Grant

November 14 - 18, 2016

$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to the Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, Alabama, to build upon and accelerate the momentum from the Alliance for Innovative Medical Technology, a proof-of-concept center founded by Southern Research and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The program focuses on medical device technology commercialization to a critical mass and to establish the greater Birmingham region as an international center for medical device business formation. This investment is part of a $1,384,210 project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to the University of Texas at Austin, Texas, to help the UT/Austin Technology Incubator create a cluster of water technology innovation in Central Texas, called the Texas Smart Water Innovation Cluster, or "iH2O Cluster". This cluster will focus on applying digital technologies to water, and will result in new innovative water technology companies, new water-technology focused jobs, and increased economic activity. The iH20 Cluster will also create test and demonstration capabilities that can be leveraged by water technology companies nationally, not just in Austin. This investment is part of a $1,376,436 project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to the University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, to provide funding to drive academic discoveries towards commercialization at northwest Ohio institutions of higher education. The program will be structured to provide assistance to early stage technologies, to help fund and facilitate the best of northwest Ohio’s academic researchers’ innovations with the goal of economic development and commercialization. This investment is part of a $1,267,903 project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to Catalyze Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, to support the creation of a full-scale technology incubator that focuses primarily on physical product development and hardware innovation for manufacturers and entrepreneurs. mHub will provide a focal point for hardware and advanced manufacturing communities in the Chicagoland region. This investment is part of a $1,259,196 project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to the California State University Fresno Foundation, Inc., Fresno, California, to create a new accelerator program that will build on technology innovation and commercialization activities targeting key issues surrounding the nexus of energy, water, and food in California’s Central Valley region. The Central Valley Regional Energy Innovation project will target 39 counties that encompass two-thirds of the state and serve some of the most severely disadvantaged areas in the nation. This investment is part of a $1,001,317 project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to the Research Foundation for the State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, to support the Long Island Bioscience Hub (LIBH) cultivate bio entrepreneurial talent in the Long Island region, and significantly increase the region’s ability to secure the non-dilutive resources of the SBIR/STTR program to help applicant companies reach commercially relevant value inflection points. The LIBH will become a driver of entrepreneurialism and venture creation throughout the region, and serve as the critical link between the innovation pipeline of the Long Island Bioscience Hub and the commercial sector. This investment is part of a $1 million project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to the Composite Recycling Technology Center, Port Angeles, Washington, to help the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) assemble a staff of material and design engineers to develop methods of processing discarded pre-impregnated materials for use in the production of innovative carbon fiber products. The Center seeks to demonstrate economic viability of these products, and create profitable enterprises which will continue to provide employment opportunities at family living wages in an economically distressed county. This investment is part of a $1,100,400 project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, to support the design, development, and implementation of a circular economy incubator focused on addressing the Phoenix metropolitan area’s solid waste challenges. The incubator will focus on entrepreneurs and ventures that will develop sustainable and renewable technologies in the energy, water, transportation, built environment and food sectors. This investment is part of a $1,000,008 project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to the Idea Foundry, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to expand the innovation and commercialization activities taking place at the University of Pittsburgh and Idea Foundry through the Co-operative Effort to Advance Life Sciences Commercialization program. The program will provide programmatic support and extend innovations from within the university and its research and development centers to outside the academic domain. This investment is part of a $1 million project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to help the Manufacturing Accelerator Program provide a full spectrum of expertise to assist artisans, craftspeople, and designers in their roles as entrepreneurs and business owners. The services will include education, consulting and networking for entrepreneurship and commercialization. This investment is part of a $1 million project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to the Regents of the University of California at Riverside, California, to create a regional business and technology accelerator that emanates from the University of California, Riverside (UCR), outward to Riverside County and the entire Inland Empire region. The Riverside California Proof of Concept Center (RPOCC) will be a needs-driven, full idea to market accelerator that progressively invests resources in the most promising opportunities and seriously committed innovator teams. This investment is part of a $1 million project.
$500,000 in RIS i6 funds to the Metro North Regional Employment Board, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to build capacity among hardware startups throughout the northeast region by capitalizing on the energy and significant resources that are available to startups in one particular northeast region city: Somerville. The project will provide technical assistance and linkage activities that bring initial-stage regional startups to prototype, help these companies to become more-established, and empower them to develop production contracts with regional manufacturers. This investment is part of a $1 million project.
$499,999 in RIS i6 funds to the Lorain County Community College District, Elyria, Ohio, to provide proof-of-concept and commercialization services to start-ups in a nascent Core Digital Technology cluster. By leveraging their strong partnerships, the Lorain County Community College plans to cultivate and support early stage innovations in the cluster and will align very closely with support from two local seed funds. This investment is part of a $1,032,853 project.
