Built in Chicago reports this week that it has been another busy month for the windy city’s tech scene, with executive hires, acquisitions and several fundraising rounds. Reverb hired Bradford Shellhammer, former vice president of eBay, as chief product officer. Codeverse was acquired by Nerdy. And two startups closed multi-million-dollar funding rounds to expand production…
Built in Chicago reports this week that it has been another busy month for the windy city’s tech scene, with executive hires, acquisitions and several fundraising rounds. Reverb hired Bradford Shellhammer, former vice president of eBay, as chief product officer. Codeverse was acquired by Nerdy. And two startups closed multi-million-dollar funding rounds to expand production…
Chicago’s Fly.io helps small companies launch and run applications with a global network of servers with low latency and affordable prices, solving the problem of finding servers for independent developers or small startups. This is because Fly.io helps companies and developers deploy app servers close to their users. On Thursday, Fly.io announced the closing of…
Michigan is a flyover state no longer. Even in the midst of a pandemic that shut down swaths of business, venture capital was still at work. Why should the average person or even tech worker care about money that doesn’t end up in their pocket? Venture capital doesn’t just enable new businesses to get up and running instead of having to move to other states where funding is easier to find. It also attracts investment dollars to the state. The Michigan Venture Capital Association says that for every $1 invested by venture capital in the state, $42.87 is attracted from investment outside of Michigan. That’s big news.
In an unusual move, Ford Motor Co. is planning to cut up to 8,000 jobs in the next few weeks in order to boost profits to fund the push into electric vehicles. According to Crain’s Detroit Business, the job cuts come in the newly formed Ford Blue unit that produces internal combustion engine vehicles and other salaried jobs throughout Ford. This is according to insiders, and plans have not been finalized and could still change.
Columbus insurtech startup Branch has achieved unicorn status with a total valuation of $1.05 billion with its Series C raise of $147 million this month. The round was led by Weatherford Capital, and brings Branch into the growing ranks of Midwest tech unicorns. Branch is a full-stack insurance company that uses data, technology and automation to make home and auto insurance more efficient. Participating new and existing investors included Acrew, AmFam Ventures, Anthemis, Gaingels, Greycroft, HSCM Ventures, Narya, SignalFire, and Tower IV.
Ann Arbor-based renewable energy O&M solutions startup SkySpecs has just announced an $80 million strategic capital raise led by the Sustainable Investing business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management with additional participation from a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources and other existing SkySpecs investors including Statkraft Ventures, Equinor Ventures, Evergy Ventures, UL Ventures and Huron River Ventures. This is one of the biggest startup raises in Michigan history.
Evergreen Climate Innovation’s 501vc Investment Fund now invests $200k – $300k in early-stage climate tech startups in the Greater Midwest. This climate tech-focused investment fund is looking to support climate startups specifically in the tech space that are headquartered in places like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and the surrounding states, a location that is historically under-funded for climate tech.
The Washtenaw Community College Entrepreneurship Center’s premier event of the year, Pitch @ WCC, is taking place this year in hybrid format, with virtual sessions leading to private in-person pitches on WCC’s Ypsilanti campus in May 2022. If you have a new business you’d like to pitch, check out the info below to get involved. Hurry, the deadline is approaching!
Did you know that Michigan business incubator and support organization SPARK helps with guiding regional entrepreneurs through the startup process as well as helping them secure funding? Ann Arbor SPARK focuses mostly on tech businesses, but even if you’re not in the tech space (and even if you’re not in Michigan), you can find information about how to navigate the startup funding process on their website where they lay out the process of finding funding by growth stage. This handy and short guide can help you find local programs where you might find funding to tide you over until your business reaches growth stage.
The Clean Energy Business Network has created a database of funding opportunities for cleantech businesses. This helps pair eligible businesses with funding for climate technologies based on stage of the company or technology and by industry. As businesses become more aware of their climate impact and look for ways to green their business processes or technology, we wanted to highlight some ways to connect with people who can provide technology or help cleantech entrepreneurs grow their business anywhere in the U.S.
