3PDx, LLC AEMK Systems Inc. AGcerez

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RBPC Success Stories 3PDx, LLC The University of Utah | 2013 Competitor | www.3pdx.com 3PDx, LLC is decentralizing diagnostics by creating a powerful, simple to use, mobile diagnostic. It uses a smartphone to drive and process the test. In late 2014, the company will launch iTest-­‐Influenza. 3PDx anticipates receiving its CE mark during this same time frame. It has established distribution channels with a consortium of European distributors representing 25 countries in and around the European Union. The 3PDx team recently returned from The Netherlands and Germany where they set up several clinical evaluation sites and met with microbiologists who are key opinion leaders in those nations. 3PDx is currently negotiating with a distributor to develop a specific assay; the arrangement would allow for shared profits without giving up equity. 3PDx is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. AEMK Systems Inc. University of Waterloo | 2007 Competitor | www.aemksystems.com Using its pioneering research and mechatronics engineering strength, AEMK Systems Inc. creates unique, advanced technology solutions to complex processing challenges across numerous sectors. The fundamental principle guiding design is for technology to be pragmatic, not targeted at eliminating human involvement but, instead, to complement and support. Solutions address tasks considered tedious, repetitious and onerous wherever they may occur in the growing process. Systems are modular, flexible and adaptable, transcending seamlessly across diverse tasks to enhance facility-­‐
operating efficiency. AEMK Systems Inc. is applying its robotics experience in industrial applications to greenhouse horticultural operations. The company installed its patented DeltaBot to position pots for packaging and bar code application. This is the first in a series of systems for the horticultural market. The company is located in the city of Waterloo, in the heart of Canada’s Technology Triangle. AGcerez Chulalongkorn University, Thailand | 2013 Competitor | www.agcerez.com AGcerez has been established to commercialize L’amai®, the world’s first prebiotic syrup from Longan, which is used as functional food ingredient to provide a sweeter means to intestinal health. L’amai® is a low-­‐calorie ”prebiotic” syrup derived from longan berries which is portrayed as a functional food ingredient. Through its license on a patented process, AGcerez is able to extract juice from longan fruit, (grown primarily in Thailand) to create a unique prebiotic ingredient that aids in overall digestive health and disease prevention and gives tremendous social benefit. AGcerez launched its first product in January 2014 and is working with distributors in international markets. The company is located in Bangkok, Thailand, at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University. 1 2
RBPC Success Stories Alusera University of Gothenburg | 2011 Competitor | h ttp://alusera.com Alusera is developing a patent-­‐pending technology modifying the surface layer of aluminum to emit photoluminescent characteristics. In other words, its aluminum will glow in the dark without using paint, dye, or radiation. Used for nonelectrical warning signs, current photoluminescent aluminum is usually screen-­‐printed with photoluminescent paint or dye, a time consuming and expensive process. Alusera integrates the process of making aluminum glow into the aluminum production. Initially, Alusera is focusing on two target product categories, emergency egress systems and stair nosings. The technology is protected by a PCT patent application, and the company expects to be able to demonstrate a prototype in the near future. It has established a proof-­‐of-­‐concept prototype although it is not yet commercially viable. In 2011, Alusera was named champion of the Venture Cup West, the biggest business plan competition in Scandinavia, and it was in the top three finalists at the Västsvenska Handelskammaren’s investment fair. Alusera is based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Ambiq Micro Inc. University of Michigan | 2010 Competitor | www.ambiqmicro.com Ambiq Micro, a fabless semiconductor company located in Austin, Texas, develops products that redefine the meaning of ultra-­‐low power integrated circuits. The company’s proprietary SPOT™ (Subthreshold Power Optimized Technology) design platform dramatically reduces energy consumed in standard CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) chip designs freeing product designers to expand the features and functions incorporated in their products while exceeding battery life requirements. Ambiq Micro’s products change the design and use of energy critical products used in consumer, industrial, automotive and medical applications. The company will use funding from its recent Series B round to expand its SPOT™ design platform and accelerate new product development. Ambiq Mico has been featured in GigaOm, Xconomy and, most recently, EE Times. It was a finalist in the 2010 Rice Business Plan Competition. 2 3
