As Monday morning rolls in, we’re providing TechWire readers with a quick recap of the past week’s news headlines.
Hot stories for July 15-20 included: Charlotte’s fast-growing “unicorn” startup AvidXchange is doubling its headquarters and increasing its workforce by a third; announcing management changes, Durham VC firm Pappas Capital is moving to the next phase of its evolution; Is there potential for a hyperloop system in the Triangle? Check out our Q&A with a top exec at Virgin Hyperloop One.
And in national news: Facebook underwent two days of congressional hearings about its new cryptocurrency; IBM and AT&T announce a “strategic alliance” reportedly worth billions of dollars; Amazon’s Prime Day topped Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
- Check out TechWire’s comprehensive resource package for Triangle startups.
Here’s a look back at 79 local, state and national headlines as reported by WRAL TechWire last week:
MONDAY July 15 Headlines:
- Automotive Intelligence Summit is ‘meeting of minds’ about changing industry
- Blue Cross Blue Shield, Amerigroup adding ‘at least’ 350 jobs for new Medicaid plan
- Christmas in July: Amazon, Target, Walmart, eBay offering deal days
- Codebreaker, computing pioneer Alan Turing to be ‘face’ of British 50 pound note
- Delivery now or later? Your next-day demands come at an environmental cost
- Durham firm developing drugs for hypertension raises $3.2M in debt
- Here’s your guide to more than 100 meetups across Triangle
- How to make Durham-to-Chapel Hill a 10-minute commute? Think hyperloop
- July headliners: 36 conferences, events & socials across NC
- New electoral systems use old software, making 2020 elections ripe for hacking
- On NC event horizon: Drone Summit, DEI Conference + more in August
- Raleigh startup Coworks builds software to power workspaces of the future
- TechWire 81 headline rewind: State of VC; tech pay; WeWork expands; IBM-Red Hat deal + more
- Triangle event headliners: 45 events & program deadlines in July
- Triangle Startup Guide expands with more listings + give us feedback
- Q&A: Virgin Hyperloop exec talks future of transportation (think pods) in Triangle (+ video)
TUESDAY July 16 Headlines:
- A movable feast: New NC group targeting female founders to host dinners around US
- Charlotte-based Vertigo Media adds another $5.8M to its coffers
- Facebook faces off with politicos over cryptocurrency plans
- High Point firm developing treatments for Alzheimer’s, diabetes, raises $4M
- On the heels of Red Hat deal, IBM lands AT&T contract worth ‘billions’
- Pappas Capital: Founder Art Pappas is not retiring
- Pappas Capital promotes 2 members in ‘next phase’ of VC firm’s ‘evolution’
- PPD group launches major dementia study, to include 30,000 people
- Raleigh’s K4Connect expands into New Jersey with its senior living technology
- RTP-based SmartSky raises additional $25.6M ahead of its in-flight network launch
- Shopping binge: Retailers large, small cash in on lure of Amazon’s Prime Day
- Under political attack, Facebook exec defends its cryptocurrency
- Warehouse of the future? Lenovo, Microsoft, Nvidia unveil ‘Digital Distribution Center’
WEDNESDAY July 17 Headlines:
- Amazon: 2-day Prime event tops Black Friday-Cyber Monday sales
- AT&T and Microsoft sign $2 billion cloud deal
- Bill Gates no longer No. 2 on billionaires’ list behind Bezos
- Earth to moon: How NCSU helped make giant leap for mankind possible 50 years ago
- Elon Musk’s Neuralink is making implants to link the brain with smartphone
- Fintech startup nCino expands with acquisition, office in Canada
- IBM posts better-than-expected Q2 earnings, excludes Red Hat impact
- In good taste? IBM researchers create AI-assisted e-tongue
- In push for diversity, Apple unveils disability-themed emojis
- Jay Bigelow: Will your startup pass the ‘fundability assessment’?
- Lawmakers grill Big Tech over lack of competition, Facebook’s digital currency
- Morrisville’s Root Bioscience launches new line of CBD products
- Report: Triangle is a leader in US for clinical trials with boost from university research
- ‘Sex Tech’ joins Consumer Electronics Show along with tougher dress code, more diversity
- Study finds link between amount of screen time, depression in young people
- Winston-Salem’s bid to become a biotech center draws attention of NY Times
THURSDAY July 18 Headlines:
- Amid FaceApp buzz, politicos grill Facebook while EU launches Amazon probe
- Bayer Crop Science makes official moving of jobs from RTP but BASF deal has lessened impact
- Compared to most mid-size U.S. cities, RTP is ‘lucky’ to have global identity: Brookings expert
- Durham’s Precision BioSciences opens manufacturing facility for geneome-edited products
- Lenovo’s foldable future: Patent application offers preview
- Microsoft: Foreign government hackers still targeting political campaigns
- Netflix stock plunges 12% after huge miss on subscriber growth expectations
- NCSU researchers’ new tool aims to take risk out of logistics for military deployments
- Report: Clean energy sector grows 3.5% to 110,000 jobs in NC
- Startup execs’ summer school: ‘Becoming an Investor-Ready Entrepreneur’ event
- Podcast: Tech on Mainstreet explores technology’s influence on the small business community
- Verizon rolls out 5G hotspot; no word yet on faster speeds for Triangle, Charlotte
- WakeMed goes live with ‘wayfinding’ app for directions, parking, medical records, much more
FRIDAY July 19 Headlines:
- Apex startup Whitestar, a spinout from robotics firm, raises $400,000 in equity
- Are dollar stores bad for poor Americans? Critics say yes, seek to limit growth
- ‘Breakout year:’ Microsoft soars with cloud revenues driving growth
- Chief medical officer at HIV-focused ViiV Healthcare is stepping down
- Durham startup Phononic begins mass production of ‘sustainable’ freezers, refrigerators
- Former Wells Fargo economist John Silvia joins Charlotte investment firm
- Fortnite offering $1M in prize pool for first Xbox event
- Headlines: IBM’s cloud growth?; Google gaming; YouTube video-audio toggling; AT&T-Verizon deal; Facebook & banking
- Interactive driving range to open in Raleigh later this summer
- Report: WeWork co-founder cashes out on more than $700M from company
- Streaming fatigue? Blip in Netflix growth could be warning sign
- Study: Crackdown on e-cigarettes might drive more cigarette smoking
- Triangle investor pays tribute to Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 with song ‘The Eagle Has Landed’
- UNC professor’s high-tech robot promises earlier detection of lung cancer
- Unicorn AvidXchange to double its HQ in Charlotte
- Union: AT&T workers in NC, southeast planning to strike if no new contract
Weekend Headlines:
- Big data breach to cost Equifax $700M, report says
- How green is good: 10 benefits trees provide for people
- Report: Google to pay big fine for YouTube handling of kids’ information
- Want to help beat the heat? Grow more, help save trees
- Will Facebook fight court decision allowing access to private social media postings in murder trial?
