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At the end of every month, we recap the biggest tech happenings in Rhode Island. To get this info weekly (Tuesday afternoons, to be exact), sign up for the Rhode Island Inno Beat newsletter.
So: here’s our list of the greatest tech to-dos from August.
- Warwick-based Squadlocker, a customizable athletic gear company, has announced that it has completed its Series B round of fundraising with a $7 million investment, Providence Journal reports. The funding will go towards hiring 25 to 30 more employees, Squadlocker CEO Gary Goldberg said in the report. Causeway Media Partners led this round of funding, with participation from the company's previous investor, James Lombardi.
- Former Hasbro Inc. Vice President Bijay Kumarhas accepted the role of Rhode Island’s newest chief of information technology, the AP reports. He’ll be in charge of upping government transparency and accountability, as well deciding what internal systems need replacing.
- Eight startups made the 2017 Inc. 5000 list this year, released August 16. For the uninitiated, the Inc. 5000 ranks the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., and small-but-mighty Rhode Island has an eight-slot showing. Wakefield’s ChartWise Medical Systems was the highest-ranked Rhode Island company on the list, coming in at the #797 spot with $5.7 million in revenue and a growth rate of 565 percent, which I didn’t realize was mathematically possible. Best Practice Energy was #1498, bringing in $2.8 million with a growth grate of 272.05 percent.
- South Kingstown’s MindImmune Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company working on treatments for Alzheimer’s and Hungtington’s disease, has received a $250,000 investment from the Slater Technology Fund, Providence Journal reports. In all, Slater has invested $750,000 in MIT. “We are committed to supporting the team in the launch of their new venture,” said Slater Senior Managing director Richard Horan. “This alliance has great potential.”
- Ticketmaster’s TicketWeb has acquired Providence-born Strobe Labs, the company announced in a press release. “Strobe’s platform completely simplifies the complex process of fan segmentation and ad creation and placement,” said Ticketmaster North America Small Venues and Clubs Senior Vice President Matt Shearer. “When you combine that with Ticketmaster’s massive reach, we think it instantly becomes a leading marketing tool in live music to help clubs connect with their fans and find incremental audiences.” Strobe was founded by Alex Oberg and Evan Altman during their years at Brown University, with Brown grad JP Eberenz Rosero joining the team after.
- Bye, LaunchCode? The St. Louis-based company has revealed that after a little over a year, it “no longer has staff on the ground” in the Ocean State, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The state’s funding contract with LaunchCode concluded in May, and a spokeswoman with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training confirmed that they “are not doing anything targeted in Rhode Island right now.” The nonprofit’s Executive Director Mark Bauer said that a lack of funding was a fundamental reason for the halt of most Rhode Island initiatives, but that LC still “has company partners there for potentially placing future apprentices,” the report states.
- State lawmakers certainly made a huge move, voting in favor of free(ish) community college, Bizwomen reports. It’s the fourth state in the country to do so. The $2.8 million proposal specifically funds tuition for one year, and gives graduating high school seniors with a GPA of at least 2.5 (and enrolled in college full-time) eligibility for the program — income aside.
- Aviation, defense and health care training simulation company CAE granted $180,000 to Salve Regina University for a cybersecurity defense research project, Providence Business News reports.
- SRU wasn’t the only school to receive some cash. As part of the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, the National Science Foundationgave Brown Universitythe first $1.5 million of a four-year, $6 million total grant to study how genetic mutations impact genes, Providence Business News reports.