$499,997 in RIS i6 funds to the University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas, to provide operational support for the creation of a new South-Texas Innovation Partnership Program (S-TIPP). The program aims to leverage and integrate the extensive resources employed in the region to enhance outreach and accessibility to the Hispanic/Latino, African-American, veteran and women populations. The S-TIPP project will, over three years, work cooperatively to provide mentoring and technical assistance to innovators, startups and business. This investment is part of a $999,994 project.
$499,885 in RIS i6 funds to the University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, to support the advancement of the culture of innovation and commercialization in Memphis, Tennessee by expanding the proof-of-concept programs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, and by connecting innovative medical researchers and their technologies to business and entrepreneurial expertise via a partnership with the Memphis Bioworks Foundation. This investment is part of a $1,376,045 project.
$499,635 in RIS i6 funds to the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc., Athens, Georgia, to help the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. create and develop a New Materials Innovation Center in Athens. The facility will fulfill the local and regional need for a scale-up testing facility that will strengthen connections between local non-profits, entrepreneurs, academia, and government, filling in critical gaps in the local innovation ecosystem. This investment is part of a $1,000,715 project.
$499,500 in RIS i6 funds to the Mohawk Valley Community College, Utica, New York, to build capacity to connect the region’s resources in research and engineering, entrepreneurial talent, and startup services. The project builds on and interweaves existing entrepreneurial and technology resources in the region, which is currently experiencing an economic revival founded upon nanotechnology, cybersecurity and Unmanned Aerial Systems. This investment is part of a $1.11 million project.
$499,087 in RIS i6 funds to the California State University Auxiliary Services, Inc., Los Angeles, California, to fund the creation of the LABioStart Boot Camp, which will train entrepreneurs on necessary elements for creating a bioscience startup. In addition, the program will focus on addressing the severe shortage of bioscience talent in LA County and promote bioscience innovations. This investment is part of a $1,321,455 project.
$498,443 in RIS i6 funds to East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, to support East Carolina University in utilizing a proof- of- concept project to catalyze and expand commercialization leading to a vibrant regional innovation & technology ecosystem. eNC Innovates will develop an ecosystem that connects industrial and military organizations and entrepreneurs to resources meanwhile catalyzing a cultural change that leads to new commercialization, entrepreneurial ventures, research, and digital economy job and wealth creation. This investment is part of a $1,001,619 project.
$498,624 in RIS i6 funds to Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to bring together industrial technology users and innovators to accelerate the movement of innovative ideas. The industrial innovation model will lead to increased entrepreneurship activity to stimulate an innovative economy, and it will strengthen and advance chemical manufacturing and related industry sectors in the region. This investment is part of a $1,475,476 project.
$486,680 in RIS i6 funds, to the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, to help the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator (BF+DA) Fashion Technology Program deliver robust mentoring to guide high-potential innovators and entrepreneurs through the proof-of-concept stages into the product commercialization stage. BF+DA, a Pratt Institute initiative, is an active hub for responsible design and production that provides design entrepreneurs, creative technologists, industry professionals, and students in New York City with targeted resources to transform ideas into commercialized products. This investment is part of a $1,045,804 project.
$475,606 in RIS i6 funds to the StartingBlock Madison, Inc., Fitchburg, Wisconsin, to support and augment critical startup operations so that StartingBlock can jumpstart its role as a regional connector in cultivating the next generation of IT ideas and entrepreneurs, providing proof-of-concept and commercialization support to IT companies, and leveraging and connecting regional assets. StartingBlock represents a major regional effort to connect and leverage existing regional assets, in particular human talent, strategically into high-growth entrepreneurial ventures and innovation collaborations in the IT-sector (the project's key industry sector). Once fully operational, StartingBlock will have a revenue-generating business model sufficient to support its core activities. This investment is part of a $1,115,576 project.
$441,000 in RIS i6 funds to the First Flight Venture Center, Inc., Durham, North Carolina, to create Hangar6, the first shared rapid prototyping facility, in the Research Triangle. The facility will support its users with expert design and technical resources, including access to an in-house mechanical engineer and mentoring by seasoned technical professionals through an Engineer-in-residence program. Hangar6 will cater specifically to science-based entrepreneurs using only state-of- the-art equipment relevant to these types of businesses. This investment is part of an $882,000 project.
