July 2021

TechNexus is a Venture Collaborative: a unique combination of businesses, corporate joint-ventures, private equity funds under management, and a fast-growing startup investment portfolio.

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This month marks 1 YEAR since we launched this newsletter! A huge thank you goes out to all our subscribers.  Your attention and helpful feedback along the way have been constructive in shaping the content we bring to you each month.

This edition is brimming with insights and news from our portfolio, ecosystem partnerships, and growing team of investors & analysts.  Please enjoy!

If you'd like to share feedback or comments with me, keep it coming. I'd love to hear it. Please email me at madelyn@technexus.com.

Cheers,

Madelyn

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For sustained growth and to advance your innovation agenda, adopting an ecosystem strategy is vital. If you encounter entrepreneurs, corporations, research labs, or other organizations that care deeply about the same customers, markets, or technologies important to you, keeping them within arm's reach through a scaled approach of capital and collaboration unlocks a unique advantage.

In this piece, TechNexus Founder and General Partner Fred Hoch expands on a strategic ecosystem approach and discusses the five core outcomes of building a venture ecosystem to drive the future of your business.

TechNexus Venture Collaborative, as part of the Smart Cities Internet of Things Innovation (SCITI) Lab initiative, successfully executed Phase II of a Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) wildfire sensor program this summer.

The focus of the SCITI (pronounced "city") Labs program is to apply new and existing technologies to public safety and national security needs, with an emphasis on extensive validation and go-to-market support through industry partners. The SCITI Labs partnership continues to support research, development, and the testing of several prototype technologies.

In Phase II of WUI's wildfire sensor program, four partners from the private sector were selected to participate in laboratory and field testing over the past 12 months; and most recently, a prescribed burn demonstration was conducted to validate the capabilities in a real-world setting. The prototypes emerged successful in detecting wildfires from both near distances and several miles out, withstanding multiple conditions. Read more.

As mentioned in a new Biden-Harris Administration Statement from the Briefing Room about wildfire prevention and preparedness "...through a variety of sampling sensors and advanced algorithms, these technologies, once deployed, can provide early warning to fire-vulnerable communities, ultimately providing valuable time that will aid responders and save lives."

Portfolio Companies Making Headlines

TechNexus Venture Collaborative has made more than 150 investments in great ventures. Here’s what a few have been up to.

✨Portfolio Spotlight on GIIDE

Entale, Substack, Loom. How will our communications evolve next to help content creators break through and engage with their audiences? Giides are a new audio format that layers in a clickable content feed. Now you can share, save, search and add clickable cards to your audio content - plus all clicks are tracked, so you will know what content your audience shares and explores. Giides can be used for marketing, learning, sales, events, or even weekly updates - make an interactive giide instead of writing an article, newsletter, podcast, or video.

Take advantage of your special invite to this exclusive beta and make your next update a giide! Here's an example and more about Giide.

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Catch Co., an e-commerce company hooks aspiring anglers with community and content (AdWeek) | Plus, Chicago's very own WGN's Around Town goes fishing with CEO Ross Gordon.

Startups, like RapChat, are giving artists the music-making and audience outreach tools to blow up on TikTok and Spotify. (The Hustle)

Companies like Double Elvis Productions, which collaborated with Def Jam Record's on the music interview series Here Comes the Break, want to introduce new music artists through fiction podcasting and storytelling. (Rolling Stone)

EE Journal explores Aspinity's analogML core and the emergence of analog as an important component of machine learning at the edge. (Electronic Engineering Journal)

Partner & TechNexus News

Exciting news and upcoming events from our growing ecosystem.

We are thrilled to have Venture Investor Tessa Flippin join Chicago:Blend's Advisory Board to help shape their work and commitment to bring more women and underrepresented professionals into tech. Read on

Li Jin describes how the creator economy is in need of a middle class and explores ten strategies to help grow it. This includes capital investment to up-and-coming creators through funds like Podfund. (Harvard Business Review)

The Safe Tech Regional Pitch Competition brings the first responder and armed forces communities together with those dedicated to creating and commercializing innovative technology within the public safety and defense space. Learn more about the program, eligibility criteria, and application process.

TechNexus Founder and CEO, Terry Howerton stopped by The Scott Becker Private Equity Podcast last week. In this episode, he talks with Scott about the future of corporate venture collaboration, how TechNexus empowers entrepreneurs, & more.

Listen here.

Last month we announced the launch of TeamWorking, the next generation of office space with the post-pandemic world in mind. Read more about the Future of Work

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This Newsletter is for informational purposes only. This is not intended to be specific investment advice. All statements made regarding companies, securities or other financial information contained in the newsletter are not endorsements of any company or security or recommendations to buy or sell any security. Investors should determine for themselves whether a particular service or product is suitable for their investment needs or should seek such professional advice for their particular situation. No part of the content may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without the express written permission of TechNexus.