Companies

Through genomic sequencing and analytics, Sacramento-based Personalis aims to make detection of cancer ever more precise and timely. In October 2023, the company launched early access to its NeXT Personal Dx test, which offers ultra-sensitive circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) detection, enabling earlier detection of cancer recurrence and more detailed monitoring of treatment response. NeXT Personal Dx is a whole-genome sequencing test that detects circulating tumor DNA molecules, finding previously hidden traces of residual…

With more active satellites than ever orbiting Earth—more than 8,300 at last count—helping them dodge space junk and avoid collisions is an increasingly important sector of the space industry. El Segundo, California-based Slingshot Aerospace aims to be the definitive source for information on space situational awareness. “We are building the common operating picture for space,” says Audrey Schaffer, the company’s VP of strategy and policy. By pulling in data from multiple sources and using machine learning and artificial…

Brex was already in the midst of a dramatic reinvention when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March 2023. The spend management platform, founded in 2017, had spent the prior year pivoting from a focus on offering corporate credit cards to startups to a software-as-a-service model encompassing a more holistic spend-management platform designed for enterprise customers. But Brex didn’t hesitate to rapidly spin up solutions for fleeing SVB customers, increasing FDIC insurance on its business accounts and offering a safe…

As people insist on more privacy, and more legislators follow the examples of Europe and California, companies are facing a surge in compliance demands and data subject requests. That’s hard enough for big companies, with sprawling landscapes of data, but it’s especially complicated for smaller businesses, which lack the kinds of professionals needed to manage a proper privacy program. DataGrail helps organizations keep better track of their privacy responsibilities, launching a dashboard in March 2023 that maps user data…

A decade ago, creating a successful online multiplayer game required a large company’s worth of expertise to handle networking, graphics, and marketing and distribution—the list goes on. This year, one of the top-selling PC games, Lethal Company, was developed and released by an individual known only as Zeekerss. Zeekerss stands on the shoulders of giants, of course: They built their co-op sci-fi horror game using the sophisticated Unity game engine, and distributed it via Steam. But their success shows the vast scale…

Relay Payments develops fintech products that make on-the-road transactions easier for truck drivers. While the company is most known among haulers for an app that lets them securely charge and accept digital payments for “lumper fees”—the cost of loading and unloading cargo, typically paid upfront—it recently set its sights on making gas fill-ups safer, too. In June 2023, Relay partnered with several truck stop brands, including Pilot Company and its 800 locations, to let truckers pay for diesel digitally, eliminating…

Last June, U.K.-based mortgage broker Habito made an unusual move: It hired a new CEO who simultaneously became the startup’s biggest shareholder. Ying Tan, an entrepreneur who previously led mortgage advice startup Dynamo, invested his own money in Habito as he took the reins. At the time, 7-year-old Habito was struggling to turn a profit despite its focus on frustrated and overwhelmed first-time homebuyers—a population that is growing in the U.K., as in the United States. Habito offers them advice and online mortgage…

Inserting an IV catheter is among the most common hospital procedures, yet up to half of them fail. This can lead to patients getting the wrong dose or cause scarring and nerve damage. Extreme cases of complications from incorrectly placed IVs can lead to amputation and even death. While hospitals use continuous monitoring for patients’ heart rates and blood-oxygen levels, it hasn’t been standard practice to continuously monitor IV sites to ensure that patients receive the proper dose of medication. Newport News,…

Qualcomm announced a new processor, the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 last week. We already know what companies will utilize the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3, and even some of their phones that will do that. Do note that these are just the companies that are confirmed to use the chip. More smartphone OEMs could join the list later on, of course. With that being said, let’s get to the list. A handful of companies are confirmed to use the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC Xiaomi, iQOO, Realme, HONOR, and Redmi have all been confirmed to use the chip.…

This Canadian space services shop spent 2023 lining up big projects across its satellite and robotics businesses. In August, the global satellite operator Telesat selected MDA Space as its primary satellite provider for the new Telesat Lightspeed low Earth orbit (LEO) services, a contract worth more than $1.5 billion. Telesat will be the first customer to use MDA Space’s new “digital satellite” product, which can provide more beams of data per satellite—enabling real-time adjustments to meet demand and lower costs.On the…