DC weekly roundup: A career on AI’s front lines; tech’s preferred presidential candidate; ‘Fallout’ developer’s workers unionize

Capital One exec talks AI-focused career

Aparna Sinha leads AI and machine learning product development at Tysons Corner’s Capital One, one of the largest banks in the US. I got to learn about her career embedded in innovative tech and the day-to-day of her current role for our latest How I Got Here profile.

This isn’t the Silicon Valley-based leader’s first time working with AI and related innovations. She worked at Google for a decade, and before she started her Capital One role in January, Sinha coached generative AI-focused startups at the Bay Area firm Pear VC.

“We are deeply optimistic about the positive potential that continued innovation in AI — when developed thoughtfully and responsibly — can enhance the customer experience,” she told me.

➡️ Learn more about Sinha’s career and her advice for technologists here.

Funds to help government contractors

GovPort developed a secure portal to help federal contractors collaborate with partners and subcontractors through tools like document and task management.

The startup recently announced a $2.8 million extension of its existing seed round, which brought the total money raised to $5.3 million. The round was led by the Palo Alto venture capital firm PruVen Capital, with co-investment from San Francisco’s Fin Capital.

With these funds, the company plans to further develop its platform and add new features, including an e-signature feature, said GovPort’s head of growth Michael Heyman

“We’ve been able to really get a really good understanding of the market and realize that a lot of these folks need support,” Heyman told me.

➡️ Read more about this raise in my latest report here.

Useful help for entrepreneurs, good biz for lawyers

Do startup founders still need a lawyer in 2024, and have law firms’ views of startups changed over the past 20 years? Yes…and yes.

Ballard Spahr partner Kim Klayman writes about the topic often; her guest posts are regularly some of Technical.ly’s most popular articles. Tune in at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, July 31, as she joins Chris Wink on Builders Live to discuss her experiences with VC, private equity, family offices and corporate venture groups. The discussion should be useful not only for other startup lawyers, but anyone interested in content marketing in the innovation space.

➡️ Register to join us and ask questions live!

News Incubator: What else to know

• President Biden is officially out of the 2024 race. Billionaires have been rallying behind Trump and claim he’s the best-case scenario for startups and tech, while others caution against this thinking. [Technical.ly]

• Issues with a Crowdstrike routine software update caused computers running Windows operating systems to malfunction on Friday. The issue resulted in flight delays and cancellations, healthcare disruptions and government agency closures across the mid-Atlantic. [Technical.ly]

• The Montgomery County Police Department is planning to double its drone program in the next few months. [Washington Post]

• More than 200 of the workers at Microsoft’s Bethesda Game Studios have officially unionized with Communications Workers of America (CWA), with Microsoft recognizing the union. The CWA previously helped the “Fallout” producer’s parent company ZeniMax Studios unionize in 2023. [The Verge/Technical.ly]

• There will soon be more red light enforcement cameras in Arlington as part of the county’s Vision Zero initiative. [ARLNow]

• In DC, Maryland and Virginia, jobs in manufacturing, tech and health care continue to go unfilled, according to new research by Greater Washington Partnership. There’s also been a steep uptick in specialized tech skills like AI and machine learning. [Greater Washington Partnership]

• The Pentagon is planning to modernize its Cold War-era intercontinental ballistic missile silos. It could cost more than $300 billion, experts say. [Wired]

• Local entrepreneur Steve Salis is launching a second special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The founder behind Kramers books, Ted’s Bulletin and &pizza wants to raise up to $230 million as early as this fall. [Washington Biz Journal]

🗓️ On the Calendar