a new company unit that includes five other public sector companies as well. “The combining of our efforts will help us make government more impactful for more people,” said Mike Duffy, CityBase CEO, in a press release. [PR Newswire

Cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase announced its acquisition of the blockchain intelligence platform Neutrino. Founded in Milan, Neutrino performs security functions on public blockchains that include theft prevention, ransomware investigations and identifying villainous entities — all through data analysis. Coinbase hopes that the acquisition will make blockchain usage safer for users and will legitimize the technology even further. Neutrino will continue to act as its own enterprise but will work from Coinbase’s London office. [Coinbase blog]

One of our 50 startups to watch in 2017, Abode, revealed that it acquired the Pennsylvania-based listing platform USRealty.com. Abode pairs home buyers with realtors and mortgage professionals using data science, and will leverage the listings on USRealty.com to expand its national broker license footprint. “The team at USRealty.com are true experts in the flat fee listing space and their offering is perfectly complementary to what we were doing on the buy-side,” said Kyle Stoner, Abode CEO, in press release. “We’ve experienced massive growth since coming together.” [Press release]

 

Reverb.com team photo
image via reverb.com

Reverb makes Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019 list 

Online musical instrument marketplace Reverb.com was chosen as one of Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2019, specifically within the music category. In that sector, Reverb’s inclusion marks the first time in 10 years a Chicago company was placed there and other companies alongside it include Universal Music Group, Sonos and Live Nation Entertainment. [Press release

 

Chris Abtahi
VP, managing director • Fishawack Health

Digital marketing agency closerlook, inc. recently appointed Chris Abtahi as as VP, managing director. Abtahi previously acted as executive director at Outcome Health and was also executive vice president and Midwest practice lead at The Access Group agency as well as an eight-year employee at Eli Lilly across various roles. He will bring his 15 years of healthcare life science experience, working with providers, health systems and payers, to his new role where he will help move the company vision forward. [PR Newswire]

 

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