Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

From Atlanta, GA:

HID, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, has announced acquired Vizzia Technologies, a leading provider of hardware-agnostic, full-service real-time location systems (RTLS) platforms designed for healthcare and hospital applications.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Atlanta, Vizzia is now part of HID’s Identification Technologies Business Area. The addition of Vizzia expands HID’s offering and relevance in the Healthcare RTLS space, including support for asset management and tracking, as well as other use cases designed to meet the unique needs of healthcare facilities.

“Welcoming Vizzia and their innovative RTLS platform allows us to help healthcare professionals enhance the patient, visitor, and staff experience,” said Björn Lidefelt, Executive Vice President and Head of HID. “Thanks to this acquisition, our RTLS portfolio is now better equipped to empower hospitals to optimize their layered security approach and improve overall care.”

Vizzia offers a robust RTLS platform that is built with clinicians in mind. The platform includes an innovative asset management and tracking solution, which includes a modern user interface that tracks real-time location data and provides insights on equipment utilization, equipment inventory and purchasing decisions, as well as maintenance requirements. Vizzia also provides on-site managed services.

The platform offers best-in-class asset management and tracking capabilities, helping healthcare facilities – including leading hospital systems – save money and improve patient safety. Vizzia’s award-winning solutions allow users to find equipment quickly, eliminate lost and stolen equipment, prevent hospital-acquired infections, and help healthcare facilities rent and buy only the equipment they truly need.

In addition to its asset management and tracking capabilities, the addition of Vizzia provides additional solutions to HID’s Healthcare RTLS portfolio, including environmental monitoring, patient workflow, and hand hygiene compliance.

Headquartered in Austin, TX, HID has more than 4,500 employees worldwide and operates international offices that support more than 100 countries. HID is an ASSA ABLOY Group brand.

From Covington, KY:

In early February, we posted this article about efforts in Covington to transform a former furniture store in the downtown area into SparkHaus, an entrepreneurial hub. Now comes word that the project is gaining momentum and much needed capital.

New commitments include:

• The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile Jr. Foundation, one of Greater Cincinnati’s most recognized and impactful independent family foundations, pledged $500,000 to support SparkHaus.
• The Drees Homes Foundation which is aligned with Drees Homes,one of the 10 largest private companies in Greater Cincinnati, contributed a $250,000 gift.
• Other donors to the project include Fischer Homes and John Cain.
• The Kentucky legislature committed $6 million to the project in its most recent budget.
• The Kentucky Heritage Council approved up to $2.04 million in Kentucky Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits to convert the historic Montgomery Ward department store into SparkHaus.
• Finally, the Catalytic Fund will finance an additional $2.5 million for the project’s construction.

As the old saying goes, it takes a village.

From the State of Alabama:

Alabama Launchpad, a program of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA) in a collaboration with Innovate Alabama, has announced that its Launch Advisors have selected 10 finalists to participate in Cycle 2 2024. The start-ups will compete for a combined $75,000 at a public finale scheduled to take place
August 15.

The program features entrepreneurs in two stages of development: those in the concept stage, which are usually pre-revenue, and those in the early seed stage, looking to
accelerate the growth of their existing businesses. The five finalists in the concept stage are competing for $25,000, and those in the early seed stage are vying for a $50,000 investment.

More information on the 10 start-ups can be found here.

According to Pitchbook, Alabama Launchpad is the state’s most active early seed funding source.

From Chatham County, NC:

WRAL News reports that VinFast, the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer committed to building a manufacturing facility in Chatham County, has announced an adjustment to the original timeline for the launch of its North Carolina location. The factory, which officials said could bring 7,500 jobs to the area, was originally expected to open in late 2025. Now production won’t begin until 2028, the company said.

While the Vietnamese carmaker continues to grow worldwide, delivering about 25 percent more vehicles than a year ago, the company said, “Ongoing economic headwinds and uncertainties in different macro-economies and global EV landscape necessitate a more prudent outlook for the rest of the year.”

From Boulder, CO:

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has announced plans to award $3.15 million to 12 American component suppliers and manufacturers of small- and medium-sized wind turbines, including three in the Southeast, as a part of the 2024 Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP).

These selections will advance distributed wind turbine technology through testing and commercialization, providing more certified technology options for clean energy deployment. The Southeast awardees are:

• Accelerate Wind of Birmingham, AL which received an award of $231,993 to perform full-scale testing of its 12-kW prototype rooftop wind turbine at Windward Engineering in Utah with .
• Sonsight Wind of Grayson, GA which was awarded $299,893 to pursue certification of its 3.5-kW turbine.
• Chava Wind of Homestead, FL which will pursue type certification of its 21-kW vertical-axis wind turbine with an award of $366,237.

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