Find fed buildings at risk of sale

Newsletter for March 5, 2025

I'm loving the spring weather! What's your favorite part of the season? I personally love eating Ekiben in one of the city's parks.

Let's get into today's newsletter: I chatted with a former Baltimore resident, whose firm used to be headquartered in Fells Point, about the process of selling a platform he purchased and remodeled. He originally bought it during the height of the pandemic and divulged how it felt to be an acquiree this time around.

Also, ICYMI: Lots of federal buildings across the country may be sold per a Trump administration plan. Some of those are in the Baltimore region, and we have a list of each one.

— Kaela, Technical.ly lead reporter in Baltimore and DC

PS: I'd love to see you at our annual Builders Conference in Philly this May.

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Joe Mechlinski, Shift’s founder and a best-selling author, sold a tool called Latch to Los Angeles-based AI company Atlas Up.

Latch is an asynchronous video communications platform for hybrid work where leaders can send out messages and employees can give feedback directly to the sender. AI technology also analyzes the feedback to help leaders frame future communications.

This plan has been in place for a while. Mechlinski said his vision since buying Latch and its developing company Avanoo was to be a feature on another company’s platform. Competing as a non-native AI platform would be difficult for raising money and garnering clients.

“I just knew at some point we needed to be part of something that was bigger,” he told me, “and see if we can help increase the probability of its success and the probability of a higher amplitude — a higher impact in the world.”
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Across the country, federal buildings are at risk of being sold as a result of plans coming down from President Donald Trump.

That includes 21 buildings in Maryland, spread mainly throughout Baltimore, Woodlawn and Frederick. We have a breakdown of the buildings selected by the General Services Administration, complete with a searchable table.
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• Gov. Moore is hoping laid-off federal employees come work for the state of Maryland. He announced new resource pages and a virtual information session for career transitions on March 7. The state will also expedite hiring for some positions and help residents get their teaching licenses to move to a career in education. [Washington Post/State of Maryland]

• The women-focused entrepreneurial organization Agora Initiative is hosting a venture competition, and applications to take part are due March 7. [Technical.ly]

• Anne Arundel County government is recovering from a cyber incident of "external origin" that shut down buildings and public services systems. [Patch]

• Local author Amber Ivey wrote a guide for parents on how to introduce AI to kids. [Amber Ivey/Technical.ly]

• Maryland lawmakers are considering a new 2.5% tax on services businesses sell each other in an effort to raise $1 billion and close a budget gap. [Baltimore Banner]

• Nearly 500 employees at the National Institute of Standards and Technology may be fired or laid off as part of the larger cuts to the federal workforce. Many of those staffers are involved in the US AI Safety Institute, which, a year ago, created a consortium of Big Tech companies and local startups to help fulfill former President Biden's executive order on AI development. [Technical.ly]

• Democratic Maryland lawmakers had a lot to say following Trump's address to Congress. Sen. Chris Van Hollen said it was full of "lies," and 8th District Rep. Jamie Raskin called Trump “the felon President.” [Maryland Matters]

• Cybersecurity firm BigBear.ai moved its HQ from Columbia to McLean. [Baltimore Biz Journal]