|
|
|  | Alison Alvarez (center) with BlastPoint team
| |
| | |
BlastPoint Featured in Next Pittsburgh's Article: Pittsburgh's Tech Industry Booms Fueled By Startups
and Investments
Pittsburgh’s tech ecosystem is still growing. Last year, sixty local startups saw a $7.38M investment and 1,154 new jobs with support from Innovation Works. Several Innovation Works’ portfolio companies saw huge growth in the past year, including Carngie Mellon University startup BlastPoint, which raised $8.91M last year.
Co-founded by Alison Alvarez and Tomer Borenstein, BlastPoint is an East Liberty-based startup that uses AI to predict human behavior for large enterprises to understand their customers better. Last year, BlastPoint grew from twelve employees to over forty.
| |
Aurora Raises $483M to Support Scaling Strategy and Upcoming Launch of Driverless Trucks in Texas
Last week, Aurora raised total gross proceeds of $483M, which adds to their $1B of liquidity as of the end of June. With runway well into 2026, the company expects this incremental capital to fund the initial phase of their scaling strategy.
| |
|  | Vice Provost for Education Amy Burkert, Ph.D. gives opening remarks at Rales
Fellowship orientation
| |
| | |
Swartz Center Hosts CMU Rales Fellowship Orientation
Approximately twenty two Carnegie Mellon graduate students from various schools on campus attended the first CMU Rales Fellows Program orientation, which was held at the CMU Swartz Center this week. Led by Amy Burkert, Ph.D., CMU Vice Provost for Education, this program attracts and equips a diverse group of future leaders in STEM to empower them and connect them with others who share their passion and to advance the next generation of diverse STEM leaders.
Students from the College of Engineering, Dietrich College, Mellon College of Science, School of Computer Science and Inter-College Programs are eligible to participate.
| |
AI Horizons Summit Represents Return to
Forward-thinking Pittsburgh
A recently announced artificial intelligence summit, fittingly called AI Horizons, will take place in Pittsburgh in October. The summit represents the needed return of global ambition to Pittsburgh, as the city quietly remains a leading center for research and innovation. The event’s partners include both Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, along with Google, Duolingo and local AI firms.
| |
| Announcing the Fall 2024 CONNECTS Seminar Series!
The CMU Swartz Center has announced the Fall 2024 CONNECTS seminar series. These seminars enhance the experiential education of any individual interested in innovation and entrepreneurship. Tailored mainly for students to help take their ideas from conception to commercialization, the seminars run throughout the academic year. Teams looking for talent and talent looking for teams can CONNECT at these events.
All CONNECTS events will be hosted in-person at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. A virtual option will also be available. See the flyer with the full lineup here (pdf).
Advanced registration is required.
| |
Date: Thursday, September 5, 2024
Time: 12-1:30 PM | ET
Location: Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave, Scott Hall, Bosch Spark Conference Room
Join the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation for an insightful session where CMU experts will discuss leveraging campus resources for startup creation and navigating Pittsburgh's dynamic startup ecosystem. Our speakers include Anita Jesionowski, Senior Director of Research Partnerships and Entrepreneurship at the College of Engineering; Dave Mawhinney, Executive Director of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship; and Cindy Chepanoske, Director of Technology Licensing at CTTEC.
Attendance is FREE. Lunch will be provided!
| |
Register for the Swartz Center's Entrepreneurship Bootcamp!
Date: Saturday, September 7, 2024
Time: 1:00 - 5:00 PM | ET
Location: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, Tepper School of Business, 3rd Floor
4765 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Come join us for another exciting Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, a fall semester, one-day glimpse into entrepreneurship at CMU and Pittsburgh for all incoming CMU students. See the full schedule here.
Sponsored by: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and Graduate Entrepreneurship Club
| |
VentureBridge Demo Day 2024: Three City Tour - San Francisco Bay Area, Pittsburgh, and New York City
The CMU VentureBridge (VB) program, an initiative of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, is excited to present VentureBridge ’24 Demo Day in three cities: San Francisco Bay Area (September 18), Pittsburgh (September 25), and New York City (October 2).
The in-person events will feature presentations from the VentureBridge ’24 cohort of startups and select VentureBridge alumni startups. The presentations will be followed by a networking reception. Learn more about the VB portfolio here.
(Please note that the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City events are investor only events)
| |
Date: Thursday, September 26, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM | ET
Location: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, Tepper School of Business, 4765 Forbes Avenue, 3rd Floor
Join the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship for the 2024 AI & Robotics Venture Fair. Meet the region's leading AI & Robotics companies & explore investment opportunities.
| |
| CONNECTS/START SMART LAW SEMINARS
| |
Can't make a CONNECTS? Watch on our YouTube channel.
Find out more and see the full schedule.
The CONNECTS seminars will return in the Fall.
| |
|
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.
| |
CMU ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS
| |
|
The CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship group aims to build a bridge between CMU students and alumni across the startup and tech continuum. With main chapters in NYC, Pittsburgh, and SF, we offer a range of in-person and online events and programming in the form of panels, workshops, founder/investor engagements, startup support, and socials to foster collaboration, innovation, and networking opportunities.
Join 7,000+ Tartans on our Slack workspace and mailing list for resources and updates on how you can engage in the community and CMU entrepreneurial ecosystem. Find out more and
get involved!
| |
The following companies help directly support our programming and entrepreneurs.
| |
| 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.
| |
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
| |
|
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 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. Complete the Signup Form for a 30 minute session by the Thursday prior to your
desired appointment.
Contact Daria Stokes for office hours outside of these regular hours.
| |
| 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.
| |
HOW TO WORK OUT OF THE SWARTZ CENTER
| |
| |
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.
| | |
| |
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.
| | |
COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES
| |
FIND OUT WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING
| |
|
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.
| |
|
|
|
Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center For Entrepreneurship
5000 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 |
|
|
|
