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Gecko Robotics Picks Up $100M Investment with
Backing from Thomas Tull's $5B Tech Fund
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Gecko Robotics Inc., a Carnegie Mellon startup whose robots are capable of climbing critical infrastructure components and capturing data about them, has picked up $100M investment thanks in part to financial support by a $5B technology fund from Pittsburgh-based billionaire Thomas Tull. This extension to its Series C funding brings Gecko's total outside investment to over $222M since it began taking on funding deals in 2016.
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|  | AlphaLab Health Fourth cohort: Saisri Akondi and Zilin Zhang (front, center), of D.Sole
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AlphaLab Health Launches Fourth Cohort of Startups to Transform Patient Care
AlphaLab Health, a joint program of Innovation Works (IW) and Allegheny Health Network (AHN) to accelerate the growth of healthcare and life sciences startups, has announced the fourth cohort of companies to participate in the program. One of those companies is D.Sole, founded by Carnegie Mellon University graduate students and James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows Saisri Akondi and Zilin Zhang.
D.Sole, operating out of the CMU Swartz Center, is a smart insole that utilizes multimodal sensors for the early detection and monitoring of foot complications—such as ulcers—in diabetic patients with neuropathy.
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CorePower Magnetics Awarded $20M to Build
Advanced Manufacturing Facility
Pittsburgh-based CorePower Magnetics has been tapped to receive a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to build an advanced manufacturing facility specializing in components for the electrical grid and electric vehicles.
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AI Startup BlastPoint Exceeds $8M Seed Funding to Accelerate Expansion of Customer Insights Solution
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| AI consumer analytics trailblazer BlastPoint, co-founded by Carnegie Mellon University alumni Alison Alvarez and Tomer Borenstein, surpasses $8M in funding with the recent investment from Curql. The company will use the capital to accelerate its upward trajectory as the industry’s most personalizable and accurate customer insights solution, empowering businesses across highly regulated industries.
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CMU Alumni Team Up to Make Streets Safer for
Cyclists and Launch Copilot Pre-sale
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VentureBridge 2023 startup Velo AI, a company focused on safety for all forms of mobility,
has recently launched Copilot, an AI-powered bike light and safety device aimed at keeping riders safe when riding. Co-founded by Carnegie Mellon University alumni Clark Haynes, Ph.D., Micol Marchetti-Bowick, Ph.D. and Alison Treaster, Copilot offers the world’s smartest cycling companion that constantly watches the road behind a cyclist to increase awareness of potentital hazards by sending audible alerts to indicate when a car is approaching and a companion app to see a visualization of the road behind them.
Visit the website to pre-order Copilot for March 2024 shipping.
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| Patterson Dental Selects Pearl as New Integrated
AI Provider
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Patterson Dental, a subsidiary of Patterson Companies (Nasdaq: PDCO), has announced a partnership with Pearl, founded by Carnegie Mellon University alumnus and CEO Ophir Tanz, to distribute Pearl’s Second Opinion® and Practice Intelligence® software solutions and to integrate Second Opinion’s AI pathology detection feature set within Eaglesoft.
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CMU's Information Networking Institute Launches
Executive Education Program for Technical Founders
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| The Information Networking Institute (INI) at Carnegie Mellon University is launching an executive education certificate program for aspiring technical founders and is inviting interested persons to join them at the CMU Silicon Valley campus for an in-person, 14-week entrepreneurial course.
Learn more about TECH Executive Education and apply to join the February 2024 cohort.
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|  | Swartz Fellow Jennifer Evans (Ph.D. candidate) asking questions of Mukhammadjon Gufarov (Innovation Scholar -CMU Qatar) after his pitch
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The James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows and Innovation Scholars Pitch During Final Fall Semester Proseminar
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The 2023-25 Swartz Fellows and Innovation Scholars attended their last Proseminar in Entrepreneurial Leadership class of the semester last Friday. Instead of a speaker, several of the students volunteered to pitch their startup ideas while enjoying a catered lunch and networking.
