The Ravens owner's new investment

"Blackbird fly"

Those are the memorable lyrics from the iconic song on The Beatles' 1968 self-titled double album.

The English rock band is not quite what inspired the owner of the Baltimore Ravens to support Blackbird Laboratories -— which, as you'll see in my story below, is a nod to the team's mascot.

The Stephen and Renee Bisciotti Foundation Foundation committed a founding grant of $100 million to help early-stage startups that require funding but aren't prepared for traditional private investment. Blackbird seeks to emulate the success of companies emerging from the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University by funding university-based startups and encouraging them to remain in the Baltimore region.

There’s an implied synergy in what’s happening in the tech sector now. The proverbial everyone is seemingly on a similar page, with goals for Baltimore as a federal tech hub. People like Kory Bailey, who was announced as UpSurge Baltimore’s new CEO this week.

With investments and time spent, Baltimore’s tech ecosystem startups and founders might not just fly, they may soar and I’m excited to see that. Are you?

What professional and community resolutions are tech leaders like you setting for 2024?

– Technical.ly reporter Alanah Nichole Davis (alanah@technical.ly)