ANN ARBOR - Officials at San Mateo, Calif.-based Coupa Software Inc. announced this week the acquisition of LLamasoft, the Ann Arbor-based supply chain design and analysis software, for a purchase price of approximately $1.5 billion, making Llamasoft Michigan's latest unicorn. There was no immediate word in the press release about the future of LLamasoft’s Ann
PONTIAC—An engineering, robotics, and mechatronics teacher from Pontiac and an industrial arts teacher from Hancock have been named winners of the 2020 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence, receiving $50,000 as part of $1 million awarded to 18 trades teachers nationwide. Demetrius Wilson, who teaches engineering, robotics, and mechatronics at Oakland Schools
SOUTHFIELD—Lawrence Technological University is offering free COVID-19 safety training to construction firms with fewer than 100 employees under a grant from the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The training will be offered on the east side of the state by Ahmed Al-Bayati, assistant professor of civil and architectural engineering at LTU. Construction firms interested
LAPEER—The Lapeer County Broadband Committee has launched a new initiative to expand and improve high-speed internet access for all county residents, businesses, schools, healthcare facilities, and community organizations. “We must take immediate action to provide more families and businesses with access to the critical resources and information they need,” said Quentin Bishop, executive director of
ANN ARBOR—The Great Lakes support more than 1.3 million jobs that generate $82 billion in wages annually, according to a new analysis of 2018 economic data by Michigan Sea Grant. The coastal counties of the eight Great Lakes states produce 21% of the gross domestic product in the region and 5.8% of the U.S. GDP,
NOVI—ITC Holdings Corp., the nation’s largest independent electricity transmission company in the United States, has named Jenny D’Anna as vice president and deputy general counsel, legal services. In this role, D’Anna is responsible for the legal services group within ITC’s legal department. That group is composed of the regulatory and legislative, development, corporate and securities, real
GRAND RAPIDS—Priority Health, the Grand Rapids-based health insurer, announced a pilot of new incentives for providers who screen patients and submit information on Social Determinants of Health, making them the first insurer in the state to financially support this type of data tracking. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SDoH are conditions
LOUISVILLE, Colo.—Office Evolution, the nation’s largest coworking franchisor, announced its continued expansion into Michigan by awarding another Detroit area development deal. The new Office Evolution location in Oakland County will offer private offices, conference rooms, and shared workspace for small- to medium-sized businesses and employees of larger corporations who are working remotely. This new location
LANSING—PlanetM, the state of Michigan’s future mobility and electrification clearinghouse, is adding the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Technological University as its newest PlanetM testing facility. The GLRC, on the banks of the Portage Waterway in Houghton, has been testing and deploying connected and autonomous marine vehicles for more than a decade. It is
LANSING—Connected Nation Michigan, the state affiliate of the national high-speed internet promotion organization Connected Nation, announced the release of new broadband coverage maps for the state. The maps can be found at this link. There’s also a map of Michigan’s public Wi-Fi hotspots at this link. The maps now include additional community feedback and internet
