DC weekly roundup: A largely local seed raise; feds overhaul AI safety group; DC's new neighborhood-level open data portal
Welcome to the weekly roundup of the latest from DC's tech and entrepreneurship scene. Want this in your inbox? Subscribe for free.
This week's newsletter features an exclusive on former DC RealLIST Startup Trustible's $4.6 million seed raise, largely backed by local funders (though you might recognize the ex-Google chief among its angel investors). In addition, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced some changes for a key AI safety group — including taking 'safety' out of its name.
What else should you know this week? Check out the roundup below.
• It's been a busy month in the DMV: Virginia Tech is launching an advanced computing institute at its recently opened in Alexandria and government contractor Tyto Athene acquired a fellow Northern Virginia tech company. [Technical.ly]
• College Park's IonQ acquired fellow quantum firm Oxford Ionics in a transaction valued at $1.075 billion. [IonQ]
• DC launched a portal using its open data that ranks community safety, education, housing and more at a neighborhood level. [Open Data DC]
• Climate tech firm Hydrosat is set to launch its second satellite soon, following its first launch last summer. It'll be used to collect data about water supplies, droughts and vegetation health. [Hydrosat/Technical.ly]
• Check out the key things you need to know if you are looking to sell your business. [Technical.ly]
• Orange County, CA investment firm (hello to my hometown) Leonid Capital Partners is opening an office in DC, specifically in the new tech space known as Station DC. [Washington Biz Journal/Technical.ly]
• The district is set to ban cellphones during school hours next school year. Speaking of kids using phones, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently signed a bill prohibiting cellphones in the state's public schools, and teens under 16 will be limited to one hour of social media use a day. Enforcement protocol remains unclear. [WTOP/Washingtonian]
• Montgomery County will grant Reston IT firm Powersolv $9,000 to relocate to Rockville. [MoCoShow]
• Cybersecurity issues, hacks and toxic leadership have plagued Prince George's County for years. [WTOP]
🗓️ On the Calendar
• On June 11, hear Technical.ly CEO Chris Wink and leaders in Pittsburgh discuss how elected officials and civil servants can improve local operations. [ Details here ]
• Learn about the space and defense industries at Seed2Table's next meetup on June 11. [ Details here ]
• Collaborate with civic technologists at Civic Tech DC 's next project night on June 11. [ Details here ]
• District Angels is hosting a graduation for its latest fellowship class and a round of lightning pitches on June 12. [ Details here ]
• Do you care about digital equity in DC? Attend the Digital Navigator Summit on June 13 at the MLK Library. [ Details here ]
• For introverts and ESL individuals: Learn how to ace your interview at a workshop on June 17 hosted by Women and Gender eXpansive Coders DC. [ Details here ]
• Curious about DOD SBIR/STTR program awards? Arlington Economic Development is hosting a workshop all about it on June 17. [ Details here ]
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Technical.ly
2 days ago
- Technical.ly
Vesteck aims to turn aortic aneurysm surgery into a one-and-done procedure
When it comes to treating potentially deadly aortic aneurysms, medicine has come a long way. One Philly biotech startup aims to make those outcomes even better. Minimally invasive surgery on an aortic aneurysm — an enlargement of the heart's main artery that can cause a fatal rupture if left untreated — requires intensive follow-up care, with additional surgeries often required after two to five years. The likelihood of having to repeat the surgery is a reality that patients have to live with, but it doesn't have to be that way, said Joseph Rafferty, CEO and cofounder of Vesteck, a company that has developed a procedure that can reinforce aortic aneurysm surgery with high-tech stitches called endosutures. 'Physicians tell us, if it was their mom and dad having a procedure like this, they would want a device like this to make sure that they're not going to have to come back for a second procedure,' Rafferty told Using a simple catheter-based approach, Vesteck addresses this critical challenge in treating aortic aneurysms with a developing technology that has the potential to help patients with other medical conditions. Proud Philly roots West Chester-based Vesteck is a global startup with three founders from different parts of the world. But at its core, it's a Philly company. 'I'm a Philly guy, Delaware County, Temple [University] grad,' Rafferty said. 'We have very strong and very, very proud roots in Philadelphia.' Those Philly roots, he said, included a strong work ethic. 