As Monday morning rolls in, we’re providing TechWire readers with a quick recap of the past week’s news headlines.
Notable local news stories from last week included: Raleigh saw more than 10,600 tech job openings posted in January, a 22.5% increase year-over-year; RTP-based G1 Therapeutics secured Food and Drug Administration approval for its cancer drug; Cary-based Epic Games expanded its antitrust fight with Apple to Europe; Durham life science firm Humacyte is the latest company following the SPAC trend (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies) to go public; South Carolina angel investment group VentureSouth invested $5.2 million in 14 North Carolina-based companies in 2020, representing half of the group’s deal flow (here’s why).
Several North Carolina companies secured new funding last week, including Durham-based Pattern Health ($1.5 million), Knightdale-based Substantial Media LLC ($10,000), Durham-based ProcessMaker ($45 million), RTP-based Vestaron ($18 million) and Advanced Chemotherapy Technologies ($2.5 million). Catch more local startup news in our weekly Startup Rewind and Startup Spotlight editions.
And, in national news: The price of Bitcoin soared past $50,000 for the first time, hitting a $1 trillion market cap; IBM pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2030; under new legislation in Australia, the country’s media companies, including Seven West Media and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, are making pay-for-news deals with Google, while Facebook blocked Australians from viewing and sharing news on the platform; 425,000 Walmart workers will receive pay raises of $13 per hour or more; the House Committee on Financial Services called a hearing on late-January’s GameStop trading rally.
Keeping with our Monday “TechWire Rewind” tradition, here’s a look back at 79 local, state and national headlines as reported by WRAL TechWire last week:
MONDAY | Feb. 15 Headlines:
- Bitcoin soars toward $50,000 – is it being driven by a ‘melt up?’
- Considering a SPAC? Here’s advice on how to pick right one for your business
- Deadlines fast approaching for NC IDEA grant programs
- Feb. is far from over – here are 35 statewide events & deadlines to add to your calendar
- First woman, who also is Black and from Africa, to lead WTO promises ‘deep reforms’
- Have questions about COVID-19 vaccination and workplace? Tune in this briefing
- Looking to network? Here’s a guide to 150+ meetups in the Triangle
- March calendar preview: A first look at 76 statewide events, application deadlines coming up
- NC’s new Department of Commerce leader is veteran life science exec, NCSU grad
- Our Startup Guide grows again with more COVID relief funding, agribusiness investor, other resources
- Pay-for-news deal in Australia – Google to pay a reported $23M to media group
- Researchers: Self-sterilizing polymers could combat spread of COVID-19, other diseases
- RTP drug firm G1 secures FDA approval for treatment to prevent chemo damage to bone marrow
- Startup Rewind: Here’s a look back at 18 headlines you may have missed from Feb. 8-12
- Startup Spotlight: Home Lending Pal focuses on borrowers, not lenders
- Streaming wars: ‘Snyder Cut’ of ‘Justice League’ is huge bet for HBO Max (+ watch the new trailer)
- TechWire Rewind: One NC grants; Gilead expands in Triangle; Durham firm’s IPO + 70 more headlines
- Triangle headliners: 51 events & program deadlines wrap up a busy month
- Wake Tech and Amazon partner to train 100,000 US workers in ‘mechatronics’ by 2025
- Who’s hiring in Triangle? Here’s a look at latest job board listings, events, student info & more
TUESDAY | Feb. 16 Headlines:
- ‘A bold step:’ IBM pledges net zero greenhouse emissions by 2030
- After 13 years of trials and tribulations RTP firm G1 wins first FDA approval for cancer drug
- Australia moves ahead with laws forcing Google, Facebook to pay for news
- Bitcoin surges past $50,000 for first time as more investors, companies embrace it
- Chatham officials didn’t pay ransom but still face hefty price from hack
- Duke researchers find possible indicator of Alzheimer’s long before symptoms arise
- FDA grants special designations to Cary startup’s drug that targets developmental disorder in children
