Texas startup

San Antonio Startup and Tech Week begins today, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and tech workers for a series of events across the city. The week is aimed at showcasing San Antonio's growing startup ecosystem and connecting local founders with funding and mentorship opportunities. Local media are covering the launch, highlighting the city's push to raise its profile as a technology hub in Texas.

A scenario of an autonomous trucker hauling freight on a Texas interstate at 6:15 a.m. is being used to illustrate HappyRobot, a startup whose autonomous voice AI agents are gaining traction in logistics. The company's voice agents handle calls and coordination for trucking operations, and commentary is highlighting how automation startups are moving into real-world freight work.

A startup based in Conroe, Texas has raised $133.65 million in funding, with $65 million of that coming from the United States government. The funding round is notable for the scale of federal backing involved, which is drawing attention to the company and to Conroe's growing presence in the startup scene. Details about the company's products or plans for the money have not been widely reported yet.

A Texas-based startup has raised $133 million to build a plant producing magnet-grade iron, a key input for rare earth permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and defense systems. The funding signals growing US investment in domestic critical minerals processing as the country seeks to reduce reliance on China's supply chain for magnet materials.