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This week in DC, the region’s startups highlight what the federal government’s barrage of actions mean for their businesses. We also explore how these actions affect a popular work-based immigration pathway.
Read on for Technical.ly’s weekly roundup of top regional news.
📰 News Incubator: What else to know
• Crux, a climate startup with DC ties, raised an oversubscribed $50 million Series B. [Technical.ly]
• DC’s billion-dollar budget hole, caused by the most recent Congressional spending bill, led the mayor to order a spending freeze across the city government. Furloughs and temporarily closing facilities may come next. [51st]
• It’s been a busy month in local tech staffing. NobleReach hired former Commerce Department advisor Sree Ramaswamy to be its new CIO, while data science startup Prefect laid off a chunk of its workforce. [Technical.ly]
• Cannabis gifting shops in DC are being forced to close or transition to the legal medical market, leaving employees with an uncertain future. [Washington City Paper]
• Alexandria is launching an electric vehicle charging program for multi-family communities like apartment complexes or condos. [ALX Now]
• McLean-based Capital One cleared a legal hurdle to acquiring its competitor Discover Financial Services for billions of dollars. [Washington Biz Journal]
• A deal underway between DC and the Commanders would make the football team pay most of the bill to redevelop the RFK Stadium site. [Washington Post]
• DC’s The Pitch Place, the creator of a journalism jobs and networking platform, is a finalist in a startup competition focused on news and technology. The winner of The Next Challenge’s contest will receive a grant of up to $50,000, with that and other awards being announced at an event in June. [Pitch Place/The Next Challenge]
• The software ICE and the FBI use for facial recognition has far-right ties. [Mother Jones]
🗓️ On the Calendar
• Catch leaders of Right to Start, Moxi and Lightship Capital in conversation during Technical.ly’s next Builders Live on April 23. [Details here]
• Georgetown is hosting an entrepreneurship showcase on April 23. [Details here]
• Network with founders, investors and technologists on April 23 at the next DC Tech Party. [Details here]
• Grab a beer with developers at Mustang Sally’s in Chantilly on April 24. [Details here]
• Dive into generative AI at a showcase at the AWS Skills Center in Arlington on April 24. [Details here]
• Recently laid off? Get to know other impacted federal employees and contractors on April 25 at a George Mason event. [Details here]
• DC Code and Coffee is hosting a coworking session on April 26 at the West End Neighborhood Library. [Details here]
• Meet fellow geographic information system technologists in the DMV at a meetup on April 30. [Details here]
