As Monday morning rolls in, we’re providing TechWire readers with a quick recap of the past week’s news headlines.
Last week, we continued our series of stories on how local African American tech leaders are demanding change in the wake of George Floyd’s death: Last week, the series interviewed Johnny Hackett of #BlackDollarNC, Katie Gailes of Wake Tech’s Entrepreneurship Initiatives, Creative Allies CEO Amie Thompson and Karen LeVert of Pappas Capital.
We also continued our ‘new normal’ series about how the local startup community is adapting to COVID-19: Read about the response from Chapel Hill’s coworking scene and the Triangle’s universities.
In other news: NC startups had their second-best year in 2019, raising $1.5 billion; local startup BioMedInnovations secured FDA emergency use authorization for its low-cost ventilator and is partnering with NASCAR teams to build components; global biotherapeutics firm Grifols is investing over $350 million to build a blood plasma facility in Clayton – the company is also producing a COVID-19 treatment at the campus; European crop protection firm Biotalys NV picked RTP for its U.S. headquarters; two new research reports indicate that the economic outlook for the Triangle is strong despite the pandemic; more furloughs, buyouts and layoffs could be in the future, but 61% of businesses have kept all workers and pay the same in the pandemic, according to a new survey.
- Check out TechWire’s comprehensive resource package for Triangle startups.
As part of TechWire’s new “Startup Monday” segment, we recently launched a column that summarizes local startup news coverage over the past week. Read last week’s edition here.
And, in national news: Another wave of COVID-19 cases poses a huge risk to the still-recovering economy; tech stocks drove the Nasdaq above 10,000 for the first time ever; IBM is dropping its facial recognition service in a call for police reform; the U.S. is officially in a recession; Amazon and Microsoft banned police use of facial recognition technology; the Federal Reserve vowed to maintain its stimulus plan and revamped its loan program; GrubHub is being acquired by Europe-based Just Eat Takeaway in a $7.3 billion deal.
Keeping with our Monday tradition, here’s a look back at 71 local, state and national headlines as reported by WRAL TechWire last week:
MONDAY | June 8 Headlines:
- Airbnb: Bookings surge, Americans ready to travel again
- #BlackDollarNC founder: ‘We don’t want another George Floyd case in Raleigh’
- Duke, NCSU, Triangle universities join UNC in adapting startup programs for ‘new normal’
- In Chapel Hill, new normal means more emphasis on virtual world, coworking
- July calendar preview: IoT Playbook Forum, DIG SOUTH Tech Summit + more upcoming events
- Meetup guide: Here’s a list of 144 tech groups across the Triangle
- NC headliners: 63 webinars, meetups & other events happening statewide in June
- ‘Reboot, Recover, Rebuild’: Wake Tech launches program to assist community recovery
- Report: AstraZeneca approaches Gilead about possible merger
- Report: NC entrepreneurial companies raise $1.5B in 2019 – 2nd best ever total
- Second COVID-19 wave poses huge risk to recovering economy, business survey finds
- Startup Rewind: A look back at 23 headline-making NC stories from June 1-7
- TechWire rewind: African American tech leaders speak out; GRAIL’s Durham expansion; 8 startups raise cash + 70 other headlines
- Triangle headliners: Previewing 71 local events & program deadlines this month
- Triangle Startup Guide continues to grow, adding more COVID-19 resources
- Volcanic-glass spray shows promise in controlling mosquitoes: NCSU study
TUESDAY | June 9 Headlines:
- Duke utilizes telepresence robot for new dimension in remote nursing
- Durham startup Policygenius forms partnership with Fortune 500′ Brighthouse Financial
- Economist: Coronavirus impact will mean many changes in US workforce
- Educator Katie Gailes joins African American tech leaders’ call for action to deal with racial issues
- European crop protection firm picks RTP for US headquarters
- Grifols to invest $356M for new facility in Clayton, adding hundreds of jobs
- IBM quits facial recognition business, calls for police reforms
- New tech from Raleigh firm brings your home phone into wireless world
- Officially, we’re in a recession but bulls keep rumbling on Wall Street
- Security head wants Israel to stop use of phone-snooping app to track virus
- Surging stocks only make sense if you believe these three things
- Tech Today: IQVIA raising $800M; new Marken unit; Logic Soft-Automated Insights deal + other news
WEDNESDAY | June 10 Headlines:
- African American CEO at Creative Allies: ‘Doing something positive’ right now is important for change
- Fed vows to maintain stimulus plans, forecasts drop in unemployment to 9.3% by December
- How to deal with fear, uncertainty and doubt in next crisis? Plan now for the unexpected
- IBM could make another big cloud acquisition: Analyst
- NC startup secures FDA authorization for ‘low cost’ ventilator, brings NASCAR teams onboard
- New app developed at Appalachian State turns users into bee counters
- Pharma manufacturing firm to expand operations in RTP – again
- PPP loans update, changes: Here’s what you need to know
- Raleigh startup to mark end of slavery with African American virtual storytelling series
- RTP-based SmartSky lands $41M, wants $74M more ahead of air-to-ground network launch
- Tech stocks drive Nasdaq above 10,000 for first time, but jobs recovery faces hurdles
- Tech Today: Latest news from Red Hat, Automated Insights, DisposeRx, Truist, BioAgilytix + more
- This ‘man-made’ created recession due to COVID-19 is wierdest ever – here’s why
- UNC researchers’ genome regulator helps unravel a bit more of DNA mystery
THURSDAY | June 11 Headlines:
- Amazon bans police from using its facial recognition strategy – will Microsoft?
- Asheville-based medtech startup using AI raises $200,000 in debt
- Bull City Venture Partners expands team by hiring investment banker as senior associate
- Despite COVID-19, Triangle’s economic future isn’t dimming, say two new reports
- European rival to acquire GrubHub in $7.3B deal
- Get Spiffy launches ‘Disinfection Store’ to meet demand for vehicle cleaning
- Google puts emphasis on people, controls, privacy in new Android release
- Grifols begins manufacturing potential COVID-19 treatment at Clayton facility
- In post-pandemic world, here are six ways to revamp your media relations
- NCSU, Novozymes team up to use surplus ethanol for hand sanitizer
- Need capital? Fed revamps $75B lending program for smaller businesses under COVID-19 plan
- Raleigh, Durham tumble in ‘Best Cities for Gamers’ rankings – COVID-19 is a key reason
- Study: Small businesses owned by minorities, women, immigrants hardest hit by COVID-19
- TopCourt, an online platform for tennis players, launches after raising $1.25M
FRIDAY | June 12 Headlines:
- Markets’ big stumble raises questions about true state of economy
- Microsoft joins IBM, Amazon in restricting use of facial recognition software
- More layoffs, buyouts could be coming as pandemic benefits dry up, warns HR exec
- PRA Health launches new AI-based chatbot for COVID-19 information
- Report: NovaQuest looking to sell NC-based ClinicalInk; RTI is an investor
- Survey: 61% of businesses have kept all workers, not cut pay – so far – in pandemic
- Tech Today: SAS, CommScope, Qorvo, AdWerx, Honeywell, Aerie, Melton are in the news
- ‘The future of biopharma is in females,’ says Durham biotech exec
- UNC researchers create new type of COVID-19 antibody test
- Venture capitalist Karen LeVert joins African American tech leaders’ call for action to deal with racial issues
- Web inventor Berners-Lee calls for new efforts to ‘close the digital divide’
- With plans to keep scaling, Durham’s ArchiveSocial adds to its C-Suite
- Zoom caught in censorship crossfire between China, activists