DC weekly roundup: TANTV wins $50K for news platform; drone tests coming; the Post’s tanking traffic

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This week in DC, Prince George’s County-based TANTV won a $50,000 prize, we tested AI writing tools and more.

Read on for Technical.ly’s weekly roundup of top news in the region.

News Incubator: What else to know

• Dan Gincel, a longtime leader of Maryland-backed venture investor TEDCO’s vehicles for supporting stem cell research and medical technology, died on Christmas Eve. Colleagues remembered his passion for the life sciences and his sense of humor. [Technical.ly]

• Alexandria-based health tech firm Bluesight acquired the Baltimore drug-tracking startup Protenus. Nick Culbertson founded the latter company in 2014, and it completed a $21 million Series D during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. [Washington Business Journal/Technical.ly] 

• José Andrés Group is working with engineers to develop recipes for the cooking device SATED Space, which can cook food in zero gravity. [Axios]

• Donald Trump’s property company is hoping to repurchase the Waldorf Astoria, formerly known as the Trump International hotel. It originally opened in 2016 a short distance from the White House. [The Guardian]

• Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, along with other GOP leaders, met with Trump in Mar-a-Lago ahead of Inauguration Day, where they discussed the reported drone sightings and plans to look into them. [WTOP]

• Speaking of drones: The Civil Air Patrol will conduct “calibration flights” of drones in DC proper. The city, along with the surrounding region, has the most restricted airspace in the country. [Washington Post]

• The Washington Post’s site traffic has tanked in the last four years. It boasted about 22 million active users in 2021, compared to 2.5 to 3 million users over the summer of 2024. The legacy outlet stopped disclosing its website traffic a few years ago. [Semafor/Washington City Paper]

🗓️ On the Calendar

• Partner Event: HBCUniverse Summit returns to Morgan State on Feb. 8 for a full day of skill-building workshops, panels with industry leaders, a founder expo, career fair and more. Use the discount code “HBCU50” for half-off tickets. [Details here]

• Network and watch AI-related demos at the  AI Tinkerers on Jan. 15. [Details here]

• For small business owners: Learn how to embed cybersecurity in your operations at a virtual panel on Jan. 16. [Details here]

• Attend a project show-and-tell hosted by Civic Tech DC on Jan. 22. [Details here]

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology explores quantum during a two-day event on Feb. 19 and 20. [Details here]