News & Notes | Events are most of this week’s roundup
Knoxville Chamber, Knoxville Technology Council, The Biz Foundry and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center hosting sessions on a variety of topics.
From Knoxville:
- The Knoxville Chamber is hosting a virtual meeting from 10 to 11 a.m. EDT on May 24 featuring four community development financial institutions that help small businesses and entrepreneurs in the area gain access to capital. Participants are the Knoxville Area Urban League, Pathway Lending, and Three Roots Capital. To register, click here.
- Just about a week later, the Knoxville Technology Council will host a panel discussion about artificial intelligence. It is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. June 1 at Chesapeake’s West, 9630 Parkside Drive. There will be drinks and networking for the first hour before the one-hour program starts at 5:30 p.m. Confirmed panelists are David Resseguie, Director at PwC Labs Innovation Hub, and Gary Jackson, Director, Artificial Intelligence & Blockchain at CGI. Others will be added. To register, click here.
From Chattanooga:
Reinhold Mann, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, and Tian Li, Assistant Professor of Physics who specializes in experimental quantum optics, are two of the research scientists leading the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) into the world of quantum technologies. In this recent news release, UTC casts the spotlight on the two leaders and describes the goal for its new Quantum Initiative which starts with opening a new quantum optics laboratory on campus by late summer. The initiative is led by EPB and Qubitekk, which aim to launch America’s first industry-led, commercially available quantum network using fiber optics. You can read more about the EPB Quantum Network powered by Qubitekk in these recent teknovation.biz articles announcing the network, a new strategic partner, and GigCityGoesQuantum.com.
From Cookeville and Nashville:
You might say that “Proof is on the move.” Chattanooga’s Proof Incubator has scheduled two-hour sessions in Cookeville on May 16 and Nashville on June 1. The focus is on those in the consumer goods space, defined as food and beverage, apparel, beauty and cosmetics, Software-as-a-Service and technology, pharmaceuticals, and home goods. During the program, the Proof team will offer tips on how to scale businesses in wholesale, retail, and eCommerce.
- The Cookeville session is set for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. CDT May 16 at The Biz Foundry, 114 North Cedar Avenue. Click here to register.
- The Nashville session is roughly two weeks later – June 1 – from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, 41 Peabody Street. To register, click here.
There is no fee to attend either session.
From Tampa Bay but with Knoxville Ties:
Another week, another news item about Abhishek (Abhi) Sastri, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FLUIX Inc., one of the participants in Cohort 1 of the inaugural “Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator.” This time, it is being selected as one of the 15 participants in the “TechDiversity Accelerator,” powered by the Nielsen Foundation. Operated by the Tampa Bay Wave organization, is a 90-day program designed for early-stage tech companies that are 51 percent owned, controlled, and operated by people of color. The latest cohort began a week ago.
