In a roundup of Triangle tech news as reported by other media outlets:

  • An ex-Army Ranger is building a promising startup
  • Moogfest wants financial support from Durham
  • Arecap of the recent TEDx event in Raleigh
  • A Boston firm lands backing from LabCorp

The details:

  • Former Ranger Nick Black raises $750,000 for inKind

Lauren K. Ohnesorge of the Triangle Business Journal reports that Army veteran and former Ranger is building a promising startup in Durham called inKind, which recently raised $750,000.

InKind is developing a free software platform, created to help nonprofits “make more personal connections with donors,” she reports.

“Put simply, it’s creating a wish list. Nonprofits highlight what they need, then you, the donor, can make a purchase through the website. But it’s actually a lot more complicated, an idea honed from his first company, a nonprofit he founded when he first got out of the service, Stop Soldier Suicide.”

​By the way, Black is a graduate of UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Read more at:

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/blog/techflash/2016/04/army-ranger-turned-entrepreneur-in-durham-to.html

  • Moogfest pitches Durham City Council, county for $125,000

Lauren Horsch of the Herald Sun reports that Moogfest is seeking $125,000 to help underwrite the cost of the May 19-22 event it’s bringing to the Bull City.

“The newest festival calling Durham home is less than two months away and organizers are finalizing locations and line-ups — and asking the city and county for cash,” she reports.

Read more at:

http://www.heraldsun.com/business/moogfest-pitches-durham-city-council-for-funding/article_91aa8946-f2f1-11e5-9913-5ba62e28f744.html

  • 8 lessons from TEDxRaleigh’s wonderlusting presenters

Caitlin Grimes reported on TEDx for ExitEvent:

“There were laughs, tears, standing ovations and many a motivational quote during a series of lightning talks Saturday, on what was deemed by Raleigh City Council to be the official TEDx Raleigh Day.

“More than 700 people attended the event either live at the newly renovated Nash Hall or at a livestream location, and the audience was diverse, with both families and those like myself who braved the event alone. Our expectations were high, as many of us had attended previous TEDx events or watched talks online, but the day didn’t disappoint. One attendee told me she wasn’t just “showing up to something, but to become a part of something”.

“I found myself with tears in my eyes at the close of numerous presentations, and I walked away with some lessons and insights that I found worthy of sharing with our audience here at ExitEvent.”

Read the full story at:

http://exitevent.com/article/8-lessons-from-TEDxRaleigh-160321

  • ​LabCorp backs Boston-based Emulate

Burlington-based LabCorp is among the investors in Emulate, a Massachusetts-based startup focusing on microchip systems to simulate organs and diseases for testing.

xXonomoy reports that Emulate “has raised a $28 million Series B round. That means the Cambridge, MA-based startup has raised $40 million in equity funding since it was spun out of Harvard University’s Wyss Institute two years ago, and it continues a quick ascent in what is a tough, increasingly competitive field. Emulate president Geraldine Hamilton says the company now has several partners—it’s only been able to publicly disclose two, pharmaceutical companies Merck and Johnson & Johnson—and will use the cash to grow its ranks from 40 employees to 85 by the end of the year.”

Read the details at:

Emulate Gets $28M to Roll Out “Plug and Play” Organ-on-Chip Tech