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Most recent newsletters
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CNBC ranks NC #2 for business
Posted Yesterday tl;dr This newsletter from GrepBeat covers North Carolina startup news, including the location reveal for the 2026 Startups to Watch event at Bay 7, and features on startups like Looks AI (which helps online shoppers find better fits while letting reviewers earn commissions). It also reports on NC IDEA grant application info sessions, the bankruptcy of seaweed-based textile startup Keel Labs, progress updates from SBTDC client companies, and a data center project pulling out of Edgecombe County. Additional highlights include North Carolina ranking 2nd in CNBC's Top States for Business, the LiLa investing group's two-year anniversary, and news that MrBeast will join Shark Tank as a guest shark, plus upcoming event deadlines and calendar dates. |
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JetZero funds and Launch/KPMG applications
Posted Tuesday tl;dr This newsletter covers exciting updates in North Carolina's tech and startup world, including a car repair startup called Fixxr that uses AI to help drivers trust their mechanics, and news about flying vehicles like JetZero's fuel-efficient jets and Anatra's cargo drones expanding in the state. It also highlights several opportunities for entrepreneurs, such as accelerator programs (Launch KPMG and LaunchCLT Mentor Program) and award nominations that are currently open for applications. Finally, it shares quick updates on various local startups' successes and includes a reminder about upcoming deadlines and events for anyone interested in North Carolina's growing business scene. |
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$95M Series C, Apple v Epic goes Supreme, and Happy 4th!
Posted July 2, 2026 tl;dr This tech newsletter covers several North Carolina business updates, including a startup called ChampOS that uses AI to help restaurants take orders, and Durham-based Higharc raising $95 million to expand its AI-powered homebuilding technology. It also reports on a major Apple v. Epic Games antitrust case heading to the Supreme Court, a California AI unicorn called MaintainX setting up shop in Raleigh, and North Carolina's new state roadmap for developing AI responsibly. The newsletter wraps up with startup program updates, upcoming award deadlines, and a fun feature about the office's pet fish, Queeny 2, who now has his own live webcam. |
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Startups to Watch (save the date) & CED GRO11 recap
Posted June 30, 2026 tl;dr This edition of GrepBeat covers exciting North Carolina startup news, including SPRTN Technologies' innovative waterproof earbuds with biometric tracking, and a recap of CED's GRO11 Demo Day where Carolina Instruments and Sensible won top prizes. There are also updates on bigger companies, like SAS cutting 300 jobs, Transit Technologies moving its HQ to Charlotte, and Honeywell completing a spinoff into Honeywell Aerospace. Finally, the newsletter highlights several upcoming opportunities and deadlines, such as GrepBeat’s 2026 Startups to Watch event, extended application dates for the NC TECH Awards and Joules Accelerator, and a call for startups to join the Ocean Innovation Conference. |
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Amissa joins Primordial and Skiptown raises $9M
Posted June 25, 2026 tl;dr This newsletter highlights the busy North Carolina startup scene, featuring updates like SenterME's pivot to "Structural Health Intelligence" for healthcare, Primordial's new investment in the menopause-care startup Amissa, and recaps of major pitch events like the RIoT Accelerator Showcase and the upcoming GRO Incubator demo day. It also covers other exciting news, such as Charlotte-based pet startup Skiptown raising $9 million to expand its dog-friendly franchise locations, and the opening of applications for the SEA Change Accelerator, which supports social enterprise startups. The piece wraps up with a podcast episode featuring entrepreneur Bill Spruill and a calendar of upcoming local startup events. |
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Validic acquired, Carpe & Teamworks CEOs honored
Posted June 23, 2026 tl;dr This newsletter highlights exciting news from North Carolina's tech and startup community, including Chapel Hill's buzzworthy startup Sensible, which created a menstrual blood sensor to automatically track health data like iron levels, and Durham's Validic, a healthcare tech company recently acquired by ChartSpan Medical Technologies after 15 years of growth. It also celebrates local entrepreneurs winning Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year awards, upcoming pitch competitions like the RIoT Accelerator's Founder Showcase and Sloss Tech in Alabama, and a Raleigh startup's chicken-sexing technology being bought by Merck Animal Health. Finally, it touches on North Carolina ranking 9th nationally in AI adoption by businesses and shares a fun fact about how technology helped estimate the massive crowd size at Raleigh's Hurricanes |
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Startup Genome rankings and next week’s demo days
Posted June 18, 2026 tl;dr This week's North Carolina tech newsletter covers several business updates, including Raleigh's Equity Shift completing an acquisition of SteadyTrail to expand its employee ownership management platform, and Ralliant on track to exceed its 180-job hiring pledge with strong average salaries. The Research Triangle climbed to #39 in Startup Genome's global ecosystem rankings while Charlotte again appeared in the Emerging Ecosystems category, and two big "demo events" are coming up where startup cohorts from RIoT and CED will pitch their companies. The newsletter also shares smaller startup news, a new podcast episode featuring Duke New Ventures' Jeff Welch, and upcoming deadlines like the NC IDEA grant info sessions and NC TECH Awards application. |
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JetZero’s arrival and CIE’s Ocean Innovation keynote
Posted June 16, 2026 tl;dr This newsletter shares a mix of North Carolina tech and startup news, starting with a celebration of the Carolina Hurricanes' Stanley Cup win before diving into stories like RDU Labs helping small businesses adopt AI, JetZero's aircraft manufacturing groundbreaking in Greensboro, and layoffs at gaming companies Epic Games and Red Storm Entertainment. It also highlights community events like the Charlotte Fintech Week conference, UNCW's upcoming Ocean Innovation Conference with freediver Hanli Prinsloo as keynote speaker, and new opportunities like CED's Startup TNT Associate Program and GrepBeat's own Executive Director job opening. The piece wraps up with a calendar of upcoming events, links to partner content, and a reminder that GrepBeat is a nonprofit relying on reader donations to continue its work. |
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$4.5M Seed for Skillmaker & NC’s take on SpaceX IPO
Posted June 11, 2026 tl;dr This newsletter shares exciting updates from North Carolina's tech and startup community, including Skillmaker's $4.5M funding round for its AI and virtual reality training platform, and interviews with CEOs from companies like nCino and Plantd about growth and AI's impact on their businesses. It also highlights community events like the AI For Women conference, BuildOps' successful job growth in Raleigh, and recaps of the recent Grep-a-Palooza fundraising event with photos and videos. Additionally, it touches on NC's state treasurer being cautious about investing in SpaceX's stock and promotes upcoming events, a podcast episode, and ways readers can support GrepBeat's work. |
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Grep-a-Palooza Photo Recap & Charlotte Fintech Week
Posted June 9, 2026 tl;dr This GrepBeat newsletter recaps recent North Carolina tech news, starting with a thank-you for Grep-a-Palooza attendees and highlights like Durham startup PROTECT3D winning the pitch competition and providing 3D-printed gear to the Carolina Hurricanes during the Stanley Cup Finals. It also covers a new startup called Mimi supporting college student mental health, a global ranking report showing growth for Raleigh-Durham, Wilmington, and Charlotte's startup ecosystems, and updates from Charlotte Fintech Week and the Launch Chapel Hill accelerator program. The newsletter wraps up with upcoming events, including an engineer-focused gathering at Bullhouse and a reminder to support GrepBeat, a nonprofit media organization covering North Carolina's tech scene. |
