Every month, we recap the biggest tech and startup happenings in Rhode Island. (To get this info every Tuesday, sign up for the Rhode Island Inno Beat newsletter.
Let's begin.
April kicked off with a new collaborative space at Innovate Newport. The new venture was launched by Social Enterprise Greenhouse (SEG) and RIHub, who will offer programming out of the space. The hub is set inside Innovate Newport, a coworking space complete with high-speed internet, modern meeting and event rooms, workshops and lectures and a coffee bar and café.
April was a big month for Wingspans. In addition to moving to the finals of Greenlight Maine competition on PBS, the Shark Tank of Maine, the company took the top spot in Rhode Island Inno’s Inno Madness bracket last week. Wingspans says it is changing how that process works by connecting students and industry in a more meaningful way. Students are introduced to people and careers that align with their interests, receive hands-on career advice and get help creating a portfolio and plotting a path forward on the platform, according to founder Lindsay Kuhn.
Although it's only about two years old, Warwick's Adtech Pharma has seen some major investment come to fruition recently, thanks to its flagship product under development, new eye drops that use a synthetic cannabinoid to lower eye pressure in patients and could protect their optical nerves. Just last week, the company reported a new $1.1 million in funding based on new test results.
Rhode Island-based ResusciTech announced a new partnership with the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) in April. Abigail Kohler, CEO and co-founder of ResusciTech said the partnership could help save lives as hundreds of thousands of kids and coaches gear up for a summer sports season. The ResusciTech's Smart Certification app allows users to create an account and immediately get access to engaging learning activities, short videos, and practice chest compressions. It also offers hands-on practice instruction using your phone as a sensor. Kohler said the new partnership comes as the company is preparing for a seed round this summer.
In April, Professor Albert Kausch, the Director of the University of Rhode Island’s Plant Biotechnology Laboratory led a workshop, sponsored by the Dept. of Energy and the National Science Foundation, with the goal of further developing sorghum as a bioenergy crop, using it as an alternative to corn. The Cereal Crop Plant Transformation and Genome Editing Training workshop included 11 scientists from across America and Argentina.
Last month, Basil & Bunny co-founders Lysie and Mathiew Medeiros announced they are opening the first brick-and-mortar location of their plant-based food business at Unity Park in Bristol. Medeiros said this is a huge step forward for two home-cooks-turned-restaurateurs. After meeting Joe Brito of Unity Park last year, Medeiros is said they fell in love with the community he was creating at the massive building that used to house a rubber conglomerate.
