DC weekly roundup: Techstars loses staff, accelerators; Teen founders shine; AG investigates sports betting star

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Farewell to DC’s Techstars accelerator

The pre-seed investor’s decision is tied to the $80 million Advancing Cities fund, through which it developed nine different accelerator programs across the country. The fund, which sunsets this year, was created via a partnership between Techstars and banking giant JP Morgan. 

The planned DC cohort of 24 companies will still convene in September. 

CEO and cofounder David Cohen notified staff of the layoffs and the program’s end in an email last week. He noted that Techstars’ current priority is not to scale programming, but to “shift all of our focus to being better for founders each and every day.”

“While this is a necessary business decision,” Cohen wrote, “it doesn’t make it any less painful.”

➡️ Read more about the Techstars news in my latest report here.

Empowering teens through entrepreneurship

Through Tumaini DC, students spent six weeks over the summer developing business ideas that solve problems in their communities. That program, which began in 2021, culminated in a pitch competition between a handful of students. 

Founder and executive director Portia Richardson created the entrepreneurship initiative to help students navigate the world with more agency. 

“Most of our young people are very entrepreneurial-minded. They’re very innovative,” she told me. “It allows them to use their voice, to leverage their voice and solve problems. But it also gives them another pathway to create generational wealth and to break the cycle of generational poverty.”

➡️ Learn about Tumaini DC’s programming and the winning business idea here

Social media as news platform

More people than ever are getting local news from social media. About 23% of Americans say it’s their primary source, per the latest Pew survey, up from 15% half a decade ago — and the younger you are, the more likely that is. That’s one reason Technical.ly is on these platforms. At least some of them.

Our latest move is to start posting regularly on Threads — follow us at @technical_ly — but we’re also heavily active on LinkedIn, which makes sense as the innovation ecosystem’s platform of choice, since it’s so heavily business-focused. We’re rethinking our strategy for Instagram (if you have suggestions, let us know) and are also still posting on Facebook. Last note: As of this week, we’re moving all X posts to our main account instead of market-specific feeds, so if you’re still there, give that a follow.

➡️ Thanks for reading — see you on LinkedIn?

News Incubator: What else to know

• The insurance provider CareFirst consolidated its offices and moved its DC headquarters last month, while Axios HQ expands its leadership and released a new AI-powered product. [Technical.ly]

•  The district is investigating the city’s previous sole sports betting company as  Attorney General Brian Schwalb demands documents from the gaming giant Intralot. [Washington City Paper]

• Venture For America, the nonprofit that placed college graduates with startups across the country, shut down due to fundraising concerns. [Technical.ly]

•  A University of Maryland research lab focused on security and intelligence is partnering with College Park’s IonQ to research how quantum computing can advance national security. [UMD]

• The Tysons-based nonprofit NobleReach Foundation announced its inaugural class of scholars, who will be placed in technology and entrepreneurship-focused roles within the government or the private sector. [NobleReach Foundation]

•  Northern Virginia Community College will soon offer engineering apprenticeships in the semiconductor and data center industries, thanks to $5 million in grants. [Washington Biz Journal] 

• DC’s 911 system has been dysfunctional for some time now, complete with dropped calls and dispatching to incorrect addresses. One report from a few years ago noted a lack of tech upgrades over the years. [Washingtonian]

🗓️ On the Calendar

• DC Code and Coffee hosts its next meetup and coworking session on Aug. 18.  [Details here]

• DC Startup Week is continuing its summer happy hour series on Aug. 22. [Details here]

• The startup founders club Crowdfuel is hosting a networking event with a fireside chat on Aug. 21. [Details here]

• Women and Gender eXpansive Coders is hosting a Python workshop on Aug. 22. [Details here]