Baltimore weekly roundup: Big money to salvage wood; Johns Hopkins faces funding cuts; Royal Caribbean ships out

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

It’s the most wonderful time of year: RealLIST Startup season! Technical.ly has a new list of 19 rising startups in Baltimore. Learn about the AI, medical device and sustainability-focused firms worth watching this year. 

Outside of this annual series, it’s been a busy month for fundraising, grants and cash flow in the region. We have all the latest monetary news for you, including an $18.5 million raise for a local supply chain tech startup. 

Plus, Techstars announced the inaugural class of its AI Health Baltimore accelerator with companies from across the US, Canada and Argentina. 

Scroll on for more news from throughout Baltimore.

📰 News Incubator: What to know

• Check out the 19 dynamic startups that we named to our 2025 RealLIST. [Technical.ly]

• Johns Hopkins University could lose federal funding over antisemitism claims. The institution is one of 60 colleges, including Harvard and Cornell, facing the Trump administration’s warning after Palestinian solidarity protests took place on their campuses. The university is also facing cuts to federal research grants if a rule change regarding capping funding holds. [Baltimore Banner]

• VC funding in the late- and growth-stage periods increased for women founders in 2024, while early-stage funding declined. [Technical.ly]

• Some government IT services are still disrupted after a cyber incident in Anne Arundel County several weeks ago. The county launched a webpage to assist residents in accessing certain services like paying bills. [Patch/Anne Arundel County]

• Emergent BioSolutions, a biotechnology company that faced controversy over millions of ruined COVID-19 vaccines, is selling its drug manufacturing plant in Bayview for $36.5 million. [Baltimore Business Journal/Technical.ly]

• Royal Caribbean is relocating one of its ships from the Port of Baltimore to Florida in 2026. [CBS]

• Nonprofit United Way granted regional organizations thousands of dollars to carry out  “community-centered” projects. One recipient is A Prosperous Tomorrow, which works to advance digital equity. [United Way]

• Maryland’s Senate president is anticipating a recession in the state, citing the Trump administration’s federal job cuts and Maryland’s reliance on federal funds. [Maryland Matters] 

• An investigation into Baltimore City’s public works department found the agency regularly exposed employees to harm but did not receive a fine. The investigation started after a worker died on the job over the summer. [WYPR]
 
• Irazú Oncology, a biotechnology company developing cancer immunotherapies, landed funding, hired a chief medical officer and expanded its lab space at the University of Maryland BioPark’s 4MLK facility. [UM BioPark/Technical.ly]

🗓️ On the Calendar

• Partner event: The Greater Baltimore Committee unveils one of its major strategic initiatives — the Baltimore Region Economic Brand — at a special event in Towson on March 17. [Details here]

• Learn how to master work/life balance at a workshop hosted by Impact Hub Baltimore on March 13. [Details here]

• Loyola University Maryland’s Baltipreneurs program will host a demo day for its latest cohort on March 18.  [Details here]

• Network at Baltimore Tech Meetup’s latest happy hour on March 19. [Details here]

• Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine is holding an event on March 25 to recognize the innovations created at the university. [Details here]