LIVONIA – A123 Systems LLC, the Livonia-based, Chinese-owned manufacturer of lithium ion batteries and energy storage systems, announced that it had achieved $2 billion in new business commitments for the second straight year. Included are high voltage, low voltage, and motorsports applications in various automotive applications in China, Europe, and North America. “A123 saw the substantial
SOUTHFIELD - Lawrence Technological University has partnered with Detroit’s Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church to launch what’s believed to be the first business pitch competition of its kind – one targeting youth at faith-based organizations. Up to 10 Southeast Michigan faith-based organizations will be accepted into the competition, each entering a team of up to five
SOUTHFIELD – Lawrence Technological University sophomore engineering students once again spent the fall semester designing products to help developmentally disabled people improve their lives. Students worked with the Dearborn-based Services to Enhance Potential (STEP), which finds and manages job placements for the disabled, and ConnectUs, a Livonia-based nonprofit that provides quality programming for individuals with
SOUTHFIELD – Lawrence Technological University will host the 2018 DECA High School District Competition on Friday, Dec. 14. The university will host more than 800 students from 21 Oakland County high schools in competitive presentations and educational exercises in marketing, business, finance, leadership, and entrepreneurship competency areas. Competitions will be held throughout the university’s Southfield
HOLLAND — The Cultivate(MD) Capital Fund established by Holland-based Genesis Innovation Group announced an investment in Bingham Farms-based SpinTech Inc., developers of brain imaging software. SpinTech says its software decreases the acquisition time for brain imaging while enabling enhanced visualization, unification, and automated identification of neurological biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain
DETROIT — The entrepreneurship group TiE Detroit has launched its search for high school entrepreneurs and innovators, its TiE Young Entrepreneurs program. The organization said TYE is a global program fostering future generations of entrepreneurs by teaching high school students the rewards and challenges of becoming an entrepreneur. In a six-month program, students in grades
ANN ARBOR — Online Tech, the Ann Arbor-based cloud IT services provider, announced it had acquired the infrastructure-as-a-service and data protection businesses of the Austin, Texas-based IT services provider Neverfail. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Online Tech officials said the acquisition, which includes Neverfail’s five cloud nodes and assets in North America, Europe
ANN ARBOR — Censys Inc., the provider of Internet security data, announced a $2.6 million seed funding round led by GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, and Greylock Partners, a Menlo Park, Calif. venture capital firm, along with several angel investors. The funding will help Censys collect more data and provide more insights for customers,
LANSING – The state of Michigan has approved a $209 million tax break over 30 years for Ford Motor Co.’s redevelopment of the long-vacant Michigan Central Station in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. State officials said the creation of the Michigan Strategic Fund Designated Renaissance Zone will lead to a total private investment of $740 million and the creation
GRAND RAPIDS — US Signal, a provider of data center and other managed IT services, announced that it has started engineering and construction of its newest data center in Wayne County’s Van Buren Township. The new center is planned for opening by Dec. 31, 2019, adding up to 100,000 square feet of additional data center
