Here’s a look at news from around Southeast Michigan’s innovation community:
—Ann Arbor-based Swift Biosciences announced this week that it has raised a $7 million Series B round. Fletcher Spaght Ventures led the round, and the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, the Mercury Fund, the Michigan Accelerator Fund, and individual investors participated in the round.
Swift Biosciences makes diagnostic tools for personalized medicine and cancer research. David Olson, the company’s CEO, said in a press release that the new funding will support the expansion of the company’s sales and marketing efforts and the acceleration of new product development.
–Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock Real Estate Services and 123.net announced yesterday that they have sponsored free public wi-fi in the Campus Martius and Cadillac Square areas of downtown Detroit. The network is called Opportunity Detroit and it’s also available in the lobby of adjacent Rock Ventures-owned buildings, which are the First National Building, Chase Tower, and 1001 Woodward Building.
–Wayne State University wants the community to nominate young professionals in metro Detroit for the 2014 Marshall Memorial Fellowship. The fellowship promotes “an exchange of ideas, solutions and best practices between young American and European professionals through a travel immersion experience.”
Candidates should work or live primarily in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, be between the ages of 28 and 40, be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, and be available to travel in Europe for 24 consecutive days in either October 2014 or March 2015. Candidates must be nominated by a recognized leader in their community or profession. Nominations must be submitted online to GMF by 3 p.m. EDT on Nov. 1.
