Former Delaware political adviser moves to Coinbase [Startup Roundup]

WHO’S MAKING MOVES

Coinbase, a California-based Bitcoin startup, has hired John Collins in an effort to increase engagement, says the New York Times. Collins is a former adviser to the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. In Delaware, he was also senior political advisor and manager of reelection campaign for U.S. Senator Tom Carper.
 

WHO’S GETTING BUZZ

On Tuesday, Oct. 14, shares of iBio — a Delaware-based pharmaceutical company — dropped nearly 33 percent. That’s after the World Health Organization said that the number of Ebola cases is declining in hard-hit areas, according to an article on The Street: “iBio soared to a 52-week high Monday after a nurse in Texas was diagnosed with Ebola, which deepened concerns about an outbreak in the U.S. The stock rose Friday and continued to soar Monday on speculation that the company could be a manufacturing partner in the U.S. government’s efforts to contain the disease by increasing production on Mapp Biopharmaceuticals’ Ebola drug ZMapp.”
A Huffington Post article out this week — “Your Smartphone Would Be Dumb Without Federally Funded University Research” — named dropped the University of Delaware as a key player in the development of smartphones. “And the iconic touchscreen? It was initially developed in 1971 at the University of Kentucky, and improved at the University of Delaware with funding from the National Science Foundation. The research pair at the University of Delaware founded FingerWorks, which was acquired by Apple in 2005.”
Carvertise, which we profiled last month, recently made headlines in the Delaware Business Times. The story sketches out how Mac Nagaswami founded the company during college, along with how he connected with UD grad and business partner, Greg Starr.
The News Journal also recently featured a story on The Loft cofounders Wes Garnett and Steve Roettger, who, last week, were honored with the Hank Award for Innovation in Economic Development. The award was presented by World Trade Center Delaware at “World Trade in Motion,” an annual event showcasing the global engagement of Delaware. You can read our coverage here.