Gary A. Bolles

Monsha, a global AI startup simplifying teaching prep, planning, and out-of-classroom work for educators, announced that it has been accepted into the San Francisco-based LAUNCH Accelerator. As part of the program, the company has raised $125,000 in pre-seed funding to support product development. Co-founded by two Bangladeshi entrepreneurs and university friends, Monsha is building an all-in-one AI platform to transform how teachers work, teach, and connect with students.

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The U.S. Department of Education proposes a new discretionary grant priority on AI in education. 30 day public comment period. Background & Rationale - AI is reshaping education and the workforce, making AI literacy crucial for students. - AI tools can support personalized instruction, engagement, and learning outcomes. - Computer science education is foundational to understanding and using AI responsibly. - Educator training and early exposure to AI concepts are key to workforce readiness and innovation. Proposed Priority Areas (a) Expand AI Understanding - Integrate AI literacy and misinformation detection into teaching. - Expand K-12 and higher education offerings in AI and computer science. - Embed AI into teacher preparation and professional development. - Support dual-enrollment and certification pathways in AI. - Build and share evidence for effective AI integration in education. (b) Expand AI Use in Education Use AI to support: - Gifted students or those needing advanced learning. - Students below grade level or needing additional support. - Students with disabilities and their families. - Deploy AI-powered personalized learning tools ("This integration may include, but is not limited to, adaptive learning technologies, virtual teaching assistants, tutoring, and data analytics tools to support student progress") - Promote AI in teacher training and operational efficiency. - Use AI technology to provide high-quality instructional resources, high-impact tutoring, and college and career pathway exploration, advising, and navigation to improve educational outcomes. Submit comments by August 20, 2025. The full Federal Register notice is here: https://lnkd.in/eC5jf-Dk FYI: Kim Smith, Alex Kotran, Pat Yongpradit, Claire Zau, Jean-Claude Brizard, Amy Chen Kulesa, Mary Wells, Cheryl Oldham, Caitlin Codella Low, Kyle Butler, Julia Freeland Fisher, Alex Swartsel, Rebecca Finlay, Daniel Correa, Reeve Bull, Cassandra Madison, Jennifer Anastasoff, Richard Culatta, Gabriela Lopez, Robin Lake, Bree Dusseault, Brent Orrell, Hayley S., Meg Evans, Angie Cooper, Krista Cupp, Elizabeth Pishny

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Now, leading both the Techstars Economic Mobility Powered by Samvid Ventures Accelerator and Techstars New York City Accelerator is Managing Director Andres Barreto. A serial VC-backed founder and proud Techstars alum (Onswipe!), Andres has a wealth of experience guiding startups as a former Managing Director for Techstars Boulder and Miami. His impressive entrepreneurial journey includes founding Grooveshark, Firstrock Capital, Socialatom Group, and Coderise. His background has allowed him to work with hundreds of startups and see countless permutations of what drives success and, more importantly, what leads to failure. Which makes him a great guide for startups. His wide range of expertise in building and investing in impactful ventures makes him the perfect fit to lead this accelerator. Applications for the Techstars Economic Mobility Powered by Samvid Ventures Accelerator are now open with a $220,000 offer and improved terms. ➡️ http://tsta.rs/xE5W50VCI7F

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Daily Hard Tech Headlines: - Black Flag has launched its second cohort, an accelerator for startups building in American critical industries. The new cohort includes EraDrive (in-space mobility), Super Powers Mobility (SPM) (off-road electrification), Tarly (AI for government accountability), a stealth company focused on next-generation radios, and a stealth company developing autonomous submersibles for logistics. - Seeing Systems (YC W26) has launched. The Y Combinator startup is developing attritable, modular autonomous strike drones designed for mass production. The startup already has traction with the UK Royal Marine Commandos, NATO forces, and more. - Armada has secured an LOI with Nscale, a global AI infrastructure firm. The collaboration focuses on delivering edge AI through modular data center infrastructure for commercial and public sector markets. Armada enables high-performance compute to operate at the edge in critical environments. - Waymo is expanding its service to Boston and Sacramento. - Voyager Technologies has announced a partnership with Max Space focused on developing expandable space infrastructure, including habitats and structures for lunar operations. - Researchers from Stanford University and Princeton University have launched a multi-platform system integrating smart glasses, artificial intelligence, and robotic arms for medical operations. - The United States Air Force is launching a group focused on C-UAS to secure military installations. - Buttrose Earthmovers, an Australian construction firm, has announced the first Australian deployment of an automated roller operating on a live civil construction site. A roller is a heavy compaction machine used to flatten and compress soil, asphalt, or other materials during road and infrastructure projects. - The Orion CMC Consortium, an African mining investment group, is receiving funding from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and other partners to expand copper and cobalt mining in Africa for the American market. - Morpheus Space, a satellite propulsion startup, has raised $15 million in funding led by Alpine Space Ventures and the European Investment Fund (EIF). - R3 Robotics, a European startup, has raised €20 million in venture funding and grants to scale its technology for the robotic automation of electronics disassembly. - Exia Labs has secured a CRADA with United States Military Academy at West Point to develop AI agents that replicate realistic near-peer adversaries for use in multi-domain military wargaming. - Swarmbotics AI, an Arizona-based ground autonomy startup, has been chosen by the U.S. Army to build attritable autonomous ground vehicles for the 1st Cavalry Division.

