State legislators pass extension of angel investor tax credit

state legislators

Last week, Arizona state legislators passed SB 1124, which includes an extension of the Small Business Capital Investment Incentive. The incentive, more commonly known as the angel investor tax credit, encourages investment in early-stage companies and tech startups in Arizona. The tax credit has made a $1.38 billion economic impact over the last six years. … Read more

ASU to launch digital record app in the spring

digital record

Arizona State University announced plans to launch a student digital record app, called Pocket, during the university’s Digital Trust Summit in June. The app is expected to launch in Spring 2022. Decentralized digital learning record platforms like Pocket are designed to give students more control of their data and records, like the ability to store … Read more

Multi-state smart city collaboration forms between Arizona, North Texas groups

smart city

Three smart city associations, two of which are based in Arizona, joined forces to take a “region of regions” approach to collaborate and evaluate new financial models.  The North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA), a consortium of almost 30 municipalities, agencies, corporations and academic institutions in North Texas; The Connective, a Phoenix-based research and implementation partnership … Read more

What happened in Arizona tech in June? Find out here

Arizona tech

June was another big month for tech in Arizona — everything from partnerships and grants to business milestones and expansions. Arizona Technology Council praises AZ’s 2022 fiscal year budget proposal The Council’s president and CEO Steven G. Zylstra said the proposal includes funding to keep Arizona competitive in tech. The proposed budget includes many of … Read more

Medtech company Anuncia announces relocation to Scottsdale

anuncia

Anuncia, a medical device company and innovator in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) management, announced its plan to move its headquarters to Scottsdale. The headquarters will be at SkySong, the Arizona State University Scottsdale Innovation Center. This location provides the company with access to research and development opportunities, as well as bioscience and healthcare talent. It also … Read more

Social Leverage raises $99 million for fourth venture fund

social leverage

Social Leverage, a Scottsdale-based venture capital firm, raised $99 million for its fourth venture fund.  The VC group, made up of managing partners Howard Lindzon, Gary Benitt and Tom Peterson, are looking to invest in early-stage SaaS, fintech and consumer startups.  Peterson told the Phoenix Business Journal that the partners look for companies on the … Read more

ASU PhD student receives NASA grant

PhD student

Kevin Trinh, a PhD student at Arizona State University, was awarded the Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) grant earlier this month. This award will give Trinh and his PhD advisor, Joe O’Rourke, an assistant professor at ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, $135,000 over three years.  FINESST, established … Read more

Trainual raises $27M Series B to improve platform and increase global expansion

Top Workplaces

Trainual, a SaaS platform designed to help growing businesses standardize policies and processes, has closed a $27 million Series B round, bringing the company’s total funding to $33.75 million. The round was led by Altos Ventures, a major venture capital firm based out of Menlo Park, Calif. Trainual founder and CEO Chris Ronzio said in … Read more

Coconino County partners with SpaceX to expand internet access

Coconino County

Since early May, 45 rural households in Coconino County have used internet access brought to them by state-of-the-art satellites made by SpaceX. Coconino County began conversations with Elon Musk’s company in 2019. This meeting resulted in the county securing SpaceX beta technology, which was created to make the internet more accessible to rural areas.  The … Read more