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MassChallenge Secures Renewed Grant, Names Dallas Second U.S. HQ

Dallas – – September 29, 2026 -- MassChallenge, ranked the No. 2 accelerator in the U.S. by TIME and Statista, has named Dallas its second U.S. headquarters, backed by a renewed two-year grant from Lyda Hill Philanthropies. The investment extends a five-year partnership at Pegasus Park and will fund two ten-week accelerator tracks in Health & Life Sciences and Security & Resiliency, plus Founder Access Clinics connecting early-stage founders with academic, clinical and corporate stakeholders.

Texas applications to MassChallenge grew more than fivefold since 2022

Texas-based applications to MassChallenge's national programs have risen over five times since 2022, while annual innovation-event attendance approaches 1,000. The grant will also support INNOVATE '26, MassChallenge's flagship Dallas convening scheduled for November 17 at Pegasus Park.

Adswerve Earns Adobe Real-Time CDP Specialization After 3-Year Track Record

Denver – September 29, 2026 -- Adswerve has secured an Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform (Real-Time CDP) specialization, a formal recognition from Adobe requiring a verified number of successful client implementations and certified team members before approval.

Three years of Adobe Customer Journey Analytics work earns formal specialization status

The designation caps three years of hands-on deployment work and follows Adswerve's history as a three-time Adobe Solutions Partner of the Year. The firm has already deployed Real-Time CDP for several enterprise clients, unifying data from web, app, CRM, and offline sources into single customer profiles activated in real time.

PBS Biotech Embeds Rockwell Automation Tech in Cell Therapy Bioreactor

Milwaukee – September 29, 2026 -- PBS Biotech has embedded Rockwell Automation technology into its MiniPRO multi-parallel bioreactor platform, a system with up to 24 independently controlled bioreactors designed to speed cell therapy process development and reduce risk during scale-up to commercial manufacturing.

Platform integrates FactoryTalk software with PlantPAx distributed control

The MiniPRO uses Rockwell's FactoryTalk software and Process Library to deliver real-time process control within an automation environment that can integrate directly into a larger PlantPAx distributed control system used to run an entire cell-therapy facility. Rockwell Automation, headquartered in Milwaukee and employing roughly 26,000 people across more than 100 countries as of fiscal year 2025, positions the collaboration as a way to standardize automation across development and GMP manufacturing stages.

Thyme Companies Names Flatiron Health Ex-CEO Starrett to Lead New Ventures

Nashville, Tenn. – – September 29, 2026 -- Thyme Companies has appointed Carolyn Starrett as executive vice president of new ventures, tasking her with identifying and scaling new businesses beyond its existing Thyme Care platform. Starrett reports directly to Executive Chairman Robin Shah, marking her second collaboration with him after their tenure together at Flatiron Health.

Starrett brings a decade of oncology data leadership from Flatiron Health

Starrett joined Flatiron Health in 2016 alongside Thyme's founders and served as its Chief Executive Officer from 2021 to 2025. Under her leadership, Flatiron's real-world evidence platform expanded from roughly 400,000 to more than 5.5 million patient records. Its OncoEMR platform grew to serve more than 4,500 oncology providers nationwide, while the company extended research operations into the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.

Arity Launches Carrier-Controlled Lead Platform With AI Optimization

Las Vegas – September 29, 2026 -- Arity, a mobility data and analytics company founded by The Allstate Corporation, has introduced Arity Lead Platform, an insurance-native operating layer designed to give carriers direct control over customer acquisition spend and decisions across publishers, marketplaces, agents, and call centers.

Platform unifies fragmented acquisition systems into a single carrier-controlled layer

Insurance carriers currently invest across publishers, marketplaces, lead and call providers, agency networks, and CRM platforms that often operate independently, limiting visibility from acquisition spend through to customer outcomes. Arity Lead Platform builds on more than a decade of Arity's experience connecting insurers with publishers and marketplaces, extending that connectivity into a full operating layer with reusable connectors intended to reduce integration effort and speed partner activation.

Jack & Jill Foundation Marks 20 Years of Oncologist-Prescribed Family Trips

Atlanta – September 29, 2026 -- The Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation (JAJF) has completed 20 years of funding fully-paid family trips for parents with terminal cancer diagnoses, a model now formally prescribed by oncologists across the United States as part of patient treatment protocols.

Foundation traces origin to a 2006 family diagnosis

Jon Albert founded JAJF in 2006 after his wife, Jill, was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Jill died two weeks after the foundation's launch, but the organization she inspired has since delivered what it calls WOW! Experiences to thousands of children and parents nationwide.

Praeses Wins $79M Air Force SBIR Phase III IDIQ Contract

Shreveport, La. – September 29, 2026 -- Praeses has secured a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract with Air Force Global Strike Command carrying an initial ceiling value of $79 million over a five-year term.

Single-award vehicle opens federal-wide access to Praeses technology

The contract, issued by the General Services Administration's Federal Acquisition Service Assisted Acquisition Services Innovation Office, is structured as a single-award vehicle. It gives AFGSC and eligible customers across the U.S. government a direct procurement path to Praeses' data fusion, management and AI-powered analytics products and services.

BAE Systems' New IFF System Wins AIMS Certification for F-16 Fleet

Greenlawn, N.Y. – September 29, 2026 -- BAE Systems has secured AIMS certification from the Department of War for its new AN/APX-127(V)1 Combined Interrogator Transponder (CIT), clearing the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system for use on the U.S. Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon fleet.

Certification confirms interoperability across U.S. and NATO forces

The AIMS standard verifies the system meets joint U.S. and NATO requirements, allowing pilots to distinguish allied aircraft from potential threats in contested airspace. The AN/APX-127(V)1 is AIMS Mark XIIB IFF certified with Mode S and Mode 5 capability for encrypted data exchange, and adds receive channels for passive acquisition of Mode 5 Level 2 and Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast In signals.

Integrity Partners with Missouri's Sumner Insurance Services

Dallas – – September 29, 2026 -- Integrity, LLC has partnered with Sumner Insurance Services, a fourth-generation, family-owned independent marketing organization based in Sedalia, Missouri, though financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Sumner brings a 1958 legacy and nationwide client base to Integrity's network

Founded in 1958, Sumner Insurance Services originally served central Missouri clients but has since expanded to serve customers across the United States. The agency, led by CEO Caleb Sumner, has broadened its offerings beyond life and health insurance into a wealth division covering retirement planning and investments.

BioFuture 2026 Gathers 100+ Speakers to Tackle Biopharma AI, Funding, Policy

New York City – – September 29, 2026 -- Demy-Colton has released the agenda for BioFuture 2026, a two-day conference set for October 27–28 at Cure, 345 Park Avenue South, drawing more than 100 speakers and over 50 presenting companies from biopharma, investment, technology and policy sectors.

Conference agenda spans AI, oncology, biotech financing and global drug development

Speakers include representatives from Johnson & Johnson, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Schrödinger, Piper Sandler and Mizuho Securities. Sponsors backing the event include Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Russo Partners, WuXi AppTec, Blue Matter, Cure, Evotec, Ipsen, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Big4Bio, HMA Consulting, Withum and Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.

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