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: Tech job openings in North Carolina fell to 28,120 last month from 30,000 in October, but big tech firms are still hiring, especially in Raleigh; Raleigh’s Downtown South project added more minority-owned firms as partners, and the Raleigh City Council passed the rezoning proposal on Tuesday; there’s a Triangle connection to the software that was hacked in a massive cyber-espionage campaign targeting U.S. government agencies; NC IDEA awarded $360,000 in grants to eight organizations through its new Black Entrepreneurship Council; Charlotte-based Kryo is merging with Pittsburgh-based Ebb Therapeutics and received $37 million investment from KKR; Morrisville’s The Stitch has been rezoned to include life sciences and lab use; Texas-based Taysha Gene Therapies chose Durham County for a new $75 million manufacturing site, bringing over 200 jobs paying $120,000 on average.
Several local companies secured new funding last week, including Chapel Hill-based Well ($40 million), RTP-based Resilient Biotics ($7.1 million), Durham-based Atsena Therapeutics ($55 million) and Cary-based Flip Factory ($150,000). Read more local startup news in our weekly Startup Rewind edition.
And, in national news: Experts say it will take months for a COVID-19 vaccine to begin reversing the economic damage of the pandemic; the Food and Drug Administration authorized another COVID-19 at-home test, in addition to its recent authorization of LabCorp’s Pixel test; Bitcoin continues to hit record highs; North Carolina and 37 other states brought a lawsuit against Google for alleged anti-competitive conduct; U.S. jobless claims rose to 885,000.
Keeping with our Monday “TechWire Rewind” tradition, here’s a look back at 82 local, state and national headlines as reported by WRAL TechWire last week:
MONDAY | Dec. 14 Headlines:
- Apple launches privacy labels for apps, its Fitness+ service
- Big tech firms are hiring, especially in Raleigh; ‘cloud’ skills a top priority
- Chapel Hill health startup led by ex-Caesar’s CEO raises $40M, lands big Valley VC as investor
- Downtown South project backers to unveil new push, add more minority partners
- Electronic Arts’ big move: Outbidding rival Take-Two for game developer Codemasters
- Events ‘on the horizon’ in January: An early look at next year’s NC tech calendar
- Exec at recently purchased company replaces Liquidia’s CEO
- Hail the robo-taxi: The Zoox from Amazon makes debut
- Huge hack of government agencies has a Triangle connection
- Leading through layoffs: maintaining employee engagement
- Looking for a tech or life science contact in the Triangle? Check out these 155 meetups
- NC headliners: Previewing 30 upcoming webinars & application deadlines to wrap up Dec.
- Need funding? Triangle Startup Guide now features 55 VC & angel investors
- New Downtown South partners at 3 Black-owned firms pledge ‘aggressive outreach’ to win City approval
- North Carolina will need a new secretary of commerce come February
- Oracle joins HQ movers to Texas from Valley, expands work-from-home options for workers
- Startup Rewind: Funding deals, grant winners, IPOs + more news from Dec. 7-13
- TechWire Rewind: Thermo Fisher to expand; new Pendo offices; companies raise cash + more Dec. 7-13 news
- The Halo effect: Amazon unveils AI-on-your-wrist aiming to boost health
- Triangle headliners: 27 events, webinars & program deadlines coming up as 2020 ends
- YouTube, Gmail go down in wide-spread outage; all services back online
TUESDAY | Dec. 15 Headlines:
- Arrival of vaccines won’t mean quick economic recovery, analysts warn
- Black Entrepreneurship Council awards $360,000 in grants to eight groups
- BUILDING1: The benefits of the urban-suburban office
- Crowdfunding 101: Using SEC’s new rules to sell your deal
- FDA authorizes another COVID-19 at-home test; LabCorp’s test already available
- Genetics startup looking for a ‘breakthrough’ offers grants to researchers
- In the LimeLight: Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster names interim executive director
- Nano breakthrough: NCSU technology uses AI to accelerate quantum dot production
- Pornhub removes much of its content following allegations of abuse
- Saying no to Pornhub: Mastercard, Visa, Discover block customers from using site
- Streaming becomes an arms race: Disney, Netflix, others drive up competition – and costs
- Teaching Startup: How startups negotiate with giants and win
- Wake Forest developing nearly 200 acres for monumental, mixed-use tech park
- Will crowdfunding ultimately replace traditional angel, seed round venture capital?
