ZeroEyes lands major Temple partnership after multimillion-dollar raise

To round out the year, startups are investing in local partnerships. 

Temple University is the first nearby university to collaborate with gun-detection software company ZeroEyes and Indy Hall is working with a local podcast producer to launch a studio space. 

Plus, the University City Science Center announced the 10 companies selected for its next Capital Readiness cohort and a Penn Engineering dean won an innovation award for his robotics research. 

Get all the details on this month’s power moves below. 

Temple University increases safety measures via ZeroEyes partnership

Temple University is the first local university to partner with Conshohocken-based AI gun detection software company ZeroEyes. 

“Our holistic approach to security at Temple includes our own police department, a 24/7 dispatch center, numerous security officers and 1,500 security cameras,” said Jennifer Griffin, VP for public safety and chief of police at Temple. “We are very excited about ZeroEyes’ ability to provide rapid detection and actionable intelligence about illegally brandished guns on our campus.” 

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency granted Temple $450,000 toward the partnership, but university officials did not confirm the cost of the project.

ZeroEyes, which recently raised $53 million, uses existing security cameras to detect motion and determine if a gun is present. If a weapon is found, the system shares the images with ZeroEyes Operations Center, which determines if the threat is valid and notifies authorities. 

Indy Hall launches podcast pilot 

Coworking space Indy Hall is partnering with local podcast producers SBX Productions to launch a podcast pilot program at its Northern Liberties clubhouse. 

“We talk to a wide range of creatives and entrepreneurs looking for new ways to market their products and services including podcasts,” Indy Hall cofounder Alex Hillman told Technical.ly. “I’m excited to see how we’re able to support existing communities of podcasters.” 

Indy Hall dabbled in podcasting pre-pandemic, but never established anything permanent because it didn’t know how to manage all the logistics, Hillman said. 

Creatives and entrepreneurs in the Indy Hall community will have access to studio space and podcast engineers who can give them advice and help them record and edit, Vince Quinn, cofounder of SBX Productions, told Technical.ly. 

3 Philly startups selected for Capital Readiness Program

The University City Science Center announced the sixth cohort of its Capital Readiness Program, and it chose three local healthtech companies to fill some of the slots: 

• Wynnewood-based Vizmoo developed a virtual reality platform to provide therapies for neurodiverse people.
• Bala Cynwyd-based Pain Specialists Group is working on an implant to reduce nerve pain. 
• Traveling across the river from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Robossis is developing a robotic system for bone fracture surgeries.

The program, which provides networking and resources to startups looking to raise capital, invites companies from across the country and internationally to come to Philadelphia for a weeklong bootcamp. Over 50 startups across five cohorts have participated since the program launched last year, raising $35 million collectively. 

“We’re committed to providing founders with the resources, mentorship and market access they need,” said Tiffany Wilson, president and CEO of the Science Center, “to de-risk their companies and earn investor confidence in a highly competitive market.” 

Penn Engineering dean wins award for drone research

Vijay Kumar, a dean at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, is one of three robotics researchers to win the 2024 John Scott Award. 

The award is presented annually to individuals who are improving humankind through scientific achievements, in the spirit of Benjamin Franklin. This year’s award was also presented to robotics researchers Daniela Rus from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Takeo Kanade from Carnegie Mellon University. 

“I never thought that I’d be considered alongside so many previous (Scott Award) winners,” Kumar said. “It’s especially exciting to share the platform with my friends Takeo Kanade and Daniela Rus, and to honor the legacy of Benjamin Franklin.”

Kumar’s research is focused on aerial robotics, specifically unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) commonly known as drones. Kumar is developing drone capabilities to do tasks that are dangerous for humans, like mapping, reconnaissance and search and rescue. Eventually, UAVs could be used in agriculture, commercial construction or even medicine, he said. 

More power moves: 

• Coatesville-based founder Susan Springsteen won a spot at the 2024 Global TiE Women Pitch Summit in Bangalore, India. Springsteen’s company H2O Connected develops tech products that identify water loss issues in toilets. 
• Clinical trial payment company Greenphire appointed Derek Bluestone as its new chief product officer. 
• Banking executive Daniel K. Fitzpatrick won the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia’s 2024 William Penn Award. 
• AI-based pathology products company Proscia was named to Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech list. 
• Local companies Dbt Labs, Marinus Pharmaceuticals and AscellaHealth were named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list. 
• Burro, which makes autonomous farm robots, is partnering with UK-based Fieldwork Robotics on raspberry harvesting.