Philly Money Moves: Comcast commits $35M for digital equity in PA and beyond

Digital equity, STEM education and life sciences are all getting funding in Philly this summer. 

Comcast announced it would be giving $35 million to community organizations in support of digital skills building. Pennsylvania state government will fund a Bucks County STEAM lab to support manufacturing workforce development. Plus, the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center announced the winner of $250,000 from its annual pitch competition. 

Get all the details below the chart, where we look at the top 10 companies hiring for tech jobs in the Philadelphia market and how that’s changed since last month.

Comcast commits $35M to support digital skills building 

Comcast will donate $35 million to hundreds of community organizations across the country to support access to technology and digital skills training. This commitment fits into Comcast’s Project UP, a $1 billion initiative to promote digital equity. 

The money will go toward digital skills organizations for training, research and entrepreneurship support. Examples of partner organizations include: Per Scholas, a nonprofit that trains people for tech careers with a focus on professional development, BUILD, a youth-focused entrepreneurship program and 2Gether-International, which supports startup founders with disabilities. 

“With Comcast’s support, we are on track to create a pipeline of 3,000 to 5,000 disabled entrepreneurs that we support annually by 2030,” said Diego Mariscal, CEO and founder of 2Gether-International. 

PA gives $200,000 to Bucks County STEM program

Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) announced on Monday it would be giving $200,000 to the Bucks County Fab Lab Career Awareness Program. This grant stems from the Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career program, which supports workforce development in manufacturing. 

The Fab Lab Center provides STEAM education opportunities to middle school students, specifically in the fields of manufacturing, computer science and digital fabrication. The funding will support a career awareness program including manufacturing and advanced technology workplace experiences through virtual reality and in-person field trip opportunities for all middle school students in Bucks County. 

“Each field trip and institute will include career-specific content and interactive simulations with virtual reality,” Lindsey Sides, Bucks Intermediate Unit Supervisor of STEAM Education, said. ”That captivates students and cements lessons by providing dynamic hands-on experiences inspiring future career aspirations.”

The goal is to engage with 4,350 Bucks County students over the next two years, exposing them to advanced technology careers, according to the DCED. 

Philly startup wins $250,000 from PA Biotechnology Center

The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC), a nonprofit that supports early-stage life science companies, chose Philly-based biotech startup Hula Therapeutics as the winner of its 10th Annual Entrepreneur Spotlight. 

PABC’s affiliated venture capital fund Hatch Biofund is giving Hula Therapeutics $250,000. PABC chose three companies from a pool of 40 applicants to pitch to business leaders and biotech investors. The winner is determined by a panel of four judges and votes from the general audience. 

Hula Therapeutics is developing treatments for solid tumors in both children and adults. The company aims to be in clinical trials for a CAR-T cell therapy for neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that affects nerve cells, by the end of 2024. 

Doylestown-based Eliksa Therapeutics and Blue Bell-based ThirdLaw Molecular were also finalists in the competition. As runner-ups, they won year-long memberships with PABC which includes lab and office space and access to a network of biotech companies.  

More Money Moves:

University of Pennsylvania spinout Interius BioTherapeutics raised $67 million in a Series B round, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported. This funding will go toward continued development of its gene therapy, INT2104, to treat cancer.