Investing in the Midwest: opportunities abound

J.D. Vance, author of the bestseller Hillbilly Elegy, plans to move back to his native Ohio, in part to find venture capital opportunities in the area where he grew up. Is it worth following Vance into the Midwestern capital market? The Midwest has a lot to offer: A lower cost of living for workers, plenty […]

Oxford University’s Spybiotech raises £4m in seed funding to tackle pandemics

An Oxford University company developing a biological superglue to tackle diseases and pandemics has won £4m of early-stage backing from Google’s venture capital arm GV and Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), allowing it to spin out into an independent business. Spybiotech has developed a molecular superglue which it believes can be used to create vaccines more quickly […]

Dublin City University IoT sensor firm AmbiSense gets €1m from Atlantic Bridge Fund in Ireland

Founded as a research project within Dublin City University (DCU) in 2008, AmbiSense went on to become an Enterprise Ireland High Potential Start-Up in 2014, led by co-founders Stephen McNulty, Dr Fiachra Collins and Prof Dermot Diamond. Working within the booming field of the internet of things (IoT), the company designs and manufactures low-cost, smart, solar-powered, gas […]

Facebook Pioneer’s $75 Million Gift to UCSD Is Largest from a Graduate 

Facebook pioneer Taner Halicioglu is donating $75 million to his alma mater UC San Diego to jump start a $2 billion fundraising campaign. Halicioglu joined Facebook in 2004 and managed operations through its first million users. He now leads the Seed San Diego venture fund while lecturing at the university. His gift, announced Saturday night at a gala […]

DOD’s $250 million rapid innovation fund

The Pentagon will begin taking submissions for its Rapid Innovation Fund (RIF) at the end of the month, according to a March 17 announcement. The fund is used to quickly test and integrate innovative technologies that solve critical national security needs. Mature prototypes may receive up to $3 million and will have up to two years to complete […]

Upside Biotechnologies raises $2.3 m in funding round

Upside Biotechnologies, a regenerative medicine start-up, said it has successfully raised $2.3 million in its Series A funding round. The Auckland-based company is developing an advanced, world-class skin replacement treatment for patients suffering major burns. The capital raised will be used to complete development of the product, demonstrate proof of concept, ready the product for […]

Selena Gomez establishes new fund for Lupus Research at University of Southern California

People magazine reports that Selena recently made a donation to the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine to establish the Selena Gomez Fund for Lupus Research.  Selena revealed in 2015 that she suffered from the autoimmune disease, and even underwent chemotherapy as part of her treatment. In a statement, the singer says, “I […]

Remita Seed Fund Invests N3m In 3 Nigerian Startups 

Remita Seed Fund, a venture capital arm of SystemSpecs, leading financial technology firm and owner of Remita, has given financial support of N3 million to three technology startups. Each of the companies received N1 million to accelerate their venture. The beneficiaries, Temie Giwa-Tubosun of LifeBank Technology and Logistics Ltd;  Damilare Oguneye of Lasiko Ltd; and […]