Here are two noteworthy developments from Alabama
Innovation developments are happening in Dothan and Birmingham.
Two developments were announced recently in Alabama.
- City Commissioners in Dothan have appropriated $20.6 million to help the Huntsville-based HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology build a satellite facility in the community. According to this report from WTVY, a television station in Dothan, the new center will use genomic research on Alabama peanuts to create a new variety of drought- and disease-resistant crops, and recruit agriculture tech start-up companies.
- Brooke Gillis, Program Manager for the “Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator,” has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Birmingham’s Innovation Depot. She previously served as the Director of Sales and Event Planning at Virginia College/Culinard Cafe, one of the Depot’s earliest member companies. Gillis was also Director of Sales and Marketing at Instagift, where she worked to oversee the creation and launch of Innovation Depot’s Velocity Accelerator program – the first accelerator in Alabama. Founded through a public-private partnership in 1987, Innovation Depot is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tech accelerator and incubator located in a 140,000-square-foot building in downtown Birmingham that previously served as a Sears Department Store. It is home to approximately 110 start-up companies that employ more than 1,500 individuals.
