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.)
Rhode Island News
Jamestown Press: Broadband talks front and center
Plans to improve broadband in Jamestown are moving forward at the local, state and federal levels.
That includes a $24,000 outlay fort the school district from the Federal Communications Commission to improve technology and connectivity. When that will be available, however, is unknown.
Read the full article at the Jamestown Press.
Biz Women: Equity firm raises $28.6M for women- and minority-led venture funds
While venture capital funding reached all-time highs in 2021, companies started by women received just 2 percent of those funds – the smallest share since 2016.
VC investment across the U.S. neared $330 billion, and $6.4 billion went to female-only founded startups, according to data by research firm PitchBook.
Read the full article at Biz Women.
Rhode Island Inno: Smart mirror developer wants to be the ‘Peloton of beauty’
Every year, Toye Onikoyi and his girlfriend make gifts for each other instead of buying something for their anniversary. Little did he know that one of those gifts, an innovative smart mirror, would turn into a business venture.
The Muse Mirror uses advanced camera technology and machine learning to monitor a user’s skin and hair and provides recommendations to improve their care. The mirror, which is set to launch this spring, will come with its own app store featuring video tutorials on beauty, makeup, hair and fashion.
Read the full article at Rhode Island Inno.
Rhode Island Inno: Music management startup Artist Republik acquired
Founded less than four years ago in a Bryant University dorm room, music management startup Artist Republik has taken yet another major step as the company expands its reach in the music industry.
After raising millions in capital and onboarding more than 100,000 artists onto its platform, the company has been purchased by Friendable Inc., a mobile and marketing tech company.
Bristol, RI company wins U.S. Navy hackathon
A Rhode Island company specializing in building underwater vehicles recently won a United States Navy-sponsored hackathon by targeting drug smuggling routes with artificial intelligence.
Bristol-based Composite Energy Technologies Inc. (CET), in conjunction with Spear AI and Current Lab, won first prize in the HACKtheMACHINE unmanned competition, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, multiple naval program executive offices, and industry partners.
Yahoo News: Aquidneck Island to seek ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity for broadband infrastructure
The city will team up with Middletown and Portsmouth to put together an application to the state for broadband infrastructure funding.
“We’ll be presenting to the City Council pretty soon a recommendation to hire a consultant to assist us with middle-mile issues,” said City Manager Joseph J. Nicholson Jr. “Parallel to that is the state’s completion of a mapping plan for broadband.”
Rhode Island Inno: URI summit tackles food insecurity
Rhode Islanders are eating more local food as the state sees new farmers and increased demand for urban agriculture, but additional investment and collaboration is needed to increase the consumption of locally grown products in lieu of imported foods, said one state official.
Julie Stelmaszyk, director of food strategy with the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, outlined the gains the Ocean State has made in increasing food access — and the hurdles that remain ahead — as the keynote speaker at the University of Rhode Island’s sixth annual Food Systems Summit last week.
Read the full article at Rhode Island Inno.
Yahoo News: Aquidneck Island to seek ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity for broadband infrastructure
NEWPORT — The city will team up with Middletown and Portsmouth to put together an application to the state for broadband infrastructure funding.
“We’ll be presenting to the City Council pretty soon a recommendation to hire a consultant to assist us with middle-mile issues,” said City Manager Joseph J. Nicholson Jr. “Parallel to that is the state’s completion of a mapping plan for broadband.”
Read the full article at Yahoo News.
Rhode Island Inno: Brown University’s new engineering dean is a nanotechnology expert
Brown University’s newest academic dean is a biomedical engineer whose research finds new ways to apply micro- and nanoscale technologies to deliver medicine to targeted sites in the human body.
Tejal Desai has been appointed dean of Brown’s School of Engineering. She is a professor at the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California San Francisco; inaugural director of UCSF’s Health Innovations Via Engineering initiative; and leader of UCSF’s Therapeutic Microtechnology and Nanotechnology Laboratory.
Read the full article at Rhode Island Inno.
