A snowstorm in Providence.
Getty Images / DenisTangneyJr
At the end of every month, we recap the biggest tech and startup happenings in Rhode Island. We have an archive of past roundups here. To get this info weekly (Tuesday afternoons, to be exact), sign up for the Rhode Island Inno Beat newsletter.
Let’s take a look.
- Rhode Island Inno released our 10 Startups to Watch in 2021. These are the companies that have the potential to prove their worth, get to market and scale rapidly, all while making a difference in the lives of Rhode Islanders.
- Cadent Therapeutics, a biotech startup that focuses on cognitive, mood and movement disorders, is set to be acquired by Novartis for $770 million. The company is based in Cambridge, Mass., but was originally formed through a merger with the Slater Technology Fund-backed company Mnemosyne Pharmaceuticals.
- The state announced that its Covid-19 pilot testing program, put on in partnership with Polaris MEP, would be open after Jan. 1 to all Rhode Island businesses.
- 401 Tech Bridge announced the winners in its first-ever Materials Innovation Challenge: Canapitsit Customs, Nautilus Defense and TxV Aerospace Composites.
- Pangea.app, a company that connects college talent to companies for work projects, raised $352,500 in equity, according to an SEC filing.
- Bell Textron acquired Coventry-based Response Technologies, a company focused on flexible, 3D, textile-reinforced composite solutions, for an undisclosed amount.
- MyMOC, the North Kingstown startup behind a mobile platform called MOCingbird that allows individual physicians or large hospital groups to stay up-to-date on accreditation, announced partnerships with Ortho Rhode Island and the Los Angeles County Medical Association.
- STRAC Institute, a technical school based in Providence, and Brown University began developing a virtual multimodal soldering system to augment conventional hands-on soldering training methods.
- The Social Enterprise Greenhouse partnered with Staples and technology device makers to bring free laptops, printers and other work-from-home tools to Rhode Island’s small businesses, social enterprises and nonprofits. The program is funded by a CARES Act grant. Applications are being accepted here.
- Tuni Schartner, executive director of Venture Café and District Hall Providence, announced an expanded role as VP of ecosystem development at Innovation Studio, formerly known as Venture Café New England.
Bram Berkowitz is a contributing writer for Rhode Island Inno.