RBPC Success Stories Antenatal Screening Kit Now part of Jhpiego | Johns Hopkins University | 2011 Competitor Antenatal Screening Kit has developed an affordable diagnosis to screen pregnant women for readily treatable but potentially fatal conditions including pre-­‐eclampsia, anemia and gestational diabetes. The self-­‐screening kit will be used in developing countries where access to diagnostic techniques can be limited and expensive. The developers won the 2013 Maternal Health Challenge sponsored by ABC News, the Lemelson Foundation and the Duke Global Health Institute. Following its public debut at NCIIA’s Open Minds 2011 showcase of student innovation, Antenatal Screening Kit was selected as a Popular Science Invention of the Year. Antenatal Screening participated in the 2011 RBPC as a social venture. The technology is no longer being advanced by a business entity, but instead, it is being developed under the auspices of Jhpiego. Jhpiego is a nongovernment organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University; the organization focuses on women’s health. Aqdot University of Cambridge, England | 2013 Competitor | www.aqdot.com Aqdot is an encapsulation technology company based on the cutting-­‐edge research of the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge. Its innovative process technology provides a significantly enhanced ability to use materials to encapsulate a wide range of active ingredients that can then be released in a controlled fashion. The development of applications for Aqdot’s patented technology is being driven by the needs of customers in selected markets. The first priorities are the home care, personal care, nutraceuticals and agrochemicals markets. Featured in Chemical and Engineering News, The Engineer and Cambridge University Research News, Aqdot has three material transfer agreements signed with three first-­‐tier companies. The success of these proof-­‐of-­‐concept projects will allow Aqdot to enter into joint development agreements with these companies. Aqdot was a finalist at the 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition and is based in Cambridge, England. ArborVita Associates University of Chicago | 2012 Competitor | www.arborvitaassociates.com ArborVita Associates (AVA) is a biotechnology company that leverages a simple and faster way to modify DNA using a proprietary enzyme called DRAP (Drosophila Recombination-­‐Associated Protein). AVA intends to use DRAP to change the way genes are manipulated to accelerate advances in biomedical research, drug development and the production of novel human therapies. The company is in the process of commercializing the company’s first products and establishing relationships with research and commercial institutions. AVA placed second at the University of Chicago Booth New Venture Challenge and attended the Association of University Technology Managers Venture Forum in February 2014. AVA is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. 3 4
RBPC Success Stories Arctic Sand Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2011 Competitor | www.arcticsand.com Arctic Sand is commercializing a revolutionary platform technology in power conversion. It consolidates several broad-­‐level power components into one chip. The company’s core product is based on the patented MIT TIPS technology delivering a breakthrough in the traditional tradeoff between efficiency and circuit size. Its groundbreaking technology reduces energy consumption in consumer, commercial and industrial markets. The MIT spinout received the Best Venture Award at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s 24th Industry Growth Forum. The company was also a Northeast Regional Cleantech Open Winner. A graduate of the North Shore InnoVentures’ incubator, Arctic Sand is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Are You a Human University of Michigan | 2011 Competitor | www.areyouahuman.com Are You a Human builds short, simple and intuitive games to verify that online users are actually human. This is currently accomplished by CAPTCHA, the twisted text challenges that Web sites occasionally ask users to complete when buying tickets or resetting a password. Are You a Human’s online verification methods allow brands and advertisers to customize games, providing brand recognition and ease of use. The company placed second at the 2011 Rice Business Plan Competition and has been featured in Bloomsberg Businessweek, Xconomy and on CBS News (Detroit). Are You a Human has verified 55 million visitors as human. The Detroit, Michigan, company counts automakers Chevrolet and Ford among its clients. ARTsensing Inc. Formerly Nanovate | University of Waterloo | 2007 Competitor |www.artsensing.com Headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, ARTsensing Inc. is pioneering the development of transparent and flexible radiation detectors. The