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Most recent newsletters
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Relay’s $36M raise and Ocean Innovation
Posted Yesterday tl;dr This North Carolina tech newsletter covers several business updates, including Raleigh company Relay raising $36 million for AI-powered communication devices, RTI International cutting 200 jobs due to federal funding losses, and SAS Institute hiring a new sales chief to boost its AI positioning. It also highlights Charlotte startup Lucid Bots' new drone technology for cleaning tall windows, upcoming events like the Venture135 conference and NC TECH's tech donation drive, and smaller updates from startups raising funds or launching new initiatives. The newsletter closes with a lighthearted note about "Fat Bear Week," comparing a chunky bear's success to the perseverance needed by startup founders. |
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GrepBeat’s 2026 Startups to Watch revealed
Posted Tuesday tl;dr This newsletter covers North Carolina's tech and business scene, highlighting GrepBeat's Startups to Watch event honoring 11 emerging companies, plus news about a wedding VR startup called ReVeil Media that lets couples relive their big day in 360 degrees. It also reports on Charlotte's two entrepreneurship organizations merging, Lenovo's growing sports partnerships boosting brand awareness, and a new data center project in Durham that's just under the size limit set by a recent moratorium. Finally, it shares job growth rankings showing NC cities like Durham, Raleigh, and Wilmington performing well nationally, along with upcoming local tech events to attend. |
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Planes, Drones, and Startups to Watch
Posted September 24, 2026 tl;dr This newsletter from GrepBeat highlights North Carolina's startup scene, featuring the "Startups to Watch" awards event in Durham and spotlighting companies like MicroBioCol (an AI tracking tool for biotech) and Monthly (an AI-powered financial platform for small businesses). It also covers exciting advances in flying taxis by Beta Technologies and drone manufacturing partnerships with Vulcan Elements, plus new climate-focused and social impact events coming to the Raleigh-Durham area. Finally, it wraps up with quick updates on other local startups and a calendar of upcoming events for entrepreneurs to check out. |
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Front Porch’s Founder Pulse survey and SEED semi-finalists
Posted September 22, 2026 tl;dr This newsletter covers exciting news from North Carolina's startup and tech scene, including CashMap's gamified financial education platform, a new founder survey from Front Porch Venture Partners, and 19 semi-finalists chosen for NC IDEA's fall SEED grant program. It also highlights big funding wins like Ramona Optics raising $25 million, Equal Optics relocating from Texas to Wake Forest, and Kathedra naming Lee Jacobs as its new CEO to lead its upholstery automation technology. The update wraps up with upcoming events like Startups to Watch week in Durham and the Ocean Innovation Conference in Wilmington, encouraging readers to attend and support the local tech community. |
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Startups to Watch, NC TECH Awards, NCInnovatin’s $500M
Posted September 17, 2026 tl;dr This newsletter covers North Carolina startup news, highlighting the upcoming "Startups to Watch" reveal event in Durham, along with updates on local companies like PulseKonnect (home healthcare software), Botsi (subscription pricing app that raised $1.5M), and RevTech Labs Capital (which won a national fintech award). It also mentions NCInnovation's $500M state fund for university research, NC TECH's award finalists and top 10 startups list, and various entrepreneurship programs and application deadlines. The piece ends with quick updates on other startups (Anatra's cargo drones, DayOf's event software, Plantd's grass-based building materials) and a calendar of upcoming events. |
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$2.5M for Social Cascade and NEW Buzz In debrief
Posted September 15, 2026 tl;dr This newsletter recaps exciting happenings in North Carolina's startup and tech world, including a successful Happy Hour event, the Investor Buzz In conference in Wilmington with over 300 attendees, and new funding news like Social Cascade's $2.5M grant and $5M total capital raised. It also highlights new startup launches and partnerships, such as 24HRPR's PR platform for founders, Real Sports' deal with FanDuel, and the Launch accelerator's fourth cohort of 10 companies. Finally, it shares community achievements like the Charlotte Business Journal's Power 100 list featuring several notable local entrepreneurs, upcoming events like demo days and application deadlines, and a new book by tech leader Erkang Zheng. |
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Meet our Executive Director and Venture Atlanta picks 12 NC startups
Posted September 10, 2026 tl;dr GrepBeat's newsletter shares exciting updates from North Carolina's startup and business world, including the announcement of Katy Breitenbach as the company's first Executive Director and a Happy Hour event in Wilmington. Several NC startups received good news, like Botsi raising $1.5M, RCOAST raising $945K for coastal erosion research, and Davidson College's Hurt Hub getting a $25K grant to help small businesses, while Keel Labs sold its assets after going bankrupt. The update also covers North Carolina's average ranking for electric vehicle charger availability and highlights local startups heading to the Venture Atlanta conference. |
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GrepBeat’s next Happy Hour and notable grant wins
Posted September 8, 2026 tl;dr This newsletter from GrepBeat covers exciting news in North Carolina's tech and startup world, including a Charlotte startup called Joyntly that helps managers improve their leadership skills, plus grants awarded to a Raleigh robotics company and a Durham biotech company. There are also several upcoming events to know about, like a Happy Hour party in Wilmington, an Investor "Buzz In" for startups, a Summit for Women in Tech in Asheville, and a Climate Week event in November. Finally, the newsletter shares quick updates on local startups, including new grants, leadership changes, and awards some companies have recently received. |
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$1.45B acquisition and G20 highlights
Posted September 3, 2026 tl;dr This edition of GrepBeat covers several North Carolina startup updates, including new ventures Ask A Shop Owner and QuantumBloom, plus a major $1.45B acquisition of Raleigh-based Utility Innovation Holdings by Vertiv. It also highlights upcoming community events like Bull City Venture Partners' Founders First, NC IDEA's FOUNDATION program, and LiLa's investor meeting, along with recaps of the G20 innovation summit in Chapel Hill. The newsletter wraps up with application deadlines, a calendar of ecosystem events, and a fun shoutout to MapQuest for topping app store charts. |
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Global tech leaders in Chapel Hill and ConvergeSouth recap
Posted September 1, 2026 tl;dr This newsletter covers North Carolina tech and startup news, highlighting Chapel Hill's Fizz Studio, which created ParaCharts, a tool that helps blind and dyslexic people understand data charts through descriptive text. It also reports on major events like the ConvergeSouth Conference and the G20 Innovation Forum in Chapel Hill (featuring tech leaders like Sam Altman and Jensen Huang), plus updates on Lucid Bots' HQ expansion, controversy over Flock surveillance cameras, and doubts about VinFast's promised EV plant jobs. The piece wraps up with quick updates on other regional startups, job growth projections showing software development in high demand, and upcoming local startup events and deadlines. |
