As Monday morning rolls in, we’re providing TechWire readers with a quick recap of the past week’s news headlines.
Notable headlines from last week included: Amazon is bringing hundreds of jobs to Cary for a new delivery station; Epic Games is reportedly nearing a $750 million fund raise; RTP-based Advanced Animal Diagnostics is repurposing its blood test platform for COVID-19 screening; Raleigh and Durham are among the top 10 cities that Moody’s Analytics says are more likely to rebound after the pandemic; the Triangle’s commercial real estate market is remaining strong; Volusion ranked Raleigh No. 5 among large metros as the highest-earning market for female entrepreneurs; NC’s CIO and secretary of the NC Department of Information Technology will join MCNC as its new CEO; Duke’s School of Medicine will open a 273,000-square-foot lab in RTP; RDU Airport approved a series of budget cuts, putting growth on hold.
- Check out TechWire’s comprehensive resource package for Triangle startups.
As part of TechWire’s new “Startup Monday” segment, we recently launched a column that summarizes local startup news coverage over the past week. Read last week’s edition here.
Some NC startups raised cash last week, including Durham-based Shattuck Labs ($118 million), Greensboro-based Soelect ($1 million), Nags Head-based VADATEK ($200,000), Winston Salem-based MOMI Brands ($700,000), Durham-based BIOMILQ ($3.5 million) and Durham-based Aerami Therapeutics ($4.6 million).
And, in national news: AT&T confirmed that it’s planning to cut thousands of jobs and close over 250 stores; IBM settled a fraud and racial discrimination lawsuit; several large companies observed Juneteenth has a paid holiday with videos, songs and events; Facebook removed 900 accounts linked to white supremacy groups; hiring increased in 46 states and unemployment fell in 38 states last month.
Keeping with our Monday tradition, here’s a look back at 86 local, state and national headlines as reported by WRAL TechWire last week:
MONDAY | June 15 Headlines:
- As stock market waivers should you be worried? Experts say …
- Azzur Labs taps former Pfizer exec, Air Force veteran to helm RTP site
- Duke spinout CasTag BioSciences builds a better protein trap with boost from NCBiotech
- Durham life science startup Shattuck Labs raises $118M, lands Hatteras Ventures as investor
- Greensboro battery startup Soelect raises $1M in equity from 9 investors
- IBM acquires assets from cloud cybersecurity firm Spanugo
- July events preview: State of Technology, Tech Lemonade, DIG SOUTH Virtual + 70 more
- June headliners: 51 webinars, socials, panels & other online events across NC
- Microsoft Azure becomes SAS’s preferred cloud platform under new partnership
- Navigating, right-sizing through pandemic: Here’s how to manage your firm
- Raleigh life science startup Collaborations Pharmaceuticals targets COVID-19
- Roxboro startup Open Book Extracts acquires cannabinoids R&D, manufacturing firm
- Startup Rewind: A look back at 20 reports about NC’s entrepreneurial community
- TechWire rewind: African American leaders speak out; Grifols expands; Triangle economy update + 68 more headlines
- Triangle meetups: Here’s a list of 145 across the region to check out
- Triangle Startup Guide keeps growing with more new resources for entrepreneurs
- Triangle tech happenings: Previewing 55 events, meetups & more through June 30
TUESDAY | June 16 Headlines:
- 20 million players crash Fortnite’s ‘The Device’ event – some players upset
- Advanced Animal Diagnostics pivots to humans for COVID-19 test, with NCBiotech boost
- Amazon bringing ‘hundreds’ of jobs to Cary for ‘Delivery Station’
- AT&T confirms union report it will cut thousands of jobs, shutter hundreds of stores
- Boot binding tech startup from Nags Head raises $200,000 in debt
- Bored? Website offers Zoom videos with celebrities – for a price
- Building1 joins growing co-working scene in Chapel Hill
- Durham startup BIOMILQ raises $3.5M to create a more ‘sustainable’ option for feeding babies
- Durham startup Velocity Clinical acquires 2 more sites plus a strategic partnership
- EU launches 2 investigations into Apple, which says complaints are ‘baseless’
- FCC to investigate T-Mobile after huge outage
- FDA approves video game-based treatment targeting attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Feds launch Main Street Lending Program – loans start at $250,000
- Lowe’s offers first wave of $25M in minority-owned small business grants
- Pandemic changes podcast listening habits – here’s how Spotify is adjusting
- Report: Epic Games lands new investors for looming $750M investment
- Tech industry: Raleigh, Durham among top 10 cities considered most likely to recover from pandemic
- Tech Today: AT&T expands 5G; Lenovo 5g laptop; GSK $120M deal; new Cisco exec; Apple $519B impact
- UNC researchers land $27M in federal funding to develop better psychiatric drugs
- Wall Street is sending a warning to Washington: More COVID-19 relief, please
- Want to pay less in corporate taxes? Get your board involved, says NCSU research
- Winston Salem startup MOMI Brands raises $700,000 in debt, still looking to raise roughly $9M more
- Wireless providers, other telecom providers wrestle with outages
WEDNESDAY | June 17 Headlines:
- AT&T CEO demands ‘equal justice for Black Americans’
- COVID-19 impact on commercial real estate: With more employees working from home, will businesses still rent office space?