small dimensions and extremely lightweight feature of the sensors allow them to be applied to applications where there are stringent requirements on mass, dimensions and power consumption. ARTsensing Inc. sensors can be integrated within gloves and garments of nuclear technicians for minimally invasive real-­‐time measurement of radiation exposure. The sensors are also perfectly suited for space applications where the provision of power, size and mass is at a premium. A new generation of proprietary radiation sensor has been developed. The sensors have already been extensively characterized at the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre in Kitchener, Ontario, and showed extremely promising results. While this revolutionary technology was initially developed to address the shortcomings of current radiation dosimeters, it can also be used in various markets where radiation sensors are needed such as the nuclear, transportation security depots and the aerospace industries. 4 5
RBPC Success Stories ATDynamics Formerly Advanced Transit Enterprises | Dartmouth College | 2006 Competitor | www.atdynamics.com ATDynamics is the leading global supplier of semi-­‐trailer rear-­‐drag trailer aerodynamics technology. The company is reducing the fuel consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions of leading North American trucking fleets by 12 percent. It’s TrailerTail® rear-­‐drag aerodynamics technology will deliver over $20 billion in fuel savings to trucking companies and consumers over the next decade by streamlining the airflow at the back of two million long-­‐haul semitrailers pulled on U.S. and international highways. In 2013, ATDynamics was named to the Inc. 500, Inc. magazine’s annual list of America’s fastest growing private companies. The company received European Union approval for European versions of its TrailerTail® and EcoSkirt System® and added several new distribution partners throughout Europe. It anticipates the sale of 50,000 trailer tails this year alone. ATDynamics is a founding member of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency and plays a key part in the U.S. Department of Energy-­‐funded Super Truck initiative. Based in Hayward, California, ATDynamics won first place at the 2006 Rice Business Plan Competition. Auditude The University of California, Los Angeles | 2005 Competitor Auditude was the leading video advertising technology and monetization partner for premium content owners and distributors. It maximized the value of video content while decreasing operational cost and ensuring a positive advertising experience for consumers anywhere they view video. Auditude worked with marquee broadcast and professional content companies including Comcast, Major League Baseball, starz and Fox News. In 2011, Auditude spun out a social TV app business called IntoNow. Based on the SoundPrint platform, IntoNow gives users the ability to almost instantly recognize TV content and then helps them share and discuss those shows with friends, both within the product and through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. In November 2011, Auditude was acquired by Adobe Systems. Adobe is based in Palo Alto with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and London. 5 6
RBPC Success Stories Aura Biosciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2008 Competitor | www.aurabiosciences.com Aura Biosciences is an innovation-­‐driven company focused on the development of drugs using tumor-­‐
targeted Pseudovirions. Pseudovirions are a novel approach that harnesses the power of synthetic biology and viral evolution. Aura has developed methods to manufacture these synthetic viral structures and combine them with multiple types of drugs creating a new generation of highly efficient targeted molecules. The technology has been discovered and patented in partnership with the National Cancer Institute. Aura Biosciences was listed as one of the 25 Women-­‐Run Startups to Watch. Additionally, the company won the Tech Pioneers Program at The World Economic Forum and was featured in Time magazine as a Top Technology Innovator of the Year. Aura’s headquarters are located in the biotech cluster of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Avanti Metal Company Harvard Kennedy School | 2006 Competitor Avanti Metal produced titanium to sell at one-­‐tenth of the current price, using one-­‐half of the current capital and with one-­‐hundredth of the hazardous waste and pollution of other producers. This lightweight, white metal is used in aircraft, ships, and spacecraft. Avanti’s technology is based on Sadoway processes developed by Dr. Donald Sadoway, a world-­‐renowned expert in electrochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The small startup’s early capital was funded through a grant from the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT. Avanti Metal Company was sold to an international company specializing in metal production. Avello Bioenergy, Inc. Iowa State University of