The UpShot 1.18.22...When pigs fly save lives. 🐖

Amidst a shortage of human donor organs in the US, surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center last week performed a nine-hour heart transplant surgery using an altered pig heart. Doctors called the procedure a ‘watershed event’ that has the potential to save thousands of lives each year in the US alone. Not only was the surgery performed at UMMC, but the researchers who modified the pig heart to reduce the chance of rejection were University of Maryland bioengineers. 

Breakthrough innovations like this being born right here at home reinforce our knowledge that genius is everywhere. The technologies that will alter the course of humanity are in the imaginations of young minds in every corner of our country, and across our brilliant, beautiful city, today. Let's continue to work together this year – with belief, impatience and determination – to build the Equitech vision. The talent is here, and we can do this.

What's UP: Founders

• eCommerce marketing technology company, Whitebox, raised a $20M round that will help scale operations and enhance its Omnifi technology platform. 🤑
• Cyber company SecurityTrails was acquired by Recorded Future, the world’s largest provider of intelligence for enterprise security. 🔒
• Catonsville and London-based iProov announced a $70M growth investment from Sumeru Equity Partners.
• Wearable Tech Ventures is selling a wearable NFT to support underrepresented founders.
• 💜🏠Welcome home to Alertus Technologies which will bring 220 jobs to the city when they relocate from Beltsville to downtown Baltimore! 
• After a $21M funding round, vaccine manufacturer VLP Therapeutics plans to double its space and recruit new talent.
• 📢 Merger alert: basys is joining forces with New Jersey-based Innovative Software Solutions Inc. to form a yet-to-be-named company that will allow them to leverage their share of the labor union fintech space. 
• 🎉 Congrats to Network for Good, recently acquired by a new social good software platform. Network for Good acquired Baltimore-based competitor GiveCorps back in 2014 and retains a local base of employees.
• The team at Exceptional Software Strategies was acquisition by private equity firm Godspeed Capital Management LP.

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

What's UP: Funders

• Nearly $6.4B in VC funding flowed to startups founded by women last year, 83% more than in 2020. But there's still a long way to go -- in a record-setting year, female-founded companies received only 2% of all VC investments. 
• Jumpstart Nova, a new venture fund that will exclusively invest in Black-founded and Black-led health companies, launched with $55M. Though Nashville and Los Angeles-based, the fund will solicit founders from all over the U.S.
• In a record-breaking year for VC funding, companies in the Baltimore area raised $768.4M across 78 deals, blowing recent records out of the water. 💰

What's UP: Friends

• 🤑🤑 Hey big spender! For the 42nd year in a row, Johns Hopkins spent more on R&D than any other U.S. university - a whopping $3.11B.
• Shoutout to the eight finalists of MICA's 2022 UP/Start Venture Competition, who were chosen from 43 ventures from alumni and current students.
• ETC announced the five companies that were selected from 110 applications for the 2022 AccelerateBaltimore Cohort. ✨Congrats to all!
• Niche college rankings were released with Loyola taking the #1 spot for “Best College Campuses” in Maryland. 

Heads UP: Opportunities

• Applications are open for Greater Baltimore Urban Tech Jobs 2.0, which will provide an opportunity for 25 individuals to receive free training and certification in CompTia Security, Certified Network Defender & Certified Ethical Hacker. 👩‍💻
• Want to work on challenging projects, across industries, with a talented group of individuals and a cool environment? Look no further. RPM Tech has a number of open positions.
• Wearable Tech Ventures is seeking volunteers to assist with a virtual hackathon and weeklong tech skills workshop in July. Anyone interested can get in touch with them today!

Heads UP: Events

• Hear from Chip Wade, president and COO of Union Square Hospitality Group, the owners of Shake Shack and many fine dining restaurants, for a Lessons in Leadership Webinar on January 20. Learn how they are rebuilding trust as a result of the pandemic. The webinar is part of a series offered by the Grasmick Leadership Institute at Towson University.

• Get tickets for the virtual January 24 event focused on The Road Ahead: A Conversation with CFOs to hear about front-of-mind issues that major U.S. companies are thinking about. 
• Make a connection at Bizwomen Mentoring Monday, BBJ's upcoming women's event on February 28.

Rise UP: Learn

• ♀️💰 Globally, femtech companies raised $1.2B last year for the first time, of which $750M went to U.S.-based startups. Andrew Gershfeld of Flint Capital shares thoughts on why and how the perception of femtech is moving from niche to essential.
• Have you adjusted to new hiring trends? Experts say the need for speed, embracing AI, and better benefits packages are here to stay. 🤝🏽
• The UpSurge Digital Equity Team shares recommendations for an ecosystem approach to solving the digital divide. 

Catch UP: Media

• Jamie McDonald and Kory Bailey spoke to Technical.ly about how Baltimore and DC can work together to create a more holistic regional tech ecosystem.
• A well-deserved nod from MDInno for Clear Mask, emocha Health, Tetragram, Whitebox and Techstars Equitech Accelerator company, Femly, all of which were listed as Baltimore-area companies to keep an eye on in 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. ↗️↗️↗️