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Nurse-assisting robotics firm Diligent raises $30M

TechCrunch

Diligent has been leading that specific charge for some time now. Late last year, we spoke with Georgia Tech associate professor Andrea Thomaz, who co-founded the company in 2017 with Vivian Chu, to discuss precisely how profound an impact the past two years have had on the firm. And a lot of people shifting jobs.

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Early-stage African VC firm, Microtraction reports portfolio boom despite the weight of COVID-19

TechCrunch

In a review of the year published last week, the firm noted that 21 companies in its portfolio have raised more than $33 million in funding. ” Badamosi, who returned to Nigeria from the UK in 2015, worked as the general manager for Starta Africa, an online community for African tech entrepreneurs. .”

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African tech took center stage in 2021

TechCrunch

Two years ago, the African tech ecosystem saw newfound attention from global players that translated to the continent’s best year of receiving venture capital. From varying sources, it is estimated up to $2 billion went into African tech startups in 2019. AfricArena, a tech ecosystem accelerator, pegged deals to close between $2.25

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Surging homegrown talent and VC spark Italy’s tech renaissance

TechCrunch

As Italy reinstates many COVID-19 restrictions, the country’s tech ecosystem is watching and waiting to see what the wider effects of the emergency will be. Italy’s ecosystem for tech venture capital and startups has been in development for years and has made decent strides in the last decade.

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HackerOne buys YC-backed PullRequest to add code review to bug-squashing platform

TechCrunch

PullRequest , a five year old startup that came out of Y Combinator in 2017 , helps software developers by providing an external code review team. PullRequest expands that capability by having a group of qualified code reviewers on call, who can detect a bug even before it gets into production. The deal closed last week.

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This startup wants to use technology to help solve Austin’s housing shortage problem

TechCrunch

One result of this continued migration is a steady surge in housing prices due to increased demand and low inventory that dropped to nearly zero earlier this year. CEO Nikki Pechet and Atomic managing partner Jack Abraham founded the company in 2017 after Abraham lost his home to wildfires.

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John Deere buys autonomous tractor startup Bear Flag Robotics

TechCrunch

The agricultural technology giant announced today that it’s set to acquire Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million. The Bay Area-based firm, which specializes in autonomous farming heavy machinery, was founded in 2017. The startup gains a lot of resources from its massive new owner, and its new owner adds some new tech to its portfolio.