Fund will support software startups in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota The Idea Fund of La Crosse, a venture capital firm based in La Crosse, Wis., has raised $31.5 million for a second venture capital fund targeting pre- and early-stage revenue startups in the three-state region of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. According to Pitchbook, a resource for data, […]
Cedar Rapids-based Involta is now ark data centers, the company announced Wednesday. The rebrand of the national provider of data center, cloud and connectivity infrastructure and services is in response to the demand for edge data centers and cloud infrastructure brought on by the recent surge in artificial intelligence. According to a news release, ark will […]
The Iowa Department of Management’s Division of Information Technology (DOM DoIT) is seeking the public’s input on Iowa’s upcoming broadband map. The DOM DoIT is required to update its broadband map every year. This year’s updates will be referenced as part of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD). The state of Iowa received […]
The Iowa State University Research Foundation Inc. (ISURF) was tied for 63rd place on the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) 2023 Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted United States Utility Patents List. Iowa State was the only Iowa university on this year’s list. The ISURF placed at No. 88 in 2022, moving up 25 spots on […]
The North Iowa Area Community College John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center will hold its 2024 Youth Entrepreneurial Academy from June 3 to June 7 in Mason City. The event is designed to teach students about starting their own business and other entrepreneurial skills. On June 11, they will participate in a pitch competition for the chance […]
The Iowa Economic Development Authority awards funding to startups in the form of low-interest loans through its Innovation Continuum, which includes five funds that are designed to offer companies nondilutive funding at every stage of business growth. The funds are: Proof of Commercial Relevance (POCR), Demonstration Fund and the Innovation Acceleration Fund, which offers Launch, Propel […]
The Iowa Communications Network (ICN), a statewide fiber optic network that provides telecommunications services to education, government, health care and public safety entities, has partnered with Zoom to deliver cloud communications services to authorized users across Iowa. According to a news release, Zoom’s cloud-based communication platform will provide ICN’s fiber optic network with solutions for voice and communication […]
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced Tar Macias, publisher of Hola America and Hola Iowa, as the 2024 Iowa SBA Minority Small Business Champion of the Year. Macias immigrated from Mexico to Moline, Ill., when he was 14 years old. He started Hola America in 2000 to meet the need for bilingual media in […]
The 2024 John Pappajohn Student Entrepreneurial Venture Competition, the 24th annual, was held on April 22 in Des Moines. The competition, a collaborative effort of the five John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers, was the first one since John Pappajohn’s death last year. “It was a bittersweet experience to host this year’s competition just one year after […]
On first anniversary of his passing, the community reflects on memories with Pappajohn One year ago this week, Iowa lost John Pappajohn, a pillar of business, entrepreneurship, education, art and philanthropy. His story is well known and revered as his legacy carries on through the people and organizations he supported and influenced during his life. […]