As Monday morning rolls in, we’re providing TechWire readers with a quick recap of the past week’s news headlines.
The coronavirus pandemic continued to dominate news coverage last week. Moody’s Analytics says Durham-Chapel Hill is among the top cities to make a “dynamic recovery” from COVID-19; Nationwide is closing its Raleigh office and having employees work from home; a Durham company designed an office space that’s compliant with COVID-19 social distancing measures; NC startups may be cash-strapped, but they’re finding a lifeline through crowdfunding; LabCorp launched a “return to work” service for employers; CBRE predicts most job losses will be recovered by the end of 2021; 70% of small businesses report negative sales impact. Also, check out our two–part series on how COVID-19 is impacting local real estate markets.
In non-COVID news: Eli Lilly picked a former GSK campus in RTP for its $474 million manufacturing plant; Charlotte Pipe and Foundry is relocating its plant to Stanley County after receiving $15 million in incentives; UNC-Chapel Hill received an $11 million gift to grow its undergraduate business program by 50%; here’s a sneak peek inside the new high-tech shooting center coming to Raleigh; NC IDEA named the winners of its SEED grant program; NC TECH is hosting a virtual job fair with hundreds of opportunities; Amazon is investing $28 million into its new NC distribution center.
As part of TechWire’s new “Startup Monday” coverage, we recently launched a new column that summarizes local startup news coverage over the past week. Read last week’s edition here.
- Check out TechWire’s comprehensive resource package for Triangle startups.
And, in national news: Elon Musk opened up his Tesla factory against Alameda County rules; Goldman Sachs predicts that the U.S. unemployment rate will peak at 25%; a new World Economic Forum report says the U.S. is falling behind on other countries in the move to clean energy; the New York Stock Exchange will reopen the trading floor later this month.
Keeping with our Monday tradition, here’s a look back at 67 local, state and national headlines as reported by WRAL TechWire last week:
MONDAY | May 11 Headlines:
- Durham-Chapel Hill will make ‘among most dynamic recoveries’ from pandemic, study says
- Headliners across NC: 47 events & deadlines coming up in May
- NC State junior creates homeschooling website for parents
- New startup accelerator looking for candidates in Triangle, offering $50K investments
- On the horizon: 68 events across NC to add to your June calendar
- Our Triangle Startup Guide adds more funding resources for entrepreneurs, emerging companies
- Raleigh drug firm BDSI removes its CEO, names interim replacement
- Startup Rewind: Recapping nearly 30 headlines about new, emerging ventures in NC from May 4-10
- TechWire rewind: Your chance to catch up on 83 headlines from May 4-10
- The Skinny: Welcome to TechWire’s Startup Monday
- Triangle headliners: 59 noteworthy events & deadlines this month
- Your guide to Triangle meetups: More than 100 from which to choose
TUESDAY | May 12 Headlines:
- As more execs eye work-from-home, Nationwide embraces telework, will close Raleigh office
- Bitcoin ‘halving’ could boost its price as more investors flock to cryptocurrencies
- Charlotte Pipe gets $15M in incentives to build new facility in Stanly County, creating 400 jobs
- Durham firm designs a post-pandemic office with emphasis on social distancing
- Eli Lilly picks former GSK campus in RTP for $474M manufacturing plant
- In days of COVID-19, 2 Triangle startups to demo contact tracing capabilities
- Inspired by cheetahs, researchers design new generation of ‘soft’ robots (w/video)
- Launch Chapel Hill’s latest cohort (13) to exit with virtual pitches – here’s a look
- Musk reopens Tesla plant despite government orders, ready to be arrested
- NC medical software startup targets eye disorders, plans to locate in RTP
- Neu Concepts founders bootstrap a Durham company now helping to reimagine the workplace
- Twitter will alert users about disputed, misleading COVID-19 claims
- UNC Kenan-Flagler gets $11M gift to grow business program by 50%
WEDNESDAY | May 13 Headlines:
- 25% unemployment – that’s new forecast from Goldman Sachs
- Coronavirus & real estate: ‘We had no idea what to expect,’ exec says – but sales land virtual boost
- Current COVID-19 testing capacity can support reopening of economy, says LabCorp CEO
- Duke engineers develop inexpensive means of locating radio waves for possible use in cameras
- Durham’s Kriya Therapuetics lands $80M to advance gene therapies for diabetes, severe obesity
- Epic Games gives peek at new, ‘nearly photorealistic’ Unreal Engine 5
- Epic Online Services gives developers access to Fortnite-style cross-play and more — for free
- Guest opinion: Could the pandemic become the Great American Equalizer?
- ‘iBuyers’ – the instant home buyers – coming back in Triangle after COVID-19 blows
- Honey of a defense? UNC-Greensboro developing spray to help bees fight mites
- NetApp, with a large presence in Triangle, taps Microsoft veteran as new president
- Pandemic creates economic chaos for Gen Z – and another setback for millennials
- Sneak peek: Inside the new high-tech shooting center coming to Raleigh
- Streaming wars: Quibi starts slowly but CEO Whitman remains confident
- Uber reportedly hungers for Grubhub – and more food delivery consolidation may be coming
THURSDAY |May 14 Headlines:
- Amazon to invest $28M, to create 200 jobs at new NC distribution center
- Analysis: Eccentric, outspoken, brilliant – but has Elon Musk gone over the edge?
- Duke Energy, City of Charlotte team up for renewable power agreement
- Going ‘virtual’ for job fair produces benefits for job seekers, employers, says NC Tech CEO
- Going virtual: SAS reboots annual Global Forum to be ‘free and live streaming’
- In search for cash, startups find lifelines through crowdfunding, kickstarter
- LabCorp launches ‘return to work’ service for employers, unveils COVID-19 antibody test
- Looking for work? Virtual jobs fair to offer hundreds of opportunities
- Most job losses to be recovered by end of 2021, says new report
- NC IDEA picks six startups from across the state for $50,000 grants
- NC startups running out of cash? If not now, maybe later as pandemic drags on
- NCSU: Polymer composite could serve as lighter, non-toxic radiation shielding
- Report: US is falling further behind in race for clean energy
FRIDAY | May 15 Headlines:
- 21 life science & fintech startups to close out 3-part Venture Connect Online program
- CommScope lands new exec, wins injunction against rival over patents
- Controversial virus research seen both as groundbreaking, reckless
- COVID-19 fallout: Life gets even harder for workers with disabilities
- Court resurrects lawsuit claiming IBM stiffs its own salespeople on commission
- Decoding the worst quarter in economic history – a UNC finance professor’s analysis
- Diagnosed with COVID-19 and recovered? Here’s a chance to contribute to pandemic fight
- Duke MEDx seeks proposals for $50K grants to fund faculty research projects
- Duke researchers: Virtual reality could improve cardiovascular interventions (+ watch video)
- Live sports are mostly gone, but online betting is still big business
- NC startup teams with ZoomInfo to get millions displaced ‘back to work’
- Report: 70% of small businesses hit by falling sales, demand for credit surges
- Report: Nearly 40% of lower income households suffer job losses in pandemic
- Wall Street returning to normal? NYSE to allow some brokers back on trading floor
