Philly daily roundup: Hopeworks gets $1M; Drexel invests $450k; City workers go back to the office

Hopeworks uses $1 million donation to expand

Drexel invests $450,000 in 3 new startups

Drexel University’s Innovation Fund provided $150,000 grants to the second cohort of university-affiliated startups. This year’s group includes green energy firm 1DNano, nanomaterial manufacturer MXene Inc and makeup brand Aer Cosmetics, Drexel announced on Friday.

These companies were partially chosen by undergraduate students at the University, who took a course that lets them work on the due diligence process with the investment advisory committee.

➡️ Read more about the selection process for the Innovation Fund

News Incubator: What else to know today

• Despite losing 3.3% of its population during the pandemic, Philadelphia is still the sixth largest city in the country. However, San Antonio is right behind us. [The Inquirer/Technical.ly]

• Mayor Cherelle Parker announced that all city workers would be required to return to the office five days a week starting in July. In the past, Parker has praised Comcast and Independence Blue Cross for bringing it employees back to the office. [WHYY/Technical.ly]

• Salesforce digital marketing agency ListEngage is set to acquire 2024 RealLIST startup 1to1. The company uses AI to customize content on ecommerce sites for individual consumers.  [PRNewswire/Technical.ly]

• Generative AI company PamPam created a version of our 2024 coworking guide using its interactive map platform. [PamPam/Technical.ly/Technical.ly]

• You can now borrow video games from all 54 branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia. [PhillyVoice]

🗓️ On the Calendar

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.