EQ

Last week 39 North hosted a “Meet the Founders” gathering as was part of St. Louis-area wide Startup Week activities. Proceedings were held in the building occupied by NewLeaf Symbiotics across the parking lot from the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the BioResearch & Development Growth (BRDG) Park, and other Innovation District enterprises. A lively […]

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Immunophotonics has a new CEO. "It’s great news for the company - really awesome folks that are putting their reputation on the line to push this through the next phase!" outgoing CEO Lu Alleruzzo told bizblip. Aleruzzo stays on in an advisory capacity, working closely with co-founder and CIO Tomas Hode. New Faces:  CEO Miguel […]

The post Immunophotonics New Leadership “Great News” Says Outgoing CEO appeared first on EQ.

St. Louis-based boat marketplace Boat Planet has been selected as one of five featured startups to pitch at IBEX, the largest marine industry trade event in the United States. The company will present to hundreds of industry professionals, investors, and stakeholders in Tampa in the coming weeks. "It's going to give us the opportunity to […]

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Support automation company Capacity completed its thirteenth acquisition with the purchase of Indianapolis-based KLaunch, expanding the company's conversational AI capabilities and strengthening its presence in government, healthcare and nonprofit sectors. "As customer expectations keep rising, KLaunch represents another strategic piece in our compound startup approach – building an omnichannel platform to address the full spectrum […]

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Shades of Color has closed a $10,000 crowdfunding round on Kiva to enhance its AI-powered marketplace for beauty shoppers. The St. Louis-based startup plans to use the funding to expand conversational features and improve visual product recommendations, making online and mobile shopping more intuitive for customers. "We are working to enhance our technology, to add […]

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FinLocker completed the final tranche of its $17 million Series B round, with the latest investment led by the Missouri Technology Corporation, a state-backed group supporting emerging technologies. The St. Louis-based company will use the funds to scale business development in the mortgage sector and expand its financial readiness platform for consumers. “We’re using the […]

The post EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: FinLocker closes Series B extension with MTC participation appeared first on EQ.

Beauty tech company DEMIblue Natural Nails is preparing for international expansion, beginning with Canada. The startup, founded six years ago to provide healthier nail care alternatives free of toxic chemicals, is also launching a nonprofit initiative called DEMIblue Cares. The program will deliver manicures, wellness workshops, and education to breast cancer survivors while using the […]

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This St. Louis startup boasts profitability and $60M ARR. This is their 11th acquisition.

The post Capacity Secures $92M and Acquires appeared first on EQ.

Birmingham-based (and St. Louis founded) clean energy startup secures major defense contract to deploy innovative rooftop wind turbines at Ellsworth Air Force Base as it moves from prototype to real-world deployment.

The post Wind Energy Startup Lands $1.25M Contract appeared first on EQ.

St. Louis-based SweetSpot, a healthcare technology company, has been awarded a $100,000 growth grant from Arch Grants. The non-dilutive grant requires matching investment, which the company has already secured. Sweetspot was also named a 2025 "company to watch" by the American Diabetes Association after a successful conference presentation that generated double the customer leads compared […]

The post ArchGrants Portfolio Company Signs 6 Customers, Matches $100K Grant appeared first on EQ.

WingXpand, a St. Louis-based drone technology company, receives a $249,916 Phase I SBIR grant from the U.S. Army to develop its Expeditionary Edge AI Enabled Battle Network from a Pack Portable Fixed-Wing UAS. The grant supports WingXpand's innovative portable drone system that operates autonomously in GPS-denied environments using edge AI capabilities. This technology aims to […]

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Over the past several years, CIC St. Louis has housed over 1,300 companies with more than 13,000 total employees. Over 1,100 companies have “graduated” (defined as leaving the CIC facilities for their own spaces). Globally, CIC companies have raised over $17 billion in venture capital; total capital raised is closer to $74 billion.

The post Coworking Guide to CIC St. Louis, the Original Shared Workspace in CORTEX appeared first on EQ.

Last year, EQ introduced readers to the API Innovation Center, located in St. Louis’ Cortex Innovation District. In this short article, Mike Fabrizi reports on continued progress, including a major funding infusion, the opening of a state-of-the-art lab on the University of Missouri at St. Louis (UMSL) campus, and the API Innovation Center’s awarding a contract to a local biosciences firm for the manufacture of key medicines for which there are presently limited or no domestic sources.

The post Funding for API Innovation Center Reaches $20M, Opens Lab on UMSL Campus appeared first on EQ.

The Link Auditorium's Holly Jolly Comedy Showcase Featured on Fox2News! For only $20, you can catch four St. Louis-based comedians going after Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and even Festivus.

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Arch Grants has awarded $1.7 million in non-dilutive grants to 20 startups, constituting the nonprofit’s 2024 Cohort. Over 300 volunteer judges selected from over 550 applicants to Arch Grants’ annual Startup Competition, each awardee has committed to being headquartered in St. Louis for at least one year. 

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Mike Fabrizi examines the forthcoming Wildcare Park’s impacts on our region.

Some of these are economic, which stem from the construction project itself, increased Zoo operations, spending by visitors, more tax revenue, and increased property values.

In addition to economic impacts, however, there are also the benefits stemming from enhancing our region’s “creative community”. They make our Saint Louis an even more attractive place in which to live, and tend to attract the “creative” and “entrepreneurial” classes, as do other cultural and civic institutions.

The post How Saint Louis Zoo’s Wildcare Park Benefits Our Region appeared first on EQ.

To the outside world, Mighty Cricket sells protein powders, but founder Sarah Schlafly's ultimate plans have long been grounded in developing the means to sustainably produce an environmentally friendly alternative protein source.

The post Mighty Cricket Awarded $650,000 USDA Grant to Transform Food Waste into Cricket Feed appeared first on EQ.

If you’re in St. Louis and looking to get into a well paying tech, ai, cyber, geospatial Job in 2025, apply to this Tech Grant to get your tuition fully paid.

The post New Claim Academy Grant Pays for Your Training to Switch to a Tech Career appeared first on EQ.

As part of EQ’s building a contextual map of the St. Louis innovation and entrepreneurial scene, we interviewed Anthony Sardella, the Chairman and CEO of the Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients Innovation Center (hereafter referred to as the API Innovation Center), an independent business leveraging our region’s bioscience and manufacturing strengths to solve a vital twenty-first century challenge. We thank Tony and his staff for generously sharing with us their expertise, their enthusiasm for the API Innovation Center’s mission, and their assistance with this narrative. What follows stems from this interview and the API Innovation Center’s published reports.

The post Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients Innovation Center (APIIC) is Reshoring a Vital Industry and Restoring Health Security appeared first on EQ.

The Taylor Geospatial Institute's recent "Generative AI for Geospatial Challenge" kickoff conference highlighted a crucial transformation: geospatial technology is no longer just for experts.

Once the domain of technical specialists with security clearances, the field is becoming accessible to everyone through innovations like "Queryable Earth" and "Digital Twins."

This democratization, powered by generative AI, arrives at a perfect moment for St. Louis, which has invested heavily in becoming a geospatial hub.

The shift from expertise-driven to accessibility-focused could be key to realizing the city's ambitions in the sector.

The post TGI’s Generative AI for Geospatial Challenge Kickoff Event was Really Good: 7 Reasons Why  appeared first on EQ.