Amazon’s newest Alexa accelerator cohort shows how voice apps and business models are maturing
Amazon’s Alexa Accelerator is up and running for the third consecutive year as another batch of early stage startups test the boundaries of voice technology. Nine startups from across the country will spend the next three months at the Techstars Seattle office, building their companies and finding unique ways to incorporate Alexa, Amazon’s artificial intelligence […]
UH launches $2M research fund to commercialize new technologies
The University of Houston System has launched a $2 million research fund to help faculty commercialize new technologies. The Chancellor’s Technology Bridging Fund announced Thursday will offer grants to help faculty build prototypes or test their technology under industry-relevant conditions — stages of development that don’t typically receive basic research funding. “The Technology Bridging Fund will fill […]
Startup Investment to Keep Soaring After Record Year – WSJ
Investment in closely held technology companies is set to keep rising after hitting a record last year, as more funds that have traditionally invested in public markets chase the lofty returns being generated by startups, according to a new report. A survey of 95 institutional and public equities investors by data firm PitchBook showed that […]
CIE Launches a Proven Program to Propel Startup Success by Diane Durance
The UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) has unveiled a new mentor program designed to accelerate the success of local entrepreneurs. The program started nine months ago with a behind-the-scenes effort to recruit mentors, develop processes and operating guidelines, and test the service with four early stage ventures. The CIE program was inspired by […]
MIT Solve launches an Innovation Fund to back impact startups
As the executive director of MIT Solve, a tech incubator launched in 2016 that sources and supports solutions to global challenges, Alex Amouyel has watched the social-impact innovation landscape evolve significantly in the last three years. Each year, Solve issues a set of four challenges that cover sustainability, health, economics, and education. Past challenges have asked questions like: How can […]
UI, OSF research partnership on medical innovations getting $50 million boost
A new process for “bioprinting” individualized human heart models, to help surgeons practice for heart operations. A virtual-reality training program for intubations, now being used by medical institutions across the U.S. and abroad. A simulator to train medical professionals how to connect patients to machines that pump and oxygenate blood outside the body when the […]
CIT GAP Funds Makes Follow-On Investment in 4stay to Support Rapid Growth
The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced that CIT GAP Funds has made a follow-on investment in Arlington, Va.-based 4stay, an online marketplace for student housing that connects students, interns, and professionals with local hosts, roommates, and room providers. Since the GAP Funds’ original investment in late 2018, 4stay’s management team has doubled down on their efforts […]