Boomerang Catapult has just announced a significant investment in Uru Sports, a Traverse City, Michigan, startup that has created a global digital network connecting athletes to resources, opportunities, and one another. Boomerang adds Uru Sports to its portfolio of high-potential, Traverse City-based companies.
Formerly Ann Arbor-based fintech startup Pocketnest, now headquartered in Detroit, has announced recently that the startup is continuing to grow into a successful B2B2C SaaS financial wellness provider, with the following milestones:
Ever since Drive Capital was founded by a partnership between local and Silicon Valley VCs, Columbus has taken off as a center for insurtech and healthtech startups. Forbes now calls it “the #1 city for startups and the top remerging city for venture capital.” The traditional presence of insurance companies in the region has even encouraged many healthtech startups to move headquarters to the region. Columbus has experienced tremendous growth in 2021 and is earning its own star on the map as a tech ecosystem.
Eoxs has been one of the most popular stories we’ve covered on Cronicle. The startup disrupted steel buying technology by providing an e-commerce solution for steel buyers to create their own marketplaces online within one day. The industry was interested in the technology, but reportedly didn’t want marketplaces killing off retail competition, as can happen sometimes. Eoxs founder Rajat Jain says he also didn’t want to be in steel but to focus his efforts in software. So, the startup pivoted quickly to offer cloud-based reporting software for the steel industry–another low-hanging fruit in an industry still using basic reporting and analytics tools.
University of Michigan students and faculty have just launched a student-run investment fund focused on supporting early-stage climate tech companies.
Ann Arbor SPARK’s a2tech360 FastTrack Awards were held tonight to celebrate the fastest growing startups coming out of Washtenaw and Livingston counties in Southeast Michigan. These “gazelles” are startups with rapid year over year growth defined as 20% increased average revenue for 3 years starting from a base of $100,000. These awards do not include metro Detroit or other areas of Michigan, so this is not a comprehensive list of the fastest growing companies in Michigan overall.
This week, the Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA) announced the awardees of the 2021 MVCA Annual Awards Dinner. MVCA announced awards recognizing the capital events that are fueling the growth of Michigan’s companies, the significant investment milestones enabling companies to grow and excel in Michigan, the companies that are producing groundbreaking solutions in their sectors, and the organizations working to engage with their communities and enrich their local economies.
Want a chance to check out driverless shuttles? If you’re in Ann Arbor, you can check out the new A2Go shuttle during a2tech360’s A2 Zero Green Fair tomorrow, October 1. The shuttle launches to the public October 12 and runs downtown.
Ann Arbor’s growing tech week, a2tech360, was delayed this year until October, but has continued to grow to a multi-event extravaganza of local tech expertise and fun. This year’s a2tech360 is back with additional events.
Ann Arbor’s startup scene continues its growth with so many new startups we can’t cover them all. A unique new offering from young serial entrepreneur Alison Elgass is a crypto-based music streaming service called Biscuits n Groovy.
