DC weekly roundup: Booz Allen lays off 2,500; Bowser budget is business-friendly; US-China AI debate

A longstanding trend is multinational corporations opening offices in the region to get close to the feds. That’s the thinking behind Florida cybersecurity firm OPSWAT’s recent acquisition of an Arlington company, which led to the launch of a new cybersecurity lab complete with dummy missiles and a mock nuclear facility.

Plus, global incubator Halcyon just wrapped its climate fellowship made for local startups. Participants got connected with experts in climate tech and learned how to deal with changing policies and the Trump administration rescinding grants from the Trump administration.

What else should you know this week? Check out the roundup below.

📰 News Incubator: What else to know

• Entrepreneurs are using AI to streamline their work. [Technical.ly]

• Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean is laying off 7% of its workforce, or about 2,500 employees. The cuts primarily affect its federal civil business section, which will be restructured as the feds evaluate spending. [Washington Biz Journal]

• Experts on a recent panel at Johns Hopkins University, including a former CIA officer and US Congressman, were split about how to handle AI’s role in US-China relations. [Technical.ly]

• DC Mayor Bowser released her belated budget today, and it’s very business-friendly. It invests $2.4 million in a new DC Technology Ecosystem Fund to support startup accelerators and incubators, and a renewing tax incentive for “high tech” companies in DC. It also includes $2.1 million to invest in cybersecurity for the government. To deal with the remaining $1.13 billion hole caused by Congress, DC will continue a hiring freeze, although no layoffs are planned. [Mayor Bowser] 

• Take a look inside the crypto dinner Trump hosted at his golf club in Northern Virginia. [WIRED] 

• Two high schoolers in McLean developed an app to help first responders quickly access patient data through a QR code. [DC News Now]

• AI-powered software company Rhizome, headquartered in DC, raised $6.5 million in seed funding to scale its platform that helps utility companies make investment decisions to boost reliability. Rhizome also has a platform for electric utilities to mitigate wildfires and a climate vulnerability assessment tool. [Rhizome/Technical.ly]

• Washington Post tech workers voted to unionize. The guild represents more than 300 engineers at the newspaper. [Hill Rag]

• Prince George’s County’s credit rating was downgraded, with bond rating agency Moody citing federal spending cuts as one of the reasons. [Washington Post]

• The flexibility working from home provides is a clear plus, but makes it harder for employees to receive mentorship and build camaraderie. [Technical.ly]

🗓️ On the Calendar

• ​Civic Tech DC is hosting one of its project nights on May 28. [Details here]

• ​AI for Good Innovation Summit takes place at International Square on May 29. [Details here]

• Cowork with fellow developers at the next DC Code and Coffee on May 31. [Details here]

• The AI+ Expo takes place from June 2 to 4 and will be attended by government leaders, private sector workers and academics alike. [Details here]

• Open source AI safety nonprofit Roost is hosting a happy hour on June 3. [Details here]

• Refine your pitch on June 3 at the next Unstuck Tuesday. [Details here]

• DC Women Techmakers is hosting a meetup on June 6. [Details here]

• Attend the Digital Navigator Summit on June 13 at the MLK Library. [Details here]