Baltimore weekly roundup: the Iron Dome’s local ties; $2M for digital equity; Catalyte’s leadership transition

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Ties to Israeli defense tech spark protests

A local group called Al-Aqsa Swim Club has taken specific aim at the Maryland/Israel Development Center, a public-private partnership working to bring Israeli business to Maryland, and the state’s businesses to Israel. 

Demonstrators’ actions included showing up to politicians’ houses calling for a ceasefire, posting educational graphics on Instagram and creating an in-depth resource guide.

Maryland is home to more than 40 companies headquartered in Israel, and the state exported $53 million in products and services there in 2023. Israeli defense companies have also established US headquarters in Maryland, including some behind the US-backed Iron Dome system.   

The center receives taxpayer dollars — $275,000 annually, which stood out to one protestor. 

“Our mission is to highlight them [the MIDC], to let people know, ‘Hey, FYI this is where all this money is coming from in Maryland,’” they told me. 

➡️ Read more about Maryland’s economic ties to Israel in my latest report

Nonprofit gets $2M to bridge the digital divide

Baltimore’s Office of Information and Technology awarded the organization Waves the funds to help get high-speed internet to residents who otherwise could not afford it. 

That agency’s director of broadband and digital equity noted the city’s efforts to advance broadband access on a recent panel. Baltimore owns its underground conduit system, which means there’s a lower barrier to entry for new internet service providers to enter the market, Kenya Asli explained. 

“Now that we have the highway built, we want to put cars on the highway,” she said.  

➡️ Learn about Baltimore’s internet infrastructure in Anand Macherla’s report

News Incubator: What else to know

• The Baltimore-based tech training giant Catalyte hired a new CEO following layoffs and the former CEO leaving the company in October. According to now-CEO Irwin Liu’s LinkedIn profile, he previously served on the firm’s board. Plus, Catalyte’s former president of “talent stream” joined the Walters Art Museum as its CEO and executive director. [LinkedIn/Technical.ly/Baltimore Banner]

• The tech ecosystem nonprofit UpSurge Baltimore will now operate within the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC). This move also arrives as the committee shifts its nonprofit status from a 501(c)(4) to a 501(c)(3). [Technical.ly]

• The GBC also unveiled research about Baltimore’s image. An independent branding agency says the city needs to promote its strengths instead of fending off negative stereotypes in pop culture. [Baltimore Biz Journal]

• Baltimore’s ReBokeh Vision Technologies completed the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Milestone Makers program. Founder Rebecca Rosenberg also earned a feature on the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square. [ReBokeh]

•  The Hidden Genius Project hosted the 12th annual Brothers Code Steam event last weekend. The Oakland-headquartered organization, which has Baltimore offices in the Liberty Square neighborhood, offers training for Black youth in technology and entrepreneurship. [WJZ]

Understanding the local tech economy

Baltimore is in one of the country’s best-educated states, is home to the country’s top R&D-spending university and is part of a region that outpaces the national average in its quantity of software developers.

Given all the positives, why doesn’t it land on lists of major tech and startup hubs, even though its “tech hub” status has been given federal blessing? In a word: diffusion. Innovation works best in density, and the city’s population is shrinking as economic mobility declines.

Can the region’s major boosters — and it has several — turn the tide? It’s all wrapped up in our State of the Baltimore Tech Economy report.

➡️ Get the full picture and download the report

🗓️ On the Calendar

• Attend a demo day featuring the Conscious Venture Lab accelerator cohort on Jan. 7. [Details here]