As Monday morning rolls in, we’re providing TechWire readers with a quick recap of the past week’s news headlines.
Notable news stories from last week included: Wilmington’s nCino saw shares rise by 195% after its debut on the stock market; Raleigh’s Global Data Consortium landed a partnership with Experian and is growing its worldwide footprint – here’s our Q&A with cofounder and CEO Bill Spruill; read our exclusive Q&A with Blue Cross NC’s new CEO, Tunde Sotunde; NC startups raised $178 million in Q2, led by Durham and Chapel Hill companies; NC revoked an incentive agreement with Deutsche Bank over Cary job cuts; biotech startup bioMason is getting a new HQ in RTP, planning a 50% boost to its workforce; GoTriangle pitched a new freeway-based transit network after last year’s failed Durham-Orange light rail project.
Several NC companies landed new funding last week, including Cary-based ProAxion ($95,000), RTP-based Locus Biosciences ($12.5 million), Chapel Hill-based Sisu Pharma ($1.7 million), Raleigh-based Next Century Spirits ($6 million), Durham-based Arbiom ($10 million) and Raleigh-headquartered Verona Pharma ($200 million).
And, in national news: China’s economy is rebounding from pandemic losses; the Twitter accounts of several celebrities, CEOs and politicians were breached in a major hack; the Federal Reserve is expanding its Main Street Lending Program to nonprofits; Russian hackers allegedly tried to steal private research about coronavirus vaccines.
Keeping with our Monday “TechWire Rewind” tradition, here’s a look back at 73 local, state and national headlines as reported by WRAL TechWire last week:
MONDAY | July 13 Headlines:
- August event lineup: Transportation & Infrastructure Summit, Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference + more across NC
- Cary-based IoT startup ProAxion raises roughly $95K in debt
- Chapel Hill-based TrueBridge Capital Partners’ raises $600M Fund VI
- Charlotte’s cbdMD seeks patent for new cannabidiol technologies
- Durham’s Modern Energy adds another $30M to its coffers, bringing its total to $72.7M
- Exclusive Q&A: Blue Cross’ new CEO Dr. Tunde Sotunde talks healthcare, his Nigerian roots and racial inequality
- July headliners, part I: 52 webinars & events coming up in the Triangle
- July headliners, part II: 38 events & webinars happening across NC this month
- NC State team using ‘friendly’ fungi to boost crop resilience
- ‘Recoding the Boys Club’: UNC students’ book colab explores women in politech
- Roundup: 145 tech and startup meetups in the Triangle
- Stocks climb worldwide as CEOs prepare latest report cards
- TechWire rewind: COVID-19’s impact on ecommerce; Epic Games lands $250M from Sony; startups across NC raise cash
- Triangle Startup Guide updates: More COVID-19 resources + more help for local startups
TUESDAY | July 14 Headlines:
- Electric vehicle manufacturer Fisker to go public in $2.9B deal
- Flush with $3.5M and new Experian partnership, Raleigh’s Global Data expands worldwide footprint
- Google Fiber expanding again, this time in Utah
- Google internet balloon passes through Triangle
- Iqvia teams with AstraZeneca for COVID-19 vaccine project
- nCino ups share price again, looks to begin trading Tuesday
- NC startups raise $178M despite pandemic; Durham-Chapel Hill firms lead the way
- Peacock streaming service launches Wednesday – here’s what you need to know
- Red Storm Entertainment parent Ubisoft shakes up leadership after ‘toxic’ behavior
- Stage fright hurting tech job candidates in interviews, says NCSU-Microsoft study
- Tech firm CEO resigns after racial rant against Asian-American family
- Talk about a pop – Wilmington’s nCino stock rockets 195% in IPO
- UNC doctor who beat COVID-19 creates app to help frontline workers deal with pandemic
WEDNESDAY | July 15 Headlines:
- Amazon unveils smart shopping cart that knows what you’re buying
- Apple prevails in fight with EU over $15B tax dispute
- Despite shift to remote working, Bandwidth’s CEO remains committed to new $103M HQ
- Exclusive Q&A: Global Data’s Bill Spruill talks about 9-year battle to build an international company
- Guest opinion: Responding to COVID-19 economics, local governments must protect residents and small businesses
- Nucleaus co-founders find a professional and personal ‘center’ in Wake Forest
- It’s OK not to be OK: Leading and succeeding in an era of uncertainty
- NC halts incentives to Deutsche Bank after hundreds of job cuts in Cary
- Report: Agriculture, agtech remain crucial to North Carolina’s economy
- RTP gene editing startup Locus Biosciences lands $12.5M from 31 investors
- Survey: 71% of employees say working from home is causing physical harm
- UNC-Chapel Hill scores $433,000 grant to speed up COVID-19 research
- With plans to boost workforce by 50%, bioMason secures new HQ in RTP
THURSDAY | July 16 Headlines:
- After failed light rail project, GoTriangle pitches new ‘FAST’ street, freeway-based network
- Chapel Hill cancer drug startup Sisu Pharma raises $1.7M, wants $2.3M more
- Check those Tweets: Some of world’s biggest personalities are hacked
- China’s economy is rebounding from pandemic – a good sign for US, other countries?
- Durham wood-to-food startup Arbiom raises $10M
- FCC approves ‘988’ as number to reach National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
- Gizmo taproom opens Chapel Hill location in former Rathskeller space
- Hear all about it: Apple to launch daily news podcast
- IBM, Verizon team up for 5G effort aiming to accelerate business solutions
- Paid to protest? Raleigh’s Bandwidth offers employees time off to hit picket lines
- Privacy advocates cheer as EU court strikes down data sharing agreement with US
- Raleigh’s Global Data moves $3M to bolster minority-owned bank
- Raleigh startup Next Century Spirits closes on $6M funding round
- UNC analysis: How COVID-19 relief package fell short – and ways to make next package better
FRIDAY | July 17 Headlines:
- Cisco fires ‘handful’ of employees for racial comments: Bloomberg
- Durham-based Bioventus invests $15M in Israeli firm, has option to buy it
- Durham entrepreneur Farad Ali secures majority stake in $150M Texas firm
- Federal Reserve expands lending program to nonprofit groups
- Here’s a silver lining in the cloud of COVID-19: Hard times are periods of great innovation
- Insightsoftware makes 13th acquisition in 2 years, buying West Coast firm
- Netflix news: Stock tumbles on growth projection, names co-CEO
- Raleigh consulting firm helps families set up ‘virtual classrooms’ at home
- Report: US must take concrete steps to protect status as global biotech competitiveness
- Russia’s Cozy Bear hackers trying to hack COVID-19 vaccine research, governments charge
- Startup profiles: Who are 6 emerging firms showcasing at NC TECH conference?
- Study: Raleigh-Durham ranks 10th among metros as hub for ‘Tech Talent’
- Verona Pharma, which has US headquarters in Raleigh, raises $200M
Weekend Reading:
- Analyst: A tech ‘Cold War’ with China could cost businesses $3.5 trillion
- COVID-19 is driving IBM, IT industry to deliver faster ‘edge’ computing
- Earth first: New products from electric SUV to paper bottles reflect sustainability trend
- IBM strikes multi-year alliance with EY; one goal is to boost Red Hat cloud
- North Carolina joins 15-state coalition seeking to jump-start transition to electric trucks
- The Honeywell transition: From quantum computing to making masks
