Following a relatively robust Q2, Baltimore’s venture capital activity in the third quarter of 2024 looked sparse. 

Companies from the Baltimore metropolitan statistical area raised $53.4 million across nine deals between July and September, according to the latest quarterly Venture Monitor report released by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. 

It’s an over 80% decrease in funds compared to Q2, which saw $371.3 million invested across 16 deals. It’s also a stark contrast to 2023 Q3, which saw $332.2 million in funds across 25 deals. The top raise, a Series D by the downtown/Inner Harbor fintech company Facet (formerly Facet Wealth) valued at $29.6 million, accounted for more than half of the funds. Moreover, an overwhelming majority of the region’s top raises in the region went to later-stage companies. 

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Capital continues to flow in Baltimore, especially in the lucrative world of government-related funding. 

TEDCO announced a new program with the help of federal dollars to boost small businesses. The Maryland Department of Commerce is also calling for applications for innovative projects in advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, quantum and other tech sectors. 

Keep scrolling to get the details and more funding news in the region. 

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As space commerce continues to expand globally, a Baltimore startup that calls itself “FedEx for space” just made itself known in the industry.

Space Phoenix, which held its launch party at the end of August, is trying to make it easier for small and medium sized businesses and organizations to access space, per the startup’s cofounder and CEO Andrew Parlock.

Parlock envisions the firm being a third party logistics provider, he explained, at a low cost with a fast turnaround. He’s aiming to help people get their payloads — different instruments that can be used for communications, data collection or whatever needs to be delivered — launched and returned from space.

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Beyond high-profile headliners like Queen of Funk Chaka Khan, the latest edition of Baltimore’s signature summer arts festival offers many ways to explore the frontier where art and tech collide. 

Artscape, running Friday through Sunday, will feature live music, art, film screenings and technology-related exhibits like the landmark video game display Gamescape and a returning carnival-like lighting installation. Attendees can also engage with new products that seek to address some of the city’s most pressing disparities. 

The annual no-cost outdoor celebration is put on by the nonprofit Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts (BOPA) with financial support from the City of Baltimore. With the festival coming up on 40 years, BOPA CEO Rachel Graham said planning for this landmark year is special and comes with a great amount of responsibility. 

After traveling and moving 3D scanning equipment to work on high-profile films like Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame,” “Deadpool” and “The Hunger Games,” Michael Raphael and his team got a chance to work much closer to home for a high-profile limited series. 

Raphael’s Owings Mills-based Direct Dimensions, which scans people, buildings and props for movies and shows, was one of the local businesses involved in “Lady in the Lake,” which debuted Friday on Apple TV+. 

The series, filmed in Baltimore and based on The New York Times bestselling novel by local author and journalist Laura Lippman, generated more than $100 million for the state and looped in 2,456 local businesses — including Direct Dimensions — according to the Maryland Department of Commerce. 

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Teresa Hodge went to prison in 2006. One year later, the first iPhone launched.

When she was released from prison in 2011, after serving a sentence for mail fraud and other white-collar charges, and transitioned out of a halfway house in 2012, she stepped into a completely different digital world.

“Technology, social media: It’s a contact sport, and if you’re not connected to it, you don’t understand it,” said Hodge, who lives in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Hodge made it her mission to eliminate the digital divide for currently and formerly incarcerated people. So, she and her daughter Laurin cofounded the Baltimore nonprofit Mission: Launch in 2012 to make the reentry process easier for formerly incarcerated people, mainly through employment hackathons and other events.

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Mike Gugat jokes that he was a sneakerhead before that term existed. 

He grew up playing basketball and sought after Air Jordans. But when he went to college at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, he got talked into playing rugby, which meant needing a different type of shoe. 

Gugat found himself at a local running gear store, where he was eventually offered a job. Gugat started to work with representatives from big brands like Nike. For more than 20 years, he worked in the athletic industry, serving as an executive at Mizuno and Adidas. 

Eventually, the resident of DC’s Lincoln Park area caught the entrepreneurial bug and cofounded the kid shoe company jbrds in 2018. Now, the company’s CEO is using the signature accelerator of one of Maryland’s biggest public universities to make the company the go-to brand for children’s footwear.  

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Leaders, businesses and even students in Maryland’s science and tech sectors received high praise for accomplishments, with applications spanning fields as varied as quantum computing and pharmaceuticals, at a special ceremony last Thursday evening.

The 36th annual ICON Awards, hosted by the Maryland Tech Council, honored several executives and companies throughout the state. Winners came from throughout the state’s main commercial hubs, including the DC suburbs, Baltimore and Frederick.

The awards especially recognize excellence in government contracting and life sciences technology, including biotech and cybersecurity. Both major firms like the global pharma giant AstraZeneca and newer businesses like the Frederick-based nanosensor healthcare company NanoBioFAB walked away with recognition.

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When Vamshi Krishna Ginna started his graduate studies in computer science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), he was searching for an internship that would provide work experience in software development.

He previously worked in product maintenance at a couple of companies in Hyderabad, India, but wanted to pivot to something more creative. He’s learned a lot from his classes at UMBC, but needed job experience. That’s where the Maryland Technology Internship Program (MTIP) came in.

Launched by the college in 2018, the program provides funds for Maryland tech companies to hire interns from colleges across the state. Now, thanks to an influx of money from the State of Maryland, more students will be able to take advantage of this same internship program.

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