Jason Warner, the former chief technology officer of GitHub and current co-founder and chief executive officer of generative artificial intelligence company poolside, is the most recent guest on the Dare to Disrupt podcast.
Six teams of Penn State student startup founders recently wrapped up what turned out to be an impactful summer for their businesses.
Penn State College of Engineering staff members Tyler Henderson and Kate Myers launched AmpliFLY Video, an indoor drone video production company, in March 2024. They participated in Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank’s MVP DevLab to grow their startup.
Teens with an eye toward starting and managing their own businesses learned the basics of what it takes to be an entrepreneur at Penn State Lehigh Valley’s annual Teen Entrepreneur Challenge, held July 28 to Aug. 3.
The Berks LaunchBox recently announced the first five recipients of the “IMAGINE Your Business” grant. Funded by the County of Berks Imagine Berks Fund, this grant provides up to $2,000 to early-stage entrepreneurs to support various business needs such as prototyping, marketing and product development. The initiative aims to foster innovation and economic growth within Berks County.
Kevin Mekulu, a doctoral candidate of the Complex Systems Lab in industrial engineering, recently participated in the Invent Penn State regional NSF I-Corps short course program and is currently in the 2024 summer NSF I-Corps National Teams program to begin commercializing DementiAnalytics technology, which aims to revolutionize early detection and management of cognitive impairments through its AI-powered platform.
Penn State’s National Science Foundation I-Corps Short Course is accepting applications for its virtual August/September cohort. The no-cost program helps researchers test a startup idea through customer interviews and educational programming on the lean startup methodology.
Vivian Valenty is a Penn State alum, the inventor of Dazzle Dry nail polish, and the founder and president of VB Cosmetics, a fully integrated manufacturing company with global brands of clean, nature- and science-based, functional and proprietary beauty products.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly has passed a state budget that maintains Penn State’s general support appropriation at $242.1 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which began July 1. The budget package, which now heads to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his anticipated signature, includes a funding increase of $4 million (13%) for Pennsylvania College of Technology, level funding of $57.7 million for Penn State Agricultural Research and Extension, and restores line-item funding of $2.35 million for Invent Penn State.
Pine Creek Seed Farm, a full-service wholesaler and distributor of a variety of seeds, received the U.S. Small Business Administration Eastern PA Family-Owned Small Business of the Year Award for 2024. The award ceremony took place on June 24 at the farm in Jersey Shore, where attendees toured the business location.