$439,190 in RIS i6 funds to Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, to create a network of resources to assist new and existing clean energy technology companies to successfully maneuver the innovation pathway. Rutgers’ EcoIgnite program a clean technology invention-to-innovation proof of concept center and accelerator, will target renewable energy (sustainable biomass, wind, solar and waste-based energy) and energy efficiency sectors. This investment is part of an $879,947 project.
$432,335 in RIS i6 funds to Clark Atlanta University, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, to help Clark Atlanta University launch the Clark Russell Entrepreneurship and Technology Ecosystem (CREATE) to support entrepreneurs in using science technology, engineering and math (STEM) innovations to build healthy local food systems and create jobs in Southwest Atlanta. Over the next three years, CREATE will develop and launch an innovative platform that will economically transform Southwest Atlanta into a vibrant, inclusive and entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. This investment is part of a $911,067 project.
$345,895 in RIS i6 funds to the Werx Foundation, McKinney, Texas, to fund the Making Space for Innovation in Collin County project, which has the potential to fuel strong growth of technology startups in eastern Collin County. Accessibility of industry focused makerspaces in Collin County will position the county as a hotbed for innovation and commercialization of new technology. Availability and access to these makerspaces will also increase the capacity for new technology training for the Collin County workforce, addressing the severe shortage of technically trained job applicants in the county. This investment is part of a $691,790 project.
$250,000 in RIS Seed Fund Support funds to the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, to support the University of Florida’s Seed Tampa Bay program in creating a fund to make seed investments in local high growth potential tech startups and to continuously catalyze a surge of other new early stage investment activity throughout the region through outreach and education. This investment is part of a $559,057 project.
$250,000 in RIS Seed Fund Support funds to the California Clean Energy Fund, San Francisco, California, to support the launch and scale of a cluster-based seed fund that will invest in clean energy innovation-based startups with a potential for high growth. CalCEF’s TRACTION Fund will effectively become the “first money in” as an equity-based investment in early-stage clean energy companies and technologies emerging from the CalSEED grant program. This investment is part of a $550,000 project.
$250,000 in RIS Seed Fund Support funds to the University of Texas at Austin, Texas, to launch the True Wealth Venture, a seed-stage venture capital fund designed to invest in women-led companies that will design, develop, go to market and scale green and healthy technologies, products and businesses. This investment is part of a $507,928 project.
$250,000 in RIS Seed Fund Support funds to the Research Park Corporation, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to directly address the root causes of weak seed stage deal flow in Southeast Louisiana. The program will provide one-on-one assistance to companies to increase their probability of capturing seed/angel investment, increase the number of entrepreneurs and investors engaging with the NO/LA Angel Network and Innovation Catalyst, and will create a long-term, consistent pipeline of minority applicants for the Investment Readiness Program. This investment is part of a $500,000 project.
$250,000 in RIS Seed Fund Support funds to the Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, to support an equity fund targeting social innovation in Greater New Orleans. Through this proposal, Propeller and the New Orleans Startup Fund will address the clear need and opportunity for equity capital in our region to serve the growing number of entrepreneurs building our economy, particularly targeting underserved entrepreneurs that do not have access to traditional capital sources. This investment is part of a $500,000 project.
$250,000 in RIS Seed Fund Support funds to the Investors’ Circle, Durham, North Carolina, to evaluate the feasibility of structuring and raising a Colorado-focused seed-stage fund that leverages the infrastructure of IC's existing series of Patient Capital Collaborative pooled funds. The project seeks to activate more capital for early-stage companies in Colorado. This investment is part of a $500,000 project.
$245,460 in RIS Seed Fund Support funds to Launch New York, Inc., Buffalo, New York, to address the lack of funding for startups, at the earliest proof-of-concept stage, in the westernmost counties of Upstate NY. The full implementation and scale up of the Launch NY Seed Fund will help startups with the initial seed funding and attract follow-on investments. This investment is part of a $545,460 project.
$199,749 in RIS i6 funds to 12E, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to expand and scale the successful Venture Assessment Program outside the urban centers to reach rural entrepreneurs and businesses. The program will focus on promoting high-growth entrepreneurship in Oklahoma's rural and Native American communities. This investment is part of a $399,498 project.
$150,000 in RIS Seed Fund Support funds to the Telluride Foundation, Telluride, Colorado, to develop and promote new and existing equity-based seed funds within the Southwest Innovation Corridor, located in southwest Colorado, and serving eight rural counties. The Telluride Foundation seeks to develop seed funding opportunities to support a growing start-up and entrepreneur community in a rural and economically depressed area of Colorado. This investment is part of a $303,180 project.