The Download

You may have heard that HQ Raleigh is now Raleigh Founded. Well, it’s pretty big news in these here parts, so you’re going to hear more about it today. Jason Widen, one of the Founding Partners of HQ Raleigh—sorry, “Raleigh Founded”—and its CEO is the subject of the latest edition of Brooks Malone’s The Download. Jason explains the name change and lays out what the newly named entity is up to in these strange times. He is also quite the foodie, it turns out, as he name-checks a Download-record seven restaurants. You can find the full Q&A here.

Diversity Series

We’re up to Part III in Elizabeth Moore’s four-part series on diversity in the Triangle tech community. Today’s entry explores what DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives in the workplace can—and can’t—accomplish. The bottom line: DEI programs are essential, but simply setting one up and announcing it with a feel-good press release is nowhere near enough. You can find today’s full story here. You should also read Part I (on access to capital), Part II (on the role that HBCUs play in broadening the talent pipeline), and the Roadmap to the series.

Exit Stories

Anil Chawla founded ArchiveSocial to preserve social-media content for posterity, so it’s only fitting that we’re memorializing the story of his exit—after a $53M investment-slash-acquisition by PE firm Level Equity last May—in Episode 2 of Exit Stories. Host Kevin Mosley will also show you why we tried so hard to land him as a guest on the next Coffee & Conversation. (Plus, he was so gracious when his Clemson Tigers fell to my LSU Tigers in January’s college football championship game.)

You can read our teaser story on the episode here, and subscribe to the Exit Stories podcast here. If you’re more of a visual learner, check out the video here.

Almost Showtime

NC State's biggest startup event of the year is coming up fast. The 2020 cohort of the Andrews Launch Accelerator will be (virtually) pitching the Triangle investment community this Thursday, Aug. 27, at 6 p.m. Five startups will be presenting their accomplishments and plans to scale. The event will also feature updates from previous participants and GrepBeat regulars like Aeva Labs, WAAM, Freshspire and more. You can register here.

Hyped Up

Raleigh-based AI startup Diveplane was recognized in four different “Hype Cycle” reports by global research firm Gartner—for AI, data science and machine learning, emerging technologies, and privacy. And here’s a fun fact: Diveplane’s investors include soccer legends Megan Rapinoe and Mia Hamm. WRAL TechWire dug deeper in a Q&A with Diveplane CEO Mike Capps, who is also the former CEO of Epic Games.

Get The Scoop

Speaking of TechWire, last Thursday it ran a feature on Raleigh startup TraKid, which makes a wristband that helps parents keep track of their kids in amusement parks and other places where the little ones are wont to run off. You might recall that we wrote about TraKid in June. Just sayin'.

Though to be fair to TechWire, yesterday they ran a feature on Wrangle, the new workflow management startup from Automated Insights vets Adam Smith (a former GrepBeat Q&A subject) and Adam Long—which came out three days before we will run our own feature on Wrangle this Thursday. Well-played, TechWire. And we’re not even going to mention that we first publicly revealed Wrangle in our May 19 newsletter, because this isn’t a competition.

Wet Work

Cofounders Capital portfolio startup Ecobot is buttressing its push to go national from its Asheville home base by acquiring WetForm, a Colorado-based wetland delineation software platform. Ecobot’s software enables environmental scientists and surveyors to do their field work much more efficiently. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Ecobot CEO Lee Lance dangled the possibility of revealing the info if I’d give him advance knowledge of the “Where’s Pete?” location. Sorry, but I can’t be so easily bought. That’s not to say I don’t have a price, people; feel free to make an offer.

RIoTous Fall

September is shaping up as a big month for RIoT. It has named the eight startups that will participate in the sixth cohort of the RIoT Accelerator Program (RAP), which kicks off on Sept. 8. You can meet the teams here. RIoT is also turning its annual Developer Day event into a month-long virtual extravaganza every Wednesday in September from 9am-1pm, starting on Sept. 2. The events are all free. You can find full details and register here.

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