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From RTP to Chatham County, the Triangle is poised for some serious growth in 2022

N&O Innovation and Technology Newsletter: January 28, 2022

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Nearly every part of the Triangle is growing at a blistering pace at the moment.

But my colleagues and I picked five specific places we believe are seeing some of the most interesting growth.

For my part, I took a look at Research Triangle Park, which is undergoing a profound transformation and on the receiving end of billions of dollars’ worth of investment.

For generations, the Park has been a collection of walled-off corporate campuses. But, in many ways, that is changing.

Spend some time taking a look at our stories, and let me know what will be the next hot-growth spots in the Triangle.

[read more here]

Philanthropy funds the Innovate Raleigh fellowship. Consider supporting philanthropy-funded journalism by going to www.newsobserver.com/donate

A rendering of Boom Supersonic’s Overture passenger jet, which will be able to seat 65-88 passengers, be net-zero on carbon emissions, travel at Mach 1.7 at a cruising altitude of 60,000 feet.
A rendering of Boom Supersonic’s Overture passenger jet, which will be able to seat 65-88 passengers, be net-zero on carbon emissions, travel at Mach 1.7 at a cruising altitude of 60,000 feet.

Tech news from the Triangle

  • NC lands Boom Supersonic jet factory. Here’s what that means in jobs and salaries. [N&O]

  • Boom’s Greensboro jet factory will also serve as launch point for supersonic tests. [N&O]

  • Research Triangle Park is ‘going vertical’ in 2022. [N&O]

  • RTP’s Locus Biosciences grows as it tackles issue of drug-resistant bacteria. [N&O]

  • The Convoy, a new Raleigh startup, is creating a marketplace of deals for small businesses. [N&O]

  • Former NC DHHS leader Mandy Cohen has a new job in the private sector. [N&O]

  • Two former Red Hatters sue IBM over stock compensation. [TBJ]

Acquisition of fintech company Even could mean growth in Raleigh

Even, a fintech startup that has its East Coast HQ in Raleigh, was acquired this week by Hazel, a company backed by Walmart. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Even, co-founded by N.C. State grad Quinten Farmer, is the maker of an app that helps users monitor their financial health by tracking spending. The company opened an office in Raleigh in 2018, and employed around two dozen people there as of 2019.

The acquisition is expected to lead to more hiring at the combined company, a spokesperson told The N&O. “The new company will be looking to scale upon receiving full regulatory approval and will be hiring in addition to retaining the current staff,” the spokesperson said.

Even’s investors include Durham’s Bull City Venture Partners, which got a big win last year when Spoonflower was bought for $225M.

What I’m reading

  • Crypto Kings Are the Real-Estate Industry’s Newest Whales. [WSJ]

  • How the fall of NC Mutual hurt Black America. [The Assembly]

  • It won’t take a perfect storm to devastate Tampa Bay. [TB Times]

  • If you own a gas stove, small amounts of methane are probably leaking into your home … even if your stove is shut off. [NYT]

  • U.S. Supreme Court will hear UNC-Chapel Hill, Harvard affirmative-action cases. [N&O]

  • The U.S. Labor Movement Is Popular, Prominent and Also Shrinking. [NYT]

  • How a rare brain mutation spread across the country from a N.C. couple in the 1700s. [Atlantic]

Other Triangle business

  • Businesses have just days left to apply for $500 million in North Carolina pandemic recovery grants. [N&O]

  • NC furniture store closing after over a century and 4 generations of family business. [N&O]

  • Durham arcade bar’s doors get padlocked amid rent dispute and social media posts. [N&O]

  • Chapel Hill to get 1st look at new apartments, stores planned for University Place mall. [N&O]

  • Another old rail line is poised to become Durham’s next hot greenway trail. [N&O]

Let me know what you’re seeing. Email me at zeanes@newsobserver.com. Tweet me @zeanes. Call me at 919-829-4516.

Zachery Eanes is the Innovate Raleigh reporter for The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun. He covers technology, startups and main street businesses, biotechnology, and education issues related to those areas.

This newsletter was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate