Pittsburgh weekly roundup: $50M for life science startups; Coeptis closes another $5.7M; Gainey vs. O’Connor on city budget

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]