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 dive in.
March started off with news that Pangea App co-founder Adam Alpert announced he's moving to New York City to start a new chapter. Alpert told RI Inno that he never dreamed of staying when he first arrived at Brown University, but 2023 marks 10 years he's been active in the Ocean State. After graduating, he co-founded Pangea App, an online marketplace for freelance talent, in Providence. Alpert and the Pangea team have spent the last few years honing their product, joining Y-Combinator and growing their user base to 40,000 strong.
After two years of development in partnership with the Department of Labor and Training, New England Medical Innovation Center (NEMIC) launched a virtual classroom. According to Maey Petrie, NEMIC director of programs and business development, the new classes will make the organization’s comprehensive Med Tech education programming accessible to innovators anywhere. It also offers a la carte options for people looking to gain entry into the world of medtech.
In March, Heritage Restoration founder and owner Robert Cagnetta took on a new business venture, moving the Vermont-based Sutherland Welles to Providence. The company was founded by Frank Sutherland Welles in 1965, a wood finisher and visual artist, as a result of seeking an environmentally friendly replacement finish for a French polish.
Last month, RI Inno caught up with HEX 6 Industries Inc. co-founder Kerry Leppo who explained the company’s new patents for their 100% green processes to exfoliate pristine graphene powder, flakes, and sheets. Graphene is at the heart of the research surrounding superconductors, as well as many new projects. Leppo said the processes known as "The Laird Methods” are infinitely scalable and are capable of economically producing vast commercial quantities of pristine graphene.
After a few years of development limbo, Schartner Farms announced it would be restarting work on RI Grows and a new $58 million greenhouse outfitted with Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and green tech that is expected to produce about 14 million pounds of organic tomatoes annually.
In March, the Ohio-based Lightship Foundation announced the Startup Train, the organization's newest idea to reach and connect entrepreneurs and ecosystems across the country, would kick off on May 1. The tour takes place over five consecutive days with a first stop in Providence, RI. The train will then continue to New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, and ending in Washington, D.C. and will include founder-focused events, investor meetups and founder/startup showcases at each stop.
Using grant funding from NASA, University of Rhode Island nutrition professor Marie Mortreux is conducting a series of studies that examine disruption of the circadian rhythm and other impacts caused by low gravity astronauts on NASA’s Artemis mission will face on the moon. Last month, Mortreux said the study assessing the combined effect of altered light cycles and altered gravity will be starting at URI in the spring, and should be completed within the year.
Rhode Island entrepreneur Lindsay Kuhn announced in March that her company, Wingspans was recently selected by the U.S. Department of Education’s Future Finder Challenge, a $1 million challenge to reimagine career navigation for adult learners. Wingspans is one of five finalists that will receive $50,000 to support the development of their prototype and will participate in a virtual accelerator.
In March, RIHub welcomed entrepreneur David Altounian to its board of directors. Altounian joins seven RIHub board members that include Board Chair Katharine Flynn (Executive Director, URI Business Engagement Center), Ji Mi Choi (NSF I-Corps Hub: Desert and Pacific Region Director), Hope Hopkins (Head of Accelerator Programs US, MassChallenge), Stephen Piper (Partner Data and Technology Transformation, IBM), Pete Rumsey (Chief Business Development Officer, URI Research Foundation), and Neil Veloso (Executive Director, Brown University Technology Innovations).
After struggling with postpartum depression in the wake of the birth of her first child, Flourish Care founder Melissa Bowley realized she needed support that went beyond her doctors at the hospital. Less than a year after starting a fund to help expecting mothers, Bowley has grown the venture into Flourish Care. Now, Flourish Care empowers families with wellness programs and insurance-reimbursed community care, including doulas, from pregnancy to parenthood. Families can still register for support not covered by insurance on the Flourish Care baby registry for free.