- In the LimeLight: District C celebrates 4th year of training students to tackle real-life problems
- In the LimeLight: Substantial Media lands investment from Donald Thompson
- Parler is back: Right-wing friendly social media site returns
- Pattern Health accelerates growth in digital services with new $1.5M funding
- SpaceX launches more Starlink internet satellites but booster rocket fails in return
- Teaching Startup: How to transform a service into a product & avoid a killer mistake
- Tech jobs market in Raleigh is red hot, up more than 20% from 2020
- Was 2020 a crushing year for startups? No – let’s look at the data
- What’s a SPAC, part 4: Watch how a SPAC deal sausage is made
WEDNESDAY | Feb. 17 Headlines:
- ‘A long haul’ from bootstrapping to $45M in funding: The saga of Durham’s no-code ProcessMaker
- Cree stock is a ‘buy’ as electric vehicle market heats up, says Citi
- Donald Thompson: What makes an exceptional CEO? These 3 skills
- Epic Games expands antitrust fight with Apple to Europe in new complaint
- Facebook bans Australians from viewing, sharing news in battle over digital payment laws
- IBM steps up climate commitment again, joining Amazon’s Climate Pledge
- ‘Investing for everyone’ Robinhood is in Washington’s crosshairs – here’s why
- Joint NCSU-UNC research team develops new tech to combat deadly blood disorder
- Newspaper publisher Tribune agrees to $630M sale to hedge fund
- North Carolina adds more than 3,000 life science jobs despite pandemic, report says
- Pratt School of Engineering dean accepts post at Emory University
- RTP agtech firm Vestaron plants seeds for future growth with $18M round
- Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp strikes a pay-for-news deal with Google
- SPAC craze hits Triangle: Life science firm Humacyte is going public, lands $175M in capital
THURSDAY | Feb. 18 Headlines:
- A blooming success: The rise of Humacyte from humble beginnings to $1.1B valuation
- Attention, Walmart workers: 425,000 of you to receive raises to $13 an hour or more
- Despite pandemic, VentureSouth angels invest $9.2M in 26 startups including 14 from NC
- Digital divide down under: Google, Facebook take different paths in pay-for-news battle
- Flight training at Raleigh Exec Jetport offers opportunities for those interested in aviation
- GameStop, cryptocurrency, SPACs are reminders to investors: Balance your portfolio
- How could universities better support students in times of COVID? NCSU, NC A&T researchers to find out
- How do we ensure equality to digital access for all? This event to tackle the issues
- IBM, Red Hat land deal to help Delta Air Lines fly in the cloud
- NC startups make up more than half of VentureSouth’s deal flow in 2020. Here’s why
- ‘Solid financial results’ says CommScope CEO of latest financials
- SPAC mergers game comes to the Triangle: Get your SPAC scorecard here
- State of our Region: We have opportunities to emerge stronger from pandemic – here’s how
- Steve Case, Triangle execs going to Clubhouse to discuss ‘Why you should invest in Raleigh-Durham startups’
- ‘Strong performance:’ Syneos Health beats expectations on revenue
FRIDAY | Feb. 19 Headlines:
- ‘Better Community Planning & Economic Development’ is focus of upcoming 4-part series
- Fighting COVID with UV light: Raleigh firm, others are disinfecting the air of government, commercial buildings
- How is your brand performing? New tool mines social media, Twitter to find out
- IBM-Red Hat deal with Palantir is big boost for its artificial intelligence, cloud strategy
- IBM reportedly looking to sell or spin off its Watson Health business
- Intel donates $5M to create tech law, policy center at NCCU
- Investors pour $8M into Raleigh medical device startup; its drug delivery tech traces roots to UNC-CH
- Longfellow to build 20-acre ‘ground-up lab project’ in Morrisville
- Our K-shaped recovery: Bosses are very optimistic, millions of workers aren’t
- Pandemic in the workplace: Making sense of COVID-19 vaccination priorities, role of employers
- Red-hot alphabet soup: No letup in IPO, SPAC frenzies
- ‘Roaring Kitty’ goes to Washington – virtually – to talk GameStop stock frenzy
- ‘The Zuckerberg flex:’ Facebook make come to regret its power move in Australia
- Up, up, up … Bitcoins collectively now worth more than $1 trillion
