Philly weekly roundup: Workday shuts down Berwyn office; 500 free laptops; $50M for PA innovation

Welcome to the roundup of the latest from Philly's tech and entrepreneurship scene. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe for free.

This week in Philly, Fore Biotherapeutics raised another $38 million, Pennsylvania faces digital equity cuts and more.

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

📰 News Incubator: What else to know

• The Philly region’s designated Tech Hub will get another shot at funding later this year after the Trump Administration canceled $210 million in previously awarded funding. [Technical.ly]

• Software company Workday shut down its office in Berwyn, the company confirmed to Technical.ly. Employees who were working from that location are now working remotely, a spokesperson said. [Email]

• After spending eight years consulting on pharma marketing materials, Nyron Burke had the idea to create an AI tool to accelerate the process. His company, Lithero, created the tool LARA to do just that. [Technical.ly]

• Jim Wilson, founder of Gemma Biotherapeutics (Philly’s No. 1 RealLIST Startup in 2025), is already an experienced gene therapy researcher, and he says it’s taught him how to navigate the investor market to support his work. [Technical.ly/The Inquirer]

•  The city’s Office of Innovation and Technology plans to distribute 500 free laptops to residents across Philadelphia as part of its Power Up Tour. [City of Philadelphia]

• Governor Josh Shapiro announced a $50 million PA Innovation program as part of the 2025 to 2026 budget. This initiative allocates $30 million for life sciences job growth and $20 million for larger-scale innovation. [DCED]

• Funding from the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation is a major economic driver in Pennsylvania. Losing that money will have a huge impact on the commonwealth, writes Thomas P. Foley. [Technical.ly]

• 2025 RealLIST Startup Allocations announced its new name: New Issue IQ.  [Technical.ly/New Issue IQ]

• Philly-based company Goeppert LLC won $50,000 from the Keystone Space Innovation Challenge to develop new ways to develop MoS2, a semiconductor material. [Keystone Space Collaboration]

• The Affordable Connectivity Program, a federal internet subsidy initiative, officially ended one year ago. Since then, families have struggled to stay connected online. [Technical.ly/Broadband Breakfast]

🗓️ On the Calendar

• Partner event: Big companies like Comcast reveal how they approach innovation — and what startups should know about working with them. At a free event on June 5, experts will discuss the structured programs, dedicated teams and clear processes that go into building new ideas. [Register]

• PHPxPhilly is hosting its next meetup on June 3 at the Bok Building. [Register here]

• United Effects Ventures is hosting its first edition of Welcome Wagon on June 4. [Buy tickets]

• Philly Game Mechanics is hosting an in-person Playtest Night at Majux on June 5. [More details]

• Watch startups compete for a $20,000 grand prize at the Future Forward Garden Party Pitch Competition on June 7. [Buy tickets]