Welcome to the weekly roundup of the latest from Pittsburgh's tech and entrepreneurship scene. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe for free.
This week in Pittsburgh, a free program for young women to get their drone certifications, Abridge hires its first CFO and more.
Read on for Technical.ly’s weekly roundup of top news in the region.
📰 News Incubator: What else to know
• More than 60 immigrant-owned and allied businesses in Pittsburgh closed Monday to take a stand against Trump’s increased immigration enforcement. The closures were part of a nationwide “Day Without Immigrants” protest. [PublicSource]
• Governor Josh Shapiro shared his budget proposal Tuesday, asking the Pennsylvania legislature to legalize recreational cannabis and tax slot-like skill games to cover a spending deficit — plus, $50 million to support startups and life science companies. [SpotlightPA/Pittsburgh Biz Times]
• Astrobotic secured a contract to transport California-based aerospace company Venturi Astrolab’s rover to the moon aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin Mission One lander. The trip is scheduled for the end of 2025. [Astrobotic]
• A Carnegie Mellon student found a bug in Google Chrome’s WebAssembly Code. The student donated his reward to PicoCTF, the university’s annual cybersecurity competition, and Google matched the donation for a total of $462,000. [Carnegie Mellon University]
• Wexford-based biopharmaceutical company Coeptis closed an additional $5.7 million in its final Series A offering, bringing the total to $10 million after an initial $4.3 million raised in June 2024. [Techncial.ly/Coeptis]
• Democratic mayoral candidates Ed Gainey and Corey O’Connor clashed over what projects should be funded by the city’s budget during a debate Sunday. Meanwhile, several Republicans have entered the race, including Lawrenceville business owner Thomas West. [Pittsburgh City Paper/WESA]
🗓️ On the Calendar
• Partner event: Take a crash course in how to think, work and build like a startup at Techstars Startup Weekend Pittsburgh from Feb. 7-9. You’ll meet fellow builders, mentors, investors and more. [Find out more]
• Enjoy an early-morning run with likeminded entrepreneurs at Pitch and Run PGH in Bakery Square on Feb. 7. [Details here]
• Attend the 2025 Beyond Big Data: AI/Machine Learning Summit on Feb. 12 to learn how managers at every level can take advantage of the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence and machine learning. [More info]
• Learn how to target next-round investors and secure capital on Feb. 12 as part of CMU’s CONNECTS seminar series designed for students but welcome to all. [RSVP]
• The Hardware Meetup, a global community of over 30,000 members, is hosting its first-ever meetup in Pittsburgh on Feb. 13 at the Robotics Factory. Discuss all things robots and electric vehicles with other hardware enthusiasts. [Register]
