Recent developments, from Baltimore to Annapolis and beyond, offered tribute to the memory of the late locally rooted founder Pava LaPere, celebrated for her community-focused entrepreneurship. In our coverage, her parents shared insights into the rededication of a building in her honor. Additionally, look into Baltimore's changing VC landscape in our report on PitchBook's latest quarterly Venture Monitor.

Keep an eye out for exciting events happening this month. Happy almost Friday!

— Alanah, Technical.ly lead reporter for Baltimore

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The late Pava LaPere's parents spoke to us about their involvement in the process of a Johns Hopkins building that was recently rededicated in her name. Pava's advocacy reshaped Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures (JHTV), leading to tailored support for both university and community members pursuing business ventures. Among the many other tributes to her legacy are consequential legislation and a national fellowship. 

➡️ Find out about all of these developments in my latest here.

PitchBook's latest Venture Monitor, the quarterly report that breaks down VC activity in metro areas throughout the country, showed that companies in the Baltimore region raised $67 million across 14 deals in Q1 2024. While that figure represents a drop from Q4 2023, it's far from the whole picture of local venture capital (which isn't the only measure of an ecosystem's health): In recent years, the area saw more deal activity in the middle of the year. 

➡️ Learn about these trends, and who raised big in Q1, in our new report here

• The Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and Exelon Foundation just inaugurated a STEM center at Lansdowne Middle School in Baltimore, marking the first of 81 such centers set to open as part of a $3 million partnership. [Maryland Daily Record]

• Drio has a longstanding affinity for WordPress as its preferred website platform. One of its founders explains why in a blog post. [Drio]

• Johns Hopkins University's proposed designs for a 500,000-square-foot artificial intelligence complex faced criticism from a Baltimore City design panel, which described the plan as "borderline amateurish." [Baltimore Business Journal]

• iOS 18 is rumored to introduce a new Safari browsing assistant, based on backend code found on Apple's servers by an X user. [MacRumors]

• A report by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore highlights the ongoing adaptation of downtown Baltimore to a "new reality." While the arrival of state employees to new offices marks a significant step in the area's recovery, the report indicates that a full rebound is still underway. [Baltimore Business Journal]