The students will head to Silicon Valley, CA the week of January 8-12, 2024 for the annual Entrepreneurship Trek to network with Carnegie Mellon alumni founders, local VC's and to search for summer internships. A visit and networking event with CMU alumnus and Accel founder Jim Swartz is also planned, as well as other networking opportunities with CMU alumni during the week.
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|  | Swartz Fellows Ruben Quesada Alvarado and Emily Torrealba pitching at the Proseminar
| |  | Swartz Fellows and Innovation Scholars listening to the pitches
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| Calling ALL Current CMU Student Entrepreneurs!
Registration is open for the 2024 McGinnis Venture Competition, a platform exclusively for Carnegie Mellon University's community of student entrepreneurs. This competition brings together Carnegie Mellon's best and brightest student entrepreneurs to compete for $60K in investments. All participants receive crucial interaction with alumni entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, an opportunity to raise capital and valuable feedback about ventures.
Learn more about the competition and hear from previous participants at the next info session:
Info Session - January 10, 2024
Register
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| CONNECTS/START SMART LAW SEMINARS
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| The CONNECTS/START SMART LAW seminars have ended for the Fall semester and will return in January, 2024.
Can't make a CONNECTS? Watch on our YouTube channel.
Find out more and see the full schedule.
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The mission of 99 Tartans is to partner with the highest potential, early-stage CMU alumni companies and accelerate their success through access to capital and networks. Find out more.
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CMU ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS
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The CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship group connects the CMU community, alumni and students, to build an entrepreneurial culture and provide resources to help the community succeed. There are multiple region-based chapters within the group. Find out more and join the CMU T&E blog,
the CMU Tech Entrepreneur!
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The following companies help directly support our programming and entrepreneurs.
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| Pillsbury and Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC are holding office hours for the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. The office hours are for any interested CMU graduate, undergraduate or alumni interested in entrepreneurship or connecting with members of the Swartz Center network.
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Swartz Center Patron Office Hours
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
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Legal Services Weekly Virtual Office Hours with Matt Kirmayer
Mondays 1:00-3:00 PM ET (10-12 PT)
Matt Kirmayer of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, is currently offering office hours for newly established startup and emerging companies. Matt specializes in representing technology startups and emerging growth companies, assisting with entity formation, fundraising and overall growth needs. Startup companies with a founder who is a CMU graduate, undergraduate or alumni is eligible to register for
an appointment.
To sign up for a 30 minute session with Matt, complete the Signup Form by the Thursday prior to your desired appointment. If you need to schedule an office hour outside of these regular hours,
contact Daria Stokes.
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Legal Services Weekly Office Hours
Sign up for weekly office hours.
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| PATRON SPOTLIGHT
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble (P&G) serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks® and Whisper®.
The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries with thirteen research and development centers worldwide. Since 1837, P&G’s success is rooted in research and development and strong external partnerships with academia, entrepreneurs and start-ups. P&G would like to continue this legacy by partnering with you to bring your ideas to life. Find out more.
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HOW TO WORK OUT OF THE SWARTZ CENTER
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Swartz Center Education and Resources
No matter what phase of the entrepreneurship cycle you're in, there are programs and resources at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship that will take your idea to the next level. Find out more.
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Project Olympus Incubator Program
Want more help with finding product/market fit, developing your business model, making connections and attracting funding? Project Olympus will team you up with a business coach to develop a personalized ‘roadmap. Find out more.
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COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES
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The James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows program fast-tracks the careers of Carnegie Mellon University's first year graduate students who are passionate about entrepreneurship. Applications for the 2023-25 cohort are currently open through October 15, 2023. Find out more.
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FIND OUT WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING
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Have startup news or opportunities to share? Have questions about the Swartz Center Weekly Bulletin? Send news, opportunities or questions to Sonya Ford, Program Manager.
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Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center For Entrepreneurship
5000 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 |
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