Baltimore weekly roundup: ‘Sharing sugar’ to build opportunity; JPMorgan’s $20M pledge; Digital Equity Fund grantees

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The values behind strong ecosystems

“Sharing sugar” wasn’t the only community-centered point Baltimore-area leaders wanted to get across at the new SuperConnect conference. 

Many stressed the undeniable value of diversity — across race, culture, age, life experience, location and neurocognitive function — to developing more economic opportunities. And that’s a crucial component to building Baltimore’s new narrative— one that centers inclusion, collaboration and interdependence.

“We are witnessing a Baltimore renaissance. … If we stay close, and we stay connected, we will win,” Gov. Wes Moore highlighted at the gathering.

➡️ Find more lessons on ecosystem development in Anand Macherla’s new recap

Pava Center names fall accelerator cohort

The Johns Hopkins-affiliated entrepreneurship support facility chose 10 teams out of nearly 50 applicants for the Fuel program, which is designed for later-stage ventures and is aimed at students from the university’s campuses at all levels of education. 

“We have teams from five of the 9 Johns Hopkins schools and several industries,” associate director Paul Davidson said, adding: “This diversity and interdisciplinary nature will make the semester a success.” 

The Pava Center is named after the late cofounder of EcoMap, which grew its leadership team with a new chief marketing officer, chief financial officer and head of growth. “AI is already here and happening around us, whether it’s the chatbots you use while online shopping, or virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa,” Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, one of the leaders behind the bill, told Technical.ly. “We want people to be able to take advantage of the benefits of AI, but also be protected when using it.” 

➡️ Meet the Fuel cohort and get the details on regional leadership moves here

The authoritative local tech economy resource

With so many regions leaning into the innovation economy, it’s not simple to get a clear picture of how your area stacks up. Each autumn, our newsroom corrals our resources to answer that question for Technical.ly’s markets and beyond.

Our State of the Local Tech Economy reports, led by Technical.ly CEO Chris Wink, give the authoritative analysis of the people, data and trends that make up our markets’ tech workforce and startup ecosystems — and your brand can be front and center. Check out available sponsorship and ad packages and contact sales@technical.ly for more info. It all supports our independent journalism.

➡️  Choose one region or get a discount for network-wide

News Incubator: What else to know

• The grassroots community Hacks/Hackers, which aims to bring together journalists and technologists, seeks to make AI systems more inclusive through an upcoming hackathon. [Technical.ly]

• JPMorgan Chase pledged $20 million in 2022 through 2027 to small businesses and entrepreneurs working to alleviate Baltimore’s high vacant housing rates. The banking giant devoted similar attention to Detroit, where some say not all neighborhoods have been treated the same. [Baltimore Banner]

• Ciena Corp., one of the area’s fastest-growing public companies, announced plans to buy up to $1 billion of its own stock. [Baltimore Biz Journal]

• Dockworkers in Baltimore raised concerns about automation technology during the three-day strike at ports across the Gulf Coast and East Coast. It’s expected to be a major point of conversation as contract negotiations continue. [Baltimore Sun]

• Baltimore-based fintech company Facet raised $35 million in new funding. The firm aims to make financial planning more accessible and affordable. [Facet]

• Several fellowships and accelerators with local ties made announcements in the past week: CLLCTIVLY announced its inaugural cohort of “social impact leaders” in the region. Conscious Venture Lab just kicked off its 12th cohort, while Loyola’s Baltipreneurs Accelerator is accepting applications until the end of this month. In addition, JPMorgan Chase and Syracuse announced members of a training program to help mid-size veteran and military spouse executives scale their businesses; that cohort includes Ryan Hogan, the CEO of Hunt A Killer, which is headquartered in the region. [CLLCTIVLY/Loyola/Novella Center/Syracuse]

• Washingtonian’s latest annual list of “Tech Titans” features some Baltimore region players like leadership at TEDCO and heads of Columbia-based Gula Tech Adventures. [Washingtonian]

•  BioHub Maryland, an initiative of the Maryland Tech Council, landed $75,000 from the Maryland Department of Labor to train workers in biopharma manufacturing [BioHub Maryland]

• It’s Digital Inclusion Week in Baltimore, according to an official proclamation by Mayor Brandon Scott. As part of it, the city’s Digital Equity Fund granted awards of up to $200,000 to local organizations like Code in the Schools and Dent Education. [BCIT]

• More EcoMap news: The startup recently debuted Pathways, a new platform to streamline resource access and provide personalized guidance for entrepreneurs, and relaunched the Baltimore Tech Connect platform with UpSurge Baltimore. [EcoMap] 

🗓️ On the Calendar

• Partner event: Hacks/Hackers, The Real News Network and Baltimore Beat are hosting a two-day hackathon on Oct. 18 and 19 that revolves around making AI systems more fair, as well as exploring how they can be used to identify and eliminate bias. [Details here]

• Oct. 14: Baltimore Climate Tech Meetup is hosting a gathering with the climate tech accelerator Activate to spread the word about its program and offer tips for applications to its upcoming cohort. [Details here]

• Oct. 19: Attend Baltimore Code & Coffee’s first symposium about AI. [Details here]

• Oct. 24: Network with fellow technologists at a happy hour hosted by Baltimore Tech Meetup at Crossbar Der Biergarten.  [Details here]