- Duke, partners expand project tracking COVID-19 via smartwatches, phones
- Durham’s FoodLogiQ teams with IBM, SAP to improve supply chain tracking farm to fork
- Facebook sets up voting hub, allows blocking of political, social issue ads
- K4Connect seniors ‘hotline’ receives boost from Bandwidth to assist with pandemic needs
- Here, robot! See, buy Spot the $74,500 robotic canine (watch the video)
- Report: IBM settles lawsuit with Black software salesman over $2.4M in commissions
- MCNC picks North Carolina’s chief information officer as new CEO
- NC communities to receive $300,000 in broadband grants to get connected
- Need help during pandemic? Here’s a guide to available financial assistance
- Netflix CEO donates $120M to historically black colleges, universities
- Next on Fed’s Wall Street buying list? Stocks – but what’s that mean?
- NCSU researchers say new approach will make DNA data storage more practical
- Raleigh ranks No. 5 for ‘highest-earning’ female entrepreneurs in US; NC ranks No.15
- Triangle bioanalytics startup finds partners in fight against pancreatitis
- UNC study: Use of wireless continuous glucose monitoring more effective than finger-stick test strips
THURSDAY | June 18 Headlines:
- CEO: Cisco’s purpose now is to ‘Power an Inclusive Future for All’
- Colin Kaepernick joins board at blogging platform Medium
- Creative Allies offers contest for free logos to black-owned businesses
- Durham-based Renovion poised for ‘pivotal’ lung transplant trial after closing on $8.1M
- Durham-based startup targeting diabetes raises $4.6M, looks for another $10.4M
- Facebook removes 900 accounts linked to white supremacy groups
- Ford promises hands-free driving tech on new electric Mustang
- Going social could be next frontier for streaming services
- Inside startup Shattuck Labs: Changing the face of cancer therapy
- Know your rights: Tips for workers navigating pandemic new normal
- LabCorp’s CMO named among ’50 most influential clinical execs’
- Raleigh startup unveils approach to prevent Alzheimer’s utilizing artificial intelligence
- Veteran pharmaceutical executive, attorney to lead NC Biotech Center board
FRIDAY | June 19 Headlines:
- Apple to re-close some stores, including in NC, due to COVID-19 resurgence
- Are we heading for another bubble? Tech stocks driving Wall Street bulls
- Black owners of Durham startup CourtRoom5 work to ‘democratize’ the courts
- Charlotte-based Honeywell invests $2M to help small businesses during pandemic
- COVID-19 contact tracing app launched by Raleigh tech firm
- Duke analysis: Demographic, socioeconomic factors play key roles in treatment of traumatic brain injuries
- Duke University to open huge 273,000 square foot lab at Parmer RTP
- EPA approves release of genetically modified mosquitos in Florida despite concerns
- Fandango founder to kick off ‘Luminary Talks’ from HQ Raleigh, AU, Innovate Carolina
- Google joins growing number of firms observing Juneteenth with video, songs, events
- Gut check: Triangle’s Metabolon, Canadian firm team for new means to collect samples
- Hiring rose in 46 states in May yet jobless rates still high
- Pandemic grounds RDU expansion plans
- Raleigh-based Change Agent launches diversity-and-inclusion practice
- Tech Today: New SAS cloud effort; electric Volvo truck; Qorvo faster Wi-Fi; Lenovo adds server + HexaTech, Paraxel news
- Twitter, Facebook take more steps against Trump posts