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🚀 Companies that innovate in physical industries move through three phases: research, development, and industrial scale. Research and development are critical, but at the end of the day, what truly matters is our ability to scale-to take innovation out of the lab and into the real world. That’s where impact happens. In defense, energy, manufacturing, construction, mining, and other foundational industries, scaling determines whether a breakthrough becomes a prototype or transforms entire sectors. At Eclipse, we’re focused on that last mile: industrial scale. It’s where our experience, time, and energy go, because scaling innovation is what drives real progress for the country and the world.

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🚀 Universities -- are you ready to unlock the true potential of your campus innovation ecosystem? The venture studio model is rapidly transforming how universities turn research, talent, and IP into real-world impact-but it’s not for the faint of heart. 🔍 Venture studios go beyond accelerators and incubators. They act as company creators-systematically building, validating, and launching startups. But here’s the truth: 👉 The studio model is powerful-but also complex. 👉 It demands clarity of vision, deep integration with university assets, and rigorous execution. The stakes are high, and the path is tricky. 📄 If you’re considering a venture studio, start with the right questions. Our latest guide “37 Essential Questions to Assess Your University Venture Studio,” is a practical framework to help you: 1️⃣ Evaluate alignment with your university’s mission and strategic goals 2️⃣ Design sustainable funding and governance structures 3️⃣ Build processes for idea sourcing, validation, and spinout 4️⃣ Attract and incentivize top entrepreneurial talent 5️⃣ Establish robust metrics and accountability for long-term success Studios are not “one size fits all.” Customization to your institution’s unique strengths and context is critical. And disciplined, data-driven design beats hype. The most successful studios are built on rigorous planning, transparent KPIs, and a willingness to learn and adapt. Ready to explore what a university venture studio could look like for your institution? 👇 Comment for the guide and let’s start a conversation. #VentureStudios #UniversityInnovation #Entrepreneurship #TechTransfer #StartupEcosystem #Commercialization

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Had a great time at DC Startup & Tech Week (Formerly DC Startup Week) moderating a panel with Scott Christensen (Chesapeake Bay Seed Capital Fund (CBSCF) , Faith Davis (Exelon) and Bill McNulty (NextEra Energy Investments), convened by the great C'pher Gresham. Here's a quick recap: 1) The panelists were phenomenal - a mixture of corporate, state and foundation-backed VC's all focusing on climate. They're actively funding companies across a range of sectors - e.g. nature-based solutions, energy + AI, water, etc. Point being, we were lucky to have experts with such broad purviews. 2) The current climate could be pushing at least some climate VC's to focus on software and move away from hardware, at least temporarily. This type of capital may indeed just be better suited for software companies at this juncture. It also reflects the fact that certain segments of the climate-tech market are just more mature than others - e.g. software performs best once the hardware and the business case around it are solid, then it becomes and optimization and efficiency game. 3) Founders need to target "must-solve" climate problems from the investor lens. In other words, yes there's a sea of climate challenges where startups can be additive. However, in this environment, few of these areas are attracting meaningful capital. There's nothing wrong with tackling problem areas that are under-invested, we need this in spades. However, for those trying to get capital in the door, realize the constraints that come with targeting problems that investors just aren't prioritizing. 4) Look to funders overseas. The EU, where so much climate finance, policy and general expertise has come from, could be playing a much more important role. I'd also argue that Gulf countries like KSA and UAE are going to be critical here too, not to mention China, of course. 5) We need mentoring and coaching to be at an all-time high. With so much uncertainty, networks/communities where both founders and investors can learn from/lean on each other have never been more important. The panel/audience was a nice microcosm of the types of support networks we need to be actively building. Big thanks again to C'pher, Faith, Scott and Bill, as well as the whole DC Startup + Tech Week team. Til next year!

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I'm happy to announce that Founder Institute is bringing on Paul O'Brien as our first Head of Public Affairs. Paul joins FI with decades of experience tackling the systemic reasons startups and local ecosystems fail due to misaligned policy, underperforming startup programs, or institutional neglect of the realities of launching endurable businesses in today's economy. From Austin to Silicon Valley and beyond, Paul has championed the idea that education is infrastructure, and that cities should treat entrepreneurial development as essential as roads, broadband, and water. At FI we couldn't agree more, and as AI transforms our economy I believe the future of our society will be found at the convergence of how we teach, how we govern, and how we serve entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, I speak to government and economic development officials every week that are completely neglecting the education and development of new entrepreneurs in their regions. In his new role, Paul will help us push FI's mission to empower communities of entrepreneurs forward through Policy Engagement, University and Civic Integration, and Ecosystem Accountability. If your city, university, or organization is ready to integrate structured entrepreneurial incubation and acceleration with policy and capital strategy, now’s the time to connect! 🔗 Read the full announcement - https://lnkd.in/eenwHujW (and welcome on board, Paul! 👏 )

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