3.2 Million More Are Out Of Work As Jobless Claims Keep Piling Up
Another 3.2 million people filed for unemployment for the first time last week, bringing the total number of jobs lost during the coronavirus crisis in the last seven weeks to at least 33.5 million. Last week’s number was down from the nearly 3.9 million initial claims filed the week ending April 25, and filings have fallen for five weeks in a row.
What Lies Ahead: Cornellians Speculate About Fall Semester
As the curtain drops on a turbulent spring semester, members of the Cornell community have begun to speculate over the possibility and logistical implications of a socially distanced fall semester. President Martha E. Pollack’s order that students leave Cornell morphed Ithaca’s campus from a vivacious environment to a barren scene in a matter of days. In-person lectures shifted online, study groups and lunch meetings had to halt and social gatherings were replaced by Zoom conferences and Facetime calls.
Canada’s Newest Unicorn: Edtech Startup ApplyBoard Raises $75M At $1.4B Valuation
ApplyBoard, a SaaS-enabled recruitment platform aimed at helping international students gain greater access to higher education, has raised $75 million in funding at a $1.4 billion valuation. The round propels ApplyBoard into unicorn status, according to CEO and co-founder Martin Basiri. Columbus, Ohio-based Drive Capital led the round along with Fidelity Investments Canada ULC and Business Development Bank of Canada, and was joined by existing backers such as Anthos Capital, Artiman Ventures, Garage Capital and Plug and Play Tech Center.
Coronavirus: How should US higher education plan for an uncertain future?
The COVID-19 challenge is unprecedented; its scale still is not understood. Colleges and universities in the United States cannot know when they will open again to normal activity or to what extent education as usual will resume. But even though higher-education leaders cannot know the answers, given the uncertainty in the epidemiological and economic outlooks, they must start asking themselves questions about the medium- and long-term implications for teaching, learning, the student experience, infrastructure, operations, and staff. Disciplined scenario planning can help.
Cornell Alum Brings Same-Day Results to Ithaca’s COVID-19 Testing Site
At the Ithaca Mall COVID-19 testing site, results will now come much faster than before. Ithaca-based Rheonix Inc. is partnering with Cayuga Health to localize sample testing, which will allow patients to receive same-day results. Founded by Greg Galvin M.S. ’82, Ph.D. ’84, MBA ’93, Rheonix is a molecular diagnostics technology company based in Cornell’s Business and Technology Park.
Colombia able to mass-produce ventilators after Medellin project proves successful
Factories in Colombia’s second largest city Medellin are set to mass produce ventilators after local scientists and engineers were able to design and test the life-saving medical machines in a month. It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of the success of the #InnspiraMED project whose ventilators have already received a medical license.
WeWork Lays Off Staff As Part of A ‘Realignment’
WeWork (also known as The We Company) has laid off staff today, multiple sources have confirmed to Crunchbase News. A number of former WeWork employees posted on their LinkedIn profiles that they had been laid off. Those employees worked in various departments from IT to sales to operations.
Niche’s one-stop shop for college searchers raises a $35M Series C
Despite the implications of its name, edtech platform Niche took nearly a decade-and-a-half to find its place within the world of the college search process. The company started as College Prowler, selling informational books, which looked like a hybrid between CliffsNotes and a Zagat guide, about colleges. It sold hundreds of thousands of copies and amassed millions in revenue, but then had to face the economic crisis of 2008 and figure out a new go-to-market strategy.
Understanding Duolingo’s quiet $10M raise
Earlier this month, edtech unicorn Duolingo raised $10 million in new venture capital from General Atlantic, per an SEC filing. With the raise, the online language learning platform accepted its first outside investor in almost three years. General Atlantic will take a board observer seat at the company, per Duolingo.