Over the hump we go: Happy Wednesday, Innovators, and a special shout-out to all our new readers. Welcome to the show, share any and all thoughts at editor@innovateli.com and please, as a sage man once said, no wagering.
Happy birthday this Oct. 25 to the Airbus A380, the double-decked world’s biggest passenger airliner, which made its historic first passenger flight 10 years ago today – a Singapore Airlines route connecting the Asian city-state and Sydney, Australia.
Fewer labor pains: A week after reporting that Long Island’s private-sector job count was on the ropes in September, the New York Department of Labor delivered some better news on the Island’s not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate. The Island’s overall rate was 4.2 percent last month, down one-tenth of a percentage point from September 2016 and better than the statewide unemployment rate of 4.7 percent. Nassau’s 4.1 percent (unchanged year-over-year) and Suffolk’s 4.3 percent (down 0.1 percent) were both on par with the national rate of 4.1 percent.
Positive outlook: Innovative lingerie customizer Impish Lee has always counted the plus-sized among its growing customer base. Now, the national body-positive movement is giving that marketing plan some real heft.
Author, Author: Through a “valued nexus” with imaging supergiant Canon, students in the Jericho School District have boned up on writing, editing and high-tech digital publishing. And foodie stuff.
Drink mix: Farmingdale’s Long Island Iced Tea Corp. noted a huge third-quarter sales spike in one business segment and a significant decline in another … and yet, a “milestone quarter,” according to its CEO, who noted big doings away from the bottom line.
Around the world with Applied DNA: The Stony Brook biotech has swung a pair of deals that will greatly increase international exposure for its DNA-based anti-theft and product-authentication technologies.
CPR for ATF: Federal agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive took a crash course in emergency field medicine at Northwell Health’s Patient Safety Institute.
ICYMI: Startup sees the light with Himalayan salt lamps.
We knew that: Bilingual speakers who have a bit of alcohol show an improved ability to speak their second language, according to a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. The study is based on five Germans speaking Dutch, which would drive almost anyone to drink.
Looking for a few good people: Hofstra University Continuing Education is looking for instructors to teach technology programs in many areas including programming, database development, cybersecurity, website development, cloud computing, and software and app development. Hofstra holds classes both for youth and adult students. Applicants may apply to teach one or both age groups. Contact Seth Liebstein at seth.liebstein@hofstra.edu.
WHAT WE’RE READING
Amazon counts its suitors: 238 want to be the home of its second headquarters. Spoiler: applications came from all but seven American states: North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Vermont, Arkansas and Hawaii.
Mall walking will never be the same: Walmart is close to landing a deal to give department store Lord & Taylor dedicated space on its website, a move that could presage the retailer offering itself to other brands as an alternative to Amazon.com for showcasing their wares. According to the WSJ the deal would be a first step in creating an online mall with Walmart.com as its front door.
Related: While the origins of mall walking, or walking in shopping malls for exercise, are unclear, it is now a practice so prevalent throughout America that a report released by the CDC listed shopping malls as the second most popular venue for walking in the country, just behind neighborhoods.
Adversity is the mother of invention: When hurricanes and other natural disasters strike, buildings and other physical structures aren’t the only things at risk of being destroyed. Crucial data and IT infrastructure can also be lost as a result, and a new sector called “disaster-recovery-as-a-service” (DRaaS) has emerged to help mitigate the damage.
Sight for sore eyes: Gemini Therapeutics is developing a range of potential treatments — gene therapies, monoclonal antibodies and engineered proteins — based on genetic factors associated with age-related macular degeneration and it now has $42.5 million in funding to bring several experimental treatments into clinical trials.
Working together: WeWork, the co-working company valued at $20 billion, has announced the acquisition of Flatiron School, a coding education platform that offers both online and offline classes to folks who want a career in the world of tech. The coding academy was launched in 2012 and has raised more than $14 million since inception.
Take it to the bank: Typical AI specialists can be paid from $300,000 to $500,000 a year or more in salary and company stock. That’s because there are fewer than 10,000 people in the world who have the skills necessary to tackle serious artificial intelligence research.
A few words from our sponsor: Northwell Health is NY’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 22 hospitals, over 550 outpatient facilities and 62,000+ employees. We’re making research breakthroughs at the Feinstein Institute, and training the next generation of medical professionals at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine and the School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. Visit Northwell.edu.
RECENT FUNDING
+ Honcker – a Brooklyn-based online car leasing delivery app, raised $3.6 million in funding led by Evolution Corporate Advisors with participation from Lead Edge Capital
+ ActionIQ – a New York-based marketing activation platform, raised $30 million in Series B financing. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from previous investors Sequoia Capital and Firstmark Capital and new backer Shutterstock.
+ Redpoint Positioning Corp – a Boston-based developer of a real-time location system solution, received a series A-1 funding from BHY Investment.
+ Owl Ventures – a San Francisco-based education technology venture capital firm, closed its second fund, at $185 million. Limited Partners include investors across the U.S., Asia, Europe, Middle East and South America consisting of endowments, foundations, family offices, strategic education partners and a sovereign wealth fund.
+ FS Card Inc. – a Washington, DC-based financial services company focused on underserved consumers, raised $150 million in financing.
+ Y-mAbs Therapeutics – a New York-based immunotherapy company discovering and developing innovative treatments for patients with cancer, closed a $50 million equity financing led by HBM Healthcare Investments with support from current shareholders.
BELOW THE FOLD
But don’t everybody lean to one side: With a floor for working, another for sleeping, and a greenhouse on the top, the Tikku, a three-story tiny house, is designed to replace a city’s parking spots with living space.
Taking the craft market by storm: Rising stars and beer veterans alike are helping bring Carakale, the first craft brewery in Jordan, to the United States and to help the beer stand out in the market, the Carakale and Arizona Wilderness collaboration uses salt from the Dead Sea and pink grapefruit from the Jordan Valley, ingredients that, along with coriander and a souring agent, make up what they are calling Dead Sea-rious. The gose style is a sour and salty German wheat brew that has become popular among U.S. brewers.
A lazy person’s guide to happiness: Find the right environment, and very little effort is necessary.
A reminder: There’s really no such thing as “free” news. Please support great institutions like Northwell Health.
