Startups at ASU’s Skysong surpass more than $1B in external funding

Arizona State University has announced that the startups in the Skysong Innovations portfolio have raised more than $1 billion in external funding. This is a major accomplishment for Skysong Innovations, which is the entity that gets ASU research out into the world.  “A billion dollars of investments is an incredible milestone that signals enormous accomplishment, … Read more

Rizing Tide announces first group of Crest Scholarship recipients

Rizing Tide, a foundation started by WebPT co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer Heidi Jannenga, has announced its first cohort of scholarship recipients who will be awarded designed to help students from underrepresented communities become physical therapists.  The foundation selected three BIPOC graduate students to receive scholarships of up to $14,000 to help fund their continuing … Read more

SIGN UP NOW: AZ Tech Podcast live podcast recording on Nov. 11

Do you love the AZ Tech Podcast? Have you missed interacting with our tech community in person? AZ Tech Beat is proud to announce the first live podcast recording of AZ Tech Podcast.  Host Hamid Shojaee will be chatting with some of our favorite friends of the podcast: Bob LaLoggia, Founder of AppointmentPlus, Mike Roberts, … Read more

Early stage EdTech startup raises $1.9 million in seed money

ActiveClass, an early stage education technology company designed to help increase student engagement, has raised $1.9 million in seed money. The Scottsdale-based startup will use the money to hire more employees to support  growth, improve customer service and speed up product development.  “We are beyond excited for what this means not just for us at … Read more

Genetic sequencing startup raises $20M in growth equity capital

Genetic sequencing startup Tesis Labs has announced a $20 million of growth equity financing, marking the company’s first external raise since it was founded in early 2020.  This financing put the company at a post-money valuation of $520 million. The round began and ended in September of this year and it was led by Xcellerant … Read more

UArizona joins Colorado startup showcase, disruptive companies should apply

The University of Arizona has been invited to participate in Destination Startup, an annual startup showcase held in Colorado designed to highlight some of the best companies in the Intermountain West.  The showcase brings together several of the leading research universities and federal laboratories across the Intermountain West region. Standout startups from these institutions will … Read more

Three Scottsdale entrepreneurs named 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year

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Three Scottsdale founders have been named by Ernst & Young (EY US) as winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 Mountain Desert Region Award. Chris Ronzio, founder and CEO of Trainual, and Andrew Leto & Michael Leto, Emerge founder and CEO (respectively), were the only Arizona founders on the list of winners. The rest … Read more

How to improve company culture — and minimize drama — in your growing startup

As your company grows, you may notice a change in the air around your physical — or virtual — office. You might hear of petty drama, rumors or disgruntled employees through the grapevine. “When did this happen?” you might think. How did attitudes change so much on your watch? According to Chris Cardinal, it’s likely … Read more

Ibrahim Mesbah says he’s hoping to build the Amazon of buying and selling car parts in latest AZ Tech Podcast episode

Ibrahim Mesbah wasn’t planning to build a multimillion dollar company. While he worked at PayPal, he developed a passion for finding e-commerce solutions. He was helping a friends’ brother source auto parts a few years ago at a Honda dealership here in the Valley and he saw how complicated and inefficient the process was. From … Read more

ASU boasts two 2021 grads with blossoming tech startups

‘Tis the season for graduation. Hats will fly, tears will fall and oh, so many photos will be taken. Even during a pandemic, more than 19,000 students are on track to graduate this year from Arizona State University alone. This includes both undergraduate and graduate students. ASU’s Spring 2021 graduation ceremonies were held Monday, May … Read more