Plus, your election security and our new events reporter.
Newsletter for October 30, 2024 |
| A major local developer of tech workforce training, apprenticeships and advisory services for Fortune 500 companies just lost CEO and weathered a wave of layoffs. Plus, ahead of Election Day, we have the details on how Baltimore city officials are fighting hacking and tampering to keep votes safe. We also have a new staffer in our newsroom: Anand Macherla, Technical.ly's first-ever Baltimore events reporter! Editor Sameer Rao spoke to him about his history in the ecosystem, and what he's most excited about exploring in this role. Keep scrolling for all those details. — Kaela, Technical.ly lead reporter in Baltimore and DC |
Image of the Day: Cal Ripken Jr. and a student at Katherine Johnson Global Academy’s new STEM center’s launch. (Courtesy Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation)
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| Over the next five weeks, a group of startups will collaborate with Comcast, NBCUniversal and Sky to test impactful solutions using AI. They’re the latest participants in the Lift Labs Accelerator, and their work has just begun. |
Layoffs and C-Suite shakeups at Catalyte |
The Otterbein-based company established a nationwide reputation and landed multimillion-dollar contracts from the likes of Nike and the State of Maryland thanks to its unique tech workforce training offerings. Despite these successes, the company still recently implemented a wave of layoffs and also lost its CEO, former Twitter exec Matt Derella. ➡️ Learn more about the situation at Catalyte here |
Low-tech election security strategy |
Registered voters in Baltimore, like most places across the country, will use paper ballots to cast votes. Because of the low-tech equipment, hacking the machines isn’t as much of a concern, but physical tampering is, said Armstead Jones, the election director at the Baltimore City Board of Elections. He explained how the process works across Baltimore's polling places: Voters receive their ballot from an official, then go to a booth to mark it. An election judge then escorts them to drop off the ballot at the scanner of that polling place, before it goes into a locked ballot box. ➡️ Learn more about the process and the history of paper ballots in Maryland |
📰 News Incubator: What else to know |
• Welcome Anand! The former Venture for America fellow and inaugural employee of UpSurge Baltimore wants to know what stories matter to you. [Technical.ly] • President Biden announced the White House is awarding nearly $3 billion to boost climate-friendly infrastructure at ports across the country, including the Port of Baltimore. [Baltimore Banner] • Check out our newsroom's guidelines for using AI in our own work. [Technical.ly] • Coppin State University has a new VP of information technology and dean for its College of Health Professions. Both were hired out of interim positions. Plus, a 14-year-old Baltimore native made history as the youngest enrolled freshman in the HBCU's existence. [Coppin State] • Applications for the upcoming Baltipreneurs accelerator cohort out of Loyola University Maryland close on Oct. 31, so get your applications in by tomorrow. [Loyola] • Mid-Atlantic health insurance giant CareFirst opened a new location in West Baltimore. It includes a community hub and resource center where people can take free exercise and health classes, as well as ask questions about benefits in person. [CareFirst] • UMBC and the Digital Harbor Foundation scored a $1.98 million grant from the National Science Foundation to research and develop inclusive STEM learning environments for kids with autism. [Digital Harbor Foundation] • Baltimore startup Sonavex raised $15 million to develop ultrasound devices for dialysis centers with an aim to improve kidney disease treatment access. [Baltimore Biz Journal] |
Meet the startups in Comcast’s AI accelerator |
It takes a lot to impress the folks at Lift Labs. The Comcast NBCUniversal accelerator program has been boosting promising startups since 2013, helping companies build toward enterprise-level partnerships with big corporations like Comcast itself. The latest cohort is full of founders with ideas of how to address some of the most promising applications of AI. They hail from across the country, with a bias toward California but also Philadelphia and New York. These eight startups are ones to watch in the AI space. ➡️Meet the latest Lift Labs accelerator cohort This sponsored blurb supports our journalism. Want to see your message here? Get details and book online. |
Sponsored news: Point of interest |
| These companies came from across the country for the five-week program focused around the theme of collaborative AI. |
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🗓️ On the Calendar • Nov. 5: Cast your ballot, then head to Guilford Hall Brewery for Equitech Tuesday. [Details here]
• Nov. 15: Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition is hosting an event to discuss the ways the public and private sector can collaborate to improve broadband access in the city. [Details here]
• Nov. 16: Johns Hopkins biomedical engineering professor Dr. Kunal Parikh will be honored for his innovative work in eye care, at the university and through his two tech companies, during a gala hosted by the Baltimore nonprofit KeraLink International. [Details here]
• Through Nov. 17: The Maryland STEM Festival kicked off earlier this month. It's a month-long series of events for kids and families focused on introducing science and technology at a young age. [Details here]
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