Synnovation Therapeutics announces its plans to double down on Delaware

Who’s making moves in Delaware this month?

With Delaware’s shift from a Technical.ly market to a Technical.ly satellite (part of Greater Philadelphia), the state will be incorporated into Philly’s Power Moves and Money Moves columns. But we’re not dropping Delaware-focused content altogether: Every month, we’ll publish “Delaware Moves,” featuring tech, startup and economic development news from the First State. 

Read on for this month’s moves, after the chart comparing Delaware’s job market in February 2024 and February 2025. 

Precision cancer treatment firm chooses to grow in Delaware

Synnovation Therapeutics, a Delaware-based precision cancer treatment firm based at the Delaware Innovation Space has chosen to continue its growth in Delaware as it moves to hire 44 scientists, management and administrative personnel. 

Synnovation has been engaged with the Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP) discussing its growth and talent acquisition plans since 2022. In January, DPP supported the company’s request to the state Council on Development Finance for a Jobs Performance Grant of up to $438,000 from the Delaware Strategic Fund.

“Delaware’s strong commitment to building a robust biotechnology ecosystem in the greater Wilmington area was a key factor in our decision to expand here,” said Synnovation CEO and Founder Wenqing Yao in a press release.

Synnovation, a 2023 RealLIST Startups honoree had a $69.9 million raise in December 2023, the largest in the Philadelphia region that quarter.

Startup accelerator VentureLab announces its latest cohort

Bronze Valley VentureLab powered by Gener8tor announced its newest startup cohort, featuring five startups tackling challenges in AI-powered education, financial auditing, precision radiation therapy, design automation and cybersecurity training.

Here’s the full list, startup descriptions via Bronze Valley VentureLab:

• AnyLearn – Reshaping education with AI-powered structured learning, generating over 25,000 learning modules to date
• Finhound – Automating financial data verification, already working with MassMutual and analyzing 10,000+ SEC reports
• WearableDose – Advancing precision radiation therapy through an AI-powered wearable patch, partnering with Children's National Hospital and the University of MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Ideate – Automating operational design tasks for the $68 billion design industry, with 4,900+ users on its waitlist
• DiTech Solutions – Enhancing cybersecurity training for critical infrastructure, securing an LOI with the Torta Brayda Institute

More moves

• The Center for Accelerating Financial Equity (CAFE) welcomed Ryan Vanderlic as its new program manager. Vanderlic will lead the CAFE Fintech Accelerator program.

• Lauren Spinelli, former director of marketing for Carvertise, is the new vice president of partnerships for location-based marketing agency EMC Outdoor of Newtown Square, PA.
  
• Delaware Division of Small Business Director CJ Bell is settling into his new position.

• Chemours, whose Ti-Pure R-706 product is considered the industrial benchmark universal titanium dioxide for coatings applications, is releasing Ti-Pure TS-6706, a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative.

• Oncology firm Incyte hasn’t yet expanded into downtown Wilmington’s Bracebridge campus — once the home of MBNA during its Delaware heyday in the 1990s — and the project has already been honored with an award. Business Facilities magazine recognized the project, and DPP’s contributions to it, with its Deal of the Year Impact Award in the Corporate Headquarters Category. The new corporate headquarters is expected to bring more than 300 relocated out-of-state jobs and up to 500 future jobs to the city’s business district.

• CAFE Accelerator applications are now open for the CAFE 2025 Spring Accelerator Program, a no-cost, no-equity hybrid program designed for fintech startups and businesses with a mission to make financial wellness more accessible through technology.

• The Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce’s Pitch Perfect Competition will have its inaugural event at CSC Station in Wilmington on March 27, with a $30,000 prize pool.

• North Wilmington’s Best Egg signed a $1 billion loan agreement with investment firm AB CarVal. This follows a deal with Fortress Investment Group earlier in the fall. The loan will be used to help provide vehicle equity loans to Best Egg clients. 
• Pharmaceutical company Merck is seeking a $30 million grant for a contract manufacturing site in Middletown. 
• DoMore24, “Delaware’s Biggest Day of Giving,” returns with its marathon of fundraising for local nonprofits on March 6 and 7.