Venture Madness, presented by Invest Southwest, in partnership with Arizona Commerce Authority announced the next round of 32 startups, from the original 64, to advance to round two in the head-to-head competition. Round two is critical as the public vote will directly help their favorite startup advance to the live pitch portion of Venture Madness … Read more
July proved to be another big month for Arizona tech, with local companies raising millions, out-of-towners relocating to the Valley, and plenty of events and cohorts popping up to support startups. This month, we put a spotlight on diversity and talked to leaders from around Phoenix to give founders tips on how to diversify your … Read more
The Sonoran Founders Fund, led by CEO and co-founder Romi Dhillon and co-founders Dan Burns, Cathy Eckstein and Kevin Groman, plan to raise and invest $10 million into Southwest-region pre-seed and seed-stage startups in 2021. According to the fund’s website, the group looks to invest in the SaaS, marketplaces, AI, Fintech, Edtech and healthcare IT … Read more
YellowBird, a gig economy marketplace headquartered in Phoenix, has closed its seed capital raise with more than $1.7 million in funding. The YellowBird marketplace connects businesses with vetted Risk and Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) professionals on-demand for projects of any size. The professionals are vetted with a five-step process that includes background and accreditation … Read more
The Arizona tech community has experienced significant growth, thanks to companies moving and expanding here. Startups are another big reason for a more vibrant tech scene, as many entrepreneurs are purposely coming to Arizona to start their tech companies. The numbers support this growth. According to the recently revised U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 Business Dynamics … Read more
Arizona State University receives high ranks in a survey of universities without a medical school. The Tempe-based university was ranked fourth in most patents pending and number of startups launched, and third in number of inventions disclosed. These strong ratings are thanks specifically to ASU’s SkySong Innovations, the intellectual property management and technology transfer organization … Read more
Just a few weeks after PayGround co-founder and CEO Drew Mercer found out he had testicular cancer, his wife gave birth to their third child. Mercer says that in a span of two weeks, he and his wife received more than 20 separate healthcare bills, each one a paper statement with a different way to … Read more
StartupAZ and invisonAZ have announced the third round of EmergeAZ Fast Grant winners. The EmergeAZ Fast Grant program pulls from a $1 million fund, with grant amounts ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. Grants were awarded this third round to ten Arizona tech companies with a wide variety of products ranging from platforms managing Cannabis operations … Read more
Time to break out the brackets for Venture Madness 2016! This event, brought to the Valley by Invest Southwest and Arizona Commerce Authority, is where the top 64 startups go head-to-head in a pitch competition and vie for a portion of the $100,000 prize and the chance to be crowned champion. The first elimination round begins tomorrow … Read more
Drop the mic, not the smartphone. Crowd Mics, the startup that turns your smartphone into a wireless microphone, announced today they closed a $1 million dollar seed round led by top angel investment group, Sand Hill Angels. Other participants in the round include Keiretsu Capital, Arizona Technology Investors, Desert Angels, and other private investors. Tim … Read more