Philly weekly roundup: EDA visits local Tech Hub; VC investment drops; $45 million for statewide broadband

Welcome to the roundup of the latest from Philly's tech and entrepreneurship scene. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe for free.

EDA Director visits Philly region’s Tech Hub

Eric Smith, US Economic Development Administration Tech Hubs program director, and his team visited Philly last week to tour the local life sciences scene and get updates from the PROPEL Tech Hub. 

The tour comes just a few months after Philadelphia missed out on recent funding from the EDA, and Smith offered advice on how PROPEL should proceed. 

Philadelphia has the resources and collaboration to have a strong precision medicine sector, Smith said. Now, the consortium needs to work on making its proposal more detailed and its vision clearer.

➡️ Get the details about future funding opportunities for the Tech Hub

Philly venture capital falls 60% in Q3

Companies in the Philadelphia region raised $478.2 million across 86 deals last quarter, according to the latest Venture Monitor report from Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association. 

These numbers are down about 60% from the first two quarters of 2024. This could be because investors are being more conservative right now, Emily Foote, a partner at Bala Cynwyd-based venture capital firm Osage Venture Partners, told Technical.ly.

➡️ Read more about how this quarter compares to the last few years of VC activity

A weekend of tech connection

1Philadelphia’s annual conference for tech and innovation is back Oct. 24-26 with three days of meaningful connections, actionable insights and collective action towards tech equity.

This year’s theme, UNBOUND, is an invitation to move beyond conventional frameworks to construct new ways of learning and doing that help realize real impact for all people who want to be involved in the tech and innovation sectors.

Join the conversation with regional and national leaders and tackle critical issues impacting organizations and practitioners in the tech field. 

➡️ Get your tix to Innovation Weekend 2024 today

This sponsored blurb supports our journalism. Want to see your message here? Get details and book online.

News Incubator: What else to know today

• The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority announced $45 million in grants through the Multi-Purpose Community Facilities Program. This funding will bring internet to public spaces across the Commonwealth. [Technical.ly]

• Technical.ly Awards nominations are open now until Oct. 21. We want to hear who you think deserves to be recognized this year. [Technical.ly]

• The School District of Philadelphia is getting $17 million in federal funding to buy electric school buses. [WHYY]

• Senate Bill 1213, which clarifies that AI-generated CSAM is illegal, was approved by the legislature and will become a law. [Technical.ly/Senator Pennycuick]

• Philly-based ChargeItSpot, which developed charging stations for retail stores, raised $19.8 million. [Philly Biz Journal]

• Carbon Reform placed in the top 10 at the Startup World Cup earlier this month. The green tech company won Philadelphia’s regional Startup World Cup pitch competition in September. [LinkedIn/Technical.ly]

• Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies announced the 60 companies that will be featured at its annual Mid-Atlantic Capital Conference at the end of the month. [PACT]

🗓️ On the Calendar

• Philly Data and AI’s monthly happy hour is Tuesday, Oct. 15 at Con Murphy’s Irish Pub. [More details]

• Philadelphia DevOps Group is hosting its second meetup on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at Linode. [More details]

• Philly EdTech Meetup is hosting an event with Catalyst @ Penn Graduate School of Education on Thursday, Oct. 17. [More info]

• Code and Coffee at Philly will be at its usual spot at the Capital One Cafe on Saturday, Oct. 19. [Details here]

• Partner event: 1682 makes it’s post-COVID return on Oct. 18. Hosted in Center City at the fun Five Below HQ, the ticketed event ($500-$650) features a full day of workshops, panels and more on how AI and innovation are impacting the tech scene. [Register]

• Drexel University is partnering with YellowDig for the Human Connection Summit on Oct. 23. [Buy tickets]

• Partner Event: The Latina Style Business Summit takes place at the Community College of Philadelphia on Wednesday, Oct. 23, and it’s totally free to attend for networking, workshops and a keynote luncheon. [RSVP here]

• Attend Klein News Innovation Camp just 10 days after the presidential election on Nov. 16 for a day of themes that will include: artificial intelligence, content creators and the outcome of the election. [Register]