*By Conor White*
New Jersey could become a home to increased innovation with more hands-on support from lawmakers, said one of the state's leading advocates for technology innovation.
Aaron Price, the founder and CEO of Propelify, said that Gov. Chris Murphy, a Democrat elected last year to succeed the two-term Republican administration of Chris Christie, could help revive the state's tech sector.
"I think we have the right leadership, in my opinion, finally," said Price in an interview Monday with Cheddar. "We reached out to Christie's administration, who was more hands-off, I'm pleased so far that Gov. Murphy has been extremely supportive and he's making a lot of steps in the right direction."
Price founded the Propelify Innovation Festival three years ago.
"If you're looking to advance your business, or advance your career, this is the place that you should be," said Price.
Last year's festival had 10,000 people participate from around the world. Past speakers include Gary Vaynerchuk and Ariana Huffington. This year, Gov. Murphy and Sen. Cory Booker will speak to the conference participants.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/turning-ideas-into-action-at-propelify).
AdTheorent just the latest company to go public via a SPAC. The company specializes in digital advertising, using AI and machine learning as a tool to move marketing forward. AdTheorent to close its SPAC merger with MCAP Acquisition today and will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ADTH. CEO Jim Lawson spoke with Cheddar ahead of the move.
Although still early in development, blockchain technology, Web3, also known as Web 3.0 has been getting a lot of attention from some top tech names lately. Web3 is based on blockchain technology, which powers NFT’s and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. With Web3, users would ideally control their own data, rather than have it be controlled by a few large companies. But, Tesla CEO Elon musk isn't buying into Web3 just yet, tweeting over the weekend that the decentralized iteration of the internet seems more like a marketing "buzzword" right now than reality. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey also chiming in to the conversation, expressing doubt over whether or not Web3 would actually be decentralized if ownership still belonged to venture capital firms. Parker McCurley, co-founder & CEO of Decent Labs explains the significance of Web3 catching the eye of the tech giants, and what Web3 could mean for the future of the internet.
Carlo and Baker cover the heartening news on the Covid front ahead of the holiday, plus President Biden punting student loan repayments again, a new space telescope and Love, Hate, Ate: Christmas Eve Eve Edition!
This year's worldwide semiconductor shortage limited the supply of everything from new cars to smartphones; and now, many in the chip industry expect the shortage to continue deep into 2022, and maybe even 2023. Semiconductor senior research analyst for Robert W. Baird & Co., Tristan Gerra, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Pavel Bains, the Executive Producer of MixMob and CEO of Bluzelle, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to elaborate on an opinion piece he wrote for CoinDesk in which he compares the cultural significance of crypto to hip hop in the 1990s.
Direct health care company Nomi Health recently raised $110 million in a Series A round. Nomi Health lets public and private organizations directly purchase healthcare at reduced costs, and pay providers in real-time. It also delivers healthcare directly to under-served communities via its fleet of mobile care units, which the company says is the largest in the country. Nomi Health says its mission is to improve the health care experience for all Americans. Nomi Health CEO Mark Newman joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
