We're positive 😊😠

Happy new year! It's a good news/bad news start to the year for the UpSurge team.

The bad news first. Unfortunately, Kory and Jamie are both COVID positive. Thanks to brilliant scientists, like Time Magazine 'Hero of the Year' and UMBC grad, Kizzmekia Corbett, they'll both be fine. But it's a reminder to stay vigilant, UpSurge family – we need you at full strength as we grow forward in 2022.  (Learn more about Dr. Corbett’s UMBC journey and path to becoming the first Black woman in the world to invent a vaccine.)

From a good news perspective, we could not be more positive about the year ahead for Baltimore Tech. Having set a high bar in 2021, we have no plans to slow down now. We have some big news on the horizon and in our next issue we'll take a look back at our inaugural year and share our roadmap for 2022. 

Together, we're just getting started! 🚀🚀

What's UP: Founders

• Big win for Baltimore! In a deal that could be valued up to $575M, Canton-based leader in cancer genomics PGDx will be acquired by Labcorps. 
• 🦀 Thanks to a deal James C. Foster made over a crab pretzel, cybersecurity firm ZeroFox will acquire IDX! With the support of L&F Acquisition Corp., the publicly-traded company will have an expected equity value of $1.4B. 🤑
• Technical and Management Assistance Corporation, a data privacy and engineering firm, was acquired by ManTech.
• 🦄⚠️ Unicorn alert! HR tech company Paradox, which acquired Bmore-based Tratify in August, recently reported a total value of $1.5B!
• Leap, the Columbia-based software company, leveraged its employees in the search for an investor, leading to a growth investment from Nexa Equity.
• Ramani Duraiswami and his company VisiSonics are hard at work on audiogram technology, which personalizes sounds and music. 🔊
• Take a look back at the Baltimore companies that were acquired in 2021.

Want an intro to any of these companies? Send us a note!

What's UP: Funders

• 📈 Investment in parent tech, a subsection of family tech, is on the rise. Parent tech companies in the U.S. have attracted nearly $1.4B in VC funding in 2021, more than in the previous four years combined.
• New Enterprise Associates (NEA) co-led a $31M Series A for Sorriso Pharmaceuticals, a biotech focused on anti-inflammatory antibody therapy.
• At its recent pitch competition, Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center's F3 Tech Accelerator awarded $25,000 to Holganix, a plant probiotics manufacturer that is eyeing a move to Maryland.

What's UP: Friends

• The University of Maryland is offering a new graduate certificate in Technology Management, including a partnership with the Federal Lab Education Accelerator.
• The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers held its 2021 conference here in Baltimore, giving local universities a chance to show off all they do to support tech entrepreneurs and the ecosystem. 💫💫💫
• Need a ride? In a move meant to show its commitment to the city, Lime is bringing an upgraded fleet of electric scooters to Baltimore.

Heads UP: Opportunities

• Baltimore Homecoming is hiring an Engagement Manager.
• 14 West has a number of local job openings.
• The Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Loyola is hiring! They are looking for a go-getter to work closely with the Baltipreneurs.  

Heads UP: Events

• The Founder Institute is kicking off the year with a new series of webinars, starting with the January 6 webinar and AMA with CEO Jonathan Greechan.
• The Accelerate Baltimore Opening Ceremony is right around the corner. Join them to welcome the 2022 cohort on January 12 at 5:00pm. 

Rise UP: Learn

• These 6 tips can help mission-focused, female founders expand who they think of as potential investors and raise the funds they need to grow their business.
• Did you know? Women who take computer science in high school are 10 times more likely to major in it in college, while Black and Latinx students are 7 times more likely to do the same!? In 2020, Maryland had the highest per-capita number of students pass the Advanced Placement Computer Science exam. 💻💪

Catch UP: Media

• The proportion of women and people of color serving as board members for public companies grew in 2021, but there is still more work to be done to ensure greater diversity and representation in these influential positions.
• 23 tech leaders, including UpSurge CEO Jamie McDonald, reflect on the question, "What's the biggest learning or opportunity to emerge from the last two years that will help Baltimore move forward?"
• 2021 was a record-breaking year for VC funding in Maryland. Look back at some of the big numbers that made headlines.
• 🤔💭 What’s next for hybrid work tools, cloud, the Metaverse, telehealth and more? The Enterprisers Project shares its top 10 tech predictions and Technical.ly shares 3 tech trends and predictions for 2022.

The UpShot is Baltimore’s Equitech ecosystem news, curated for startups, founders, funders and friends, all working together to build the country’s first Equitech City. ↗️↗️↗️