Community Connections, a Durango nonprofit, received $500,000 from the OpenAI Foundation to build AI that gives its caseworkers more time with the people they serve. The grant was found by an AI agent that Durango's Center for Rural AI built to look for rural grants.
MyxTek Bio, a Cache Valley biotech startup built on Utah State University research, received a $305,000 National Science Foundation award. The money will help develop a biomaterial made from engineered hagfish proteins. Researchers hope it can produce better lab models of tissues in the back of the eye to study age-related macular degeneration and other eye diseases.
Boulder's Geotrek Vans began on Facebook Marketplace and is now projecting $70M in sales this year. The company just tripled its space to 66,000 square feet and is eyeing $100M in sales in 2027.