Investor Watch: January 16, 2025

Speakers at Redevelopment Summit urge greater community ties.

VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURE

Beans as snacks? Gary Daughters takes the pulse of one innovative company in Manitoba.

COLOMBIA

Projects from Ecopetrol and O-I Glass show the way forward.

INVESTMENT PROFILE: VIRGINIA

Microporous is investing $1.35 billion and creating more than 2,000 jobs at a new battery separator plant on a portion of the 3,528-acre Southern Virginia Megasite near Danville. Top executives at the company explain why support from VEDP, local leaders and the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was key.

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Brooklyn Navy Yard is home to more than 550 businesses and 13,000 workers.
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

Brooklyn Navy Yard last Friday announced it has secured $28.7 million in FEMA funds to replace infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. “As one of New York City’s premier working waterfront industrial hubs, we are proud to be home to more than 550 businesses and 13,000 workers, but we also know that we are vulnerable to extreme weather events,” said Lindsay Greene, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. “This federal award will help us restore and modernize campus infrastructure that was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy and will catalyze short-term projects identified in our Resilience Strategy to protect the Navy Yard against the effects of climate change.”

The news conjures memories of that time in 2018 when we talked to McLaren Engineering Group Founder Malcolm McLaren about his team’s work across a range of projects that included dock rehab at Brooklyn Navy Yard, recovery from Hurricane Sandy and discovering economic opportunities by literally diving below the surface.

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The West Coast and Mid-Atlantic regions again led the way in venture capital deals in 2024.
Graph courtesy of Pitchbook-NVCA

The Q4 2024 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, sponsored by J.P. Morgan, Dentons, and Deloitte, was released earlier this week. Among its takeaways: “Deal activity remained high, aided by high dry powder levels despite the lack of large exits to generate returns.” Pitchbook said several IPOs performed well, “or at least provided the IPO investors a significant windfall. Alone, this should motivate companies to test the waters, and relieve the pressure on VC firms.” The data include detailed analysis of deals involving artificial intelligence.

California, New York and Massachusetts led the way by deal count in 2024, followed by Texas, Florida, Delaware and the State of Washington. With more than 3,000 deals, the Bay Area was No. 1 by metro area, followed by metro New York with just over 2,000 deals. They were followed by the Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia metro areas.

Photo courtesy of UBC Brand & Marketing

This July 2024 aerial image shows the Vancouver campus of the University of British Columbia looking east. Among the most picturesque campuses in all of North America, the university is a key player in R&D and clean energy, and is known for its extensive work with First Nations (Indigenous peoples) heritage, history and reconciliation.