'I'm second-oldest of nine, and my wife is seven of 11, so we all understand the concept of 'pumping the pump,'' Rafferty said. 'If you don't pump the pump, money doesn't come out. So we all learned at a very young age that you need to go work and make your money.' When he attended Temple in the 1970s, Rafferty majored in communications and journalism. 'I was a writer with the concept that in whatever business you go into, if you can articulate your thoughts appropriately, it's amazing how many different businesses that skill set can translate to,' he said. After graduating in 1979, Rafferty soon found himself in the booming medical device industry, where he was surrounded by 'the best and the brightest' physicians and surgeons making an impact on patients' lives. 'You can make a very nice living at it if you're willing to make the sacrifices,' Rafferty said. '[It involved] lots of late nights delivering devices.' By the late 2010s, Rafferty knew the medical device industry well and was looking for the next big thing. Through a friend, he met John Edoga, a general surgeon from Columbia University. 'Dr. Edoga shared with me the concept that is Vesteck,' Rafferty said. 'But more importantly, he shared with me the challenges in the aortic repair space.' Along with a third cofounder, French cardiothoracic surgeon Thierry Richard, Vesteck was founded in 2019. Securing the post-surgical health of aortic aneurysm patients At the center of Vesteck's biotechnology is its proprietary endosuture called Suture-Tight. Endosutures allow surgeons to stitch a patient internally using an endoscope, a less invasive surgical tool that enters the patient's body through the groin rather than cutting the patient open. After the initial grafting surgery on the aortic aneurysm, a surgeon using Vesteck's technology re-enters and 'stitches' the grafts in place by attaching the Suture-Tight endosutures. These endosutures, which resemble tiny hoop earrings, are made of nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy known for its shape memory. Since modern coronary stents are commonly made of nitinol, the FDA and physicians are already very familiar with its properties. Nitinol stents are crimped down to be tiny enough to deliver into an artery, then, once released, they return to their original size, propping the artery open. The same property makes it possible to insert Vesteck's sutures. The extra layer of stability after the suturing procedure can potentially improve physical outcomes and psychological ones, too, Rafferty said. Without sutures, 'it's kind of like the sword of Damocles hanging over your head, because you think you got cured, but you really didn't,' he said. Progress and setbacks, as funding has become scarce Vesteck isn't available for clinical use yet, but the team has used the Suture-Tight procedure on 14 patients so far in Europe, Canada and Australia. 'Our first human patients are doing very, very well,' Rafferty said. 'The aneurysm sacs are stable or shrinking, and there's no migration, no leaks, no suture fractures.' The procedure is so simple, he said, that one of the first to use the device on a patient, a physician in Australia, successfully stitched four sutures in four minutes. For physicians with endovascular skills, it's a relatively easy procedure with little learning curve. In the US, the Vesteck team has met with the FDA six times and is ready to start the 100-patient clinical trial that would move the technology closer to being used to treat aortic aneurysm patients. Just one thing is holding them back: funding. ' Venture capital funding is way down since COVID,' Rafferty said. 'Part of that is because of the economy. For the last four years, the IPO market has been all but stagnant.' As a result, many medical device companies can't do much more than wait for money to come back into the venture capital market. 'We're kind of on hold,' Rafferty said. On the local level, several Philadelphia investors have been as enthusiastic about Vesteck as Rafferty is about Philadelphia. BioAdvance, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Grays Ferry Capital and Robin Hood Ventures are all supporters. Still, a company like Vesteck needs big-time, global-scale funding to move forward. 'You get to a point where you need to bring in some of these larger investors,' he said, 'and that's what we're trying to do.' Beyond aortic aneurysms Despite the funding roadblocks, Rafferty is optimistic about Vesteck and its potential impact on the medical world. Physicians who have seen the technology have suggested other potential use cases, including as part of heart and vein procedures. 'A big part of our culture is keeping an open mind and understanding that different patient populations around the world have different needs, and [asking] how can we adapt this technology to suit those needs,' Rafferty said. 'That's one of the things we've learned: stay interested and stay humble.'