WEDNESDAY | Dec. 16 Headlines:
- A dream deal? KKR pours $37M into merger of Charlotte, Pittsburgh sleep tech firms
- Airbnb suspends 21 listings across Triangle in ‘party house’ crackdown
- Amazon, Shell, Bill Gates back hydrogen-electric startup seeking to power aircraft
- Donald Thompson: How compassionate leadership works in the new world
- Gene therapy startup raises $55M, plans to add jobs in Triangle
- Hillsborough native, UNC graduate helped develop COVID-19 vaccine
- Huge hack of security tech company with Triangle connection brings global scrutiny
- IBM makes another cloud deal, acquiring fintech to boost payment technology
- Kidney drug deal could be worth more than $150M to High Point-based vTv
- Lenovo ramps up internet-of-things offerings with Amazon deal, global solutions partners
- MacKenzie Scott donates $90M to 3 HCBUs in North Carolina
- MacKenzie Scott – ex-wife of Jeff Bezos – donates more than $4B to variety of causes
- NEXTGEN TV Q&A: What it is, how it works, what viewers will receive, much more
- Raleigh City Council passes rezoning proposal for Downtown South
- Spotify’s embrace of podcasts, high-profile talent is a winner, says Wall Street
- The Stitch – former Morrisville Outlet Mall – is rezoned to permit life science, research lab use
- Triangle animal health startup raises $7.1M, attracts 18 investors
- WRAL, WRAZ launch next generation in TV broadcasting across Triangle
- Will Biden pick new Fed chief? Here’s why he may stick with Trump choice
- Will CEOs mandate employees to take vaccines? 72% in survey are open to idea
- Wind farm off Outer Banks could create hundreds of jobs
THURSDAY | Dec. 17 Headlines:
- Airbnb ‘party house’ crackdown isn’t just in Triangle: Charlotte, Triad properties also banned
- Epic Games may secure another big ally – Facebook – in Apple lawsuit
- Facebook challenges Apple over new consumer data privacy rules
- IBM’s CEO – the architect of $32B Red Hat deal – is Big Blue’s next chair
- In the LimeLight: Aspiring coders from underserved areas in NC make a virtual trip to Google HQ
- Jobs paying nearly $120,000 coming to Durham County in biotech expansion
- Landing of $75M expansion of Texas-based Taysha adds to Triangle’s growing gene therapy hub
- North Carolina joins 37 other states in filing anticompetitive lawsuit against Google
- Pediatric testing platform is producing accolades for Durham startup Baebies
- Raleigh No. 1 again – this time as best city for ease of doing business
- Safe haven? Bitcoin soars past $20,000 but there’s ‘a lot more runway to go’
- So you want to crowdfund? Be sure to check out new SEC marketing, demo, pitch guidelines
- Streaming wars: Roku’s 100M plus users now have access to HBO Max
- Unemployment picture worsens – another 885,000 file for jobless benefits
- Will NC sue Google for ‘anti-competitive conduct?’ Ten other states already have
FRIDAY | Dec. 18 Headlines:
- Duke’s Singapore med school spinout has unique cancer immunotherapy
- Flip Factory App raises funds to go beyond house-flipping
- Futuristic robot dog does everything a live dog can except shed
- Hack against US is ‘grave’ threat, cybersecurity agency says
- NCSU Economist: Will these seven predictions for 2021 come true?
- States making bold new legal claims in 2 Google lawsuits
- US blacklists top Chinese chipmaker, alleging military ties
- Zoom, Google Meet, drop free user limits for the holidays
- With Trump silent, reprisals for hacks may fall to Biden