Technical.ly
2 days ago
- Technical.ly
Pittsburgh housing authority recruits AI to help with application backlogs
Pittsburgh's housing authority will begin using artificial intelligence to help its understaffed voucher department process thousands of applications from people in need of affordable housing. On Thursday, the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) board approved payment of $160,392 to Boodskapper Inc., a private artificial intelligence company known as The company offers several services to automate housing authority work, which include reviewing and verifying certification packages from current voucher holders. The effort will begin as a one-year pilot program. Addressing concerns from the board members and a public speaker about the role the AI would play, HACP Executive Director Caster Binion stressed, 'The AI will not be in charge, not making decisions.' 'This will be used for recertifications specifically,' he added. Recertifications refer to updates affecting existing voucher holders, such as household income level and number of family members. Households with vouchers pay 30% of their income toward rent and utilities, with the balance covered by the HACP. The authority's Housing Choice Voucher Program Director Lashawna Hammond told the board the 'AI would scan recertification packets with their income and then it shows us on the back end if the packet is completed. So it's not processing, it's just doing preliminary work.' Approval of the pilot comes after Binion signaled in a meeting last year with City Council the authority would experiment with AI and other efforts to improve the efficiency of the voucher program. In 2020, PublicSource reported that the housing authority planned to 'enhance the voucher program,' but those efforts were hampered due to staffing shortages, according to the authority's leadership. Since then, steps have been taken to train new staff, according to Binion, who along with the board's former chair pledged improvements in 2022. Board member Charlise Smith worried that the program might take on human tendencies to discriminate against certain types of people. A public commenter at the board meeting echoed Smith's concerns. 'We all agree that increased efficiency is needed within the HCV Program to address administrative delays that limits the use of HCVs,' said Megan Hammond, a housing justice advocate and executive director of the Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh. 'AI is dependent upon the humans who create the AI. As a result, AI is susceptible to the continuation and scaling of fair housing concerns,' Hammond said, noting that the National Fair Housing Alliance created a Responsible AI Symposium that includes a framework for auditing algorithmic bias in these programs. Hammond called for 'greater transparency about the role of the proposed including checks and balances for applicants and voucher recipients to dispute inaccurate information.' She pressed for monthly public reports from the authority on the status of the Housing Choice Voucher waiting list every month along with information on where the authority allocates funds. Concerns over the use of AI in public housing has also reached the federal level. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development released guidelines for housing authorities across the country on best practices and uses of this new technology in an attempt to enforce the Fair Housing Act and prevent discrimination in housing. LaShawna Hammond maintained the program is needed to help with the backlog of recertification applications that threaten to overwhelm her staff. She noted that the system will be used to improve processing time and reduce clerical and user errors. She said the system will be able to detect missing information in the application and how that would trigger an automatic response to the client, letting them know that their application is incomplete. She said her department has 13 housing specialists, each averaging a caseload of 500. She said they hired five new housing specialists to start June 30 but it would take some time to train the new hires and bring them up to speed.
Technical.ly
3 days ago
- Technical.ly
Meet Summer, American Girl's entrepreneurial doll of the year from Maryland
American Girl chose a Maryland town for its entrepreneurial doll to call home in 2025, and consulted locals to get her story right. Summer McKinny, a kid founder of a dog walking and treats business in Columbia, is American Girl's doll of the year in 2025. Each doll the company creates comes with a book detailing the doll's life. For this, Janear Garrus, a local educator and creator of children's business fairs in the Baltimore region, reviewed manuscripts and gave feedback about Summer's story. It's rare for a doll to have an entrepreneurial background, Garrus said, and she's seen kids eager to read Summer's story. 'For students that entrepreneurship is their thing, they found the book very validating,' Garrus told 'They were really excited about someone that represented their interest.' Garrus, also the founder of the private school Spartek Academy, started hosting children's business fairs in 2017. These events, where kids can sell products they've developed to customers and earn prizes, inspired a fair Summer attends in the book, per Jodi Goldberg, the senior director of content development at American Girl. Through research and feedback, American Girl leadership noticed an increased interest in entrepreneurship among kids. Goldberg specifically noted that 47% of girls aged 7 to 12 said they could see themselves becoming entrepreneurs. Many girls also showed interest in baking. That's what led to Summer's character. 'Making Summer a business owner gave us a great way to present these two perennial interests — baking and pets — in a fun, new way,' Goldberg wrote in a statement to 'Through entrepreneurship, Summer's story gives readers lessons in decision making, problem solving, time management, and money matters in an engaging, appealing way.' Goldberg said that American Girl, part of El Segundo, California-based toy juggernaut Mattel, often calls on consultants like Garrus when developing dolls' storylines. This helps ensure the narratives are 'rooted in authenticity and relevancy.' Developing stories can take upwards of three years — Garrus was called two years ago to start giving feedback. Garrus, who's lived in Columbia for over a decade and is from Atlanta, specifically provided guidance on Summer's business ideas and plans, per Goldberg. She also tested the character with its most important customer: children. Garrus passed out the books to kids participating in the business fair she started in Howard County and her students at Spartek Academy. Many highlighted the map of the town inserted at the beginning, pointing out to their parents landmarks they frequent. Her own daughter loves Summer, especially the concept of her being an entrepreneur in the animal field. 'She's just really excited about the concept,' she said, adding: 'Those things together [were] really a selling point for her.' American Girl is an iconic brand, Garrus said, and this doll highlights how entrepreneurship is a development opportunity for children. That's why she wanted to be involved. 'I thought it would be a great opportunity for other young people to learn about entrepreneurship,' Garrus said, 'and doing something with what they have.'