Science and Technology | 2009 Competitor | www.avellobioenergy.com Using technology licensed from Iowa State University Research Foundation, Avello Bioenergy transforms conventional biomass fast pyrolysis products into low-­‐cost and profitable feedstock for renewable energy, soil, chemical and material applications. (Pyrolysis is the thermochemical decomposition of organic matter.) Compared to conventional pyrolysis oil, Avello’s products are less corrosive, more stable and easily upgraded. One of Avello’s products is a Bioasphalt® binder. Made from wood-­‐based, fractionated pyrolysis oil, Avello’s bioasphalt is currently being tested on a bike trail near Iowa State University. In addition to producing pyrolysis oil for asphalt, Avello is producing Biofuel Oil, a stable, low carbon liquid fuel oil for direct fossil fuel replacement or blending; biochar, used as an additive to soil, as a renewable fuel or as a potential carbon sequestration agent; and chemical feedstock for specialty markets. The Iowa Power Fund awarded Avello a grant to build a two-­‐and-­‐a-­‐half ton per day demonstration unit for its bio-­‐oil separation technology. The company has been featured in publications such as Biorefining Magazine and Canadian Biomass Magazine. The company occupies office and laboratory space at the BioCentury Research Farm in central Iowa. 6 7
RBPC Success Stories BabaLung Apnea Monitor Formerly InfantAIR | Rice University | 2010 Competitor | www.rice360.rice.edu Team Breath Alert has developed an apnea monitor specifically designed for use in the developing world. The system is composed of a size-­‐adjustable strap with a stretch sensor, as well as an onboard microcontroller. The controller reads the output of the stretch sensor and is able to detect the expansion and contraction of the infant’s chest and abdomen that accompanies air entering and leaving the lungs. This allows the device to monitor breathing in real time. If 20 seconds elapses with no breathing detected (suggesting an apneic event is occurring), the device activates a vibrating motor that is intended to stimulate breathing to resume. If no breathing occurs within five seconds of the motor’s activation, an alarm is sounded notifying nurses or other healthcare workers in the area that the child requires attention. A second component has been developed that also allows the electronics to transmit information about the patient’s respiration, including any apneic events, to a central station using a low-­‐cost, low-­‐power Bluetooth transmitter. InfantAIR participated in the 2010 RBPC as a social venture. The technology is no longer being advanced by a business, instead, the technology is being developed by Rice 360, Institute for Global Health Technologies. Proof-­‐of-­‐concept testing has been carried out in a controlled setting in Houston, Texas. In 2014, cofounder Jocelyn Brown was named in Forbes list of 30 Under 30 in the Science and Health Care. Bazo’s Fresh Mexican Grill Formerly Taco Tikka | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2004 Competitor | www.bazosgrill.com Bazo’s Fresh Mexican Grill serves fresh, high quality Baja-­‐style Mexican fare in a fast and casual setting. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, the company currently operates three corporate locations with over $1 million in annual sales. Bazo’s Fresh Mexican Grill has begun franchising operations, and it is currently exploring opportunities throughout Kentucky and surrounding areas. The company is debt free. Bearing Analytics Purdue University | 2013 Competitor | www.bearing-­‐analytics.com Bearing Analytics is developing a patent pending sensor technology with advanced predictive analytics platform for condition monitoring of rotating machinery. The company offers industrial system owners the most accurate rotating equipment monitoring and failure prediction solutions available, improving asset management and operational efficiency, while decreasing downtime and business interruption cost. Bearing Analytics was the winner of the Indiana Stage at the 2013 Clean Energy Challenge. It is headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana. 7 8
RBPC Success Stories Bennu, LLC Baruch College | 2010 Competitor | www.bennuworld.com Bennu is a green business development company that makes sustainability fun and profitable. It is the leader in green social media marketing. The company’s sustainability solutions increase enterprise value by aligning clients’ business objectives with consumer demand and environmental resources. Its service suite includes sustainability strategy consulting, campaign development, tactical execution, social media management, measurement and tracking and gamified applications. Bennu’s inspiration originated from the disturbing amount of waste – particularly plastic bottles – being sent to landfills as trash. With tens of billions of potentially useful bottles wasted each year, Bennu launched by developing recycled promotional products that prevent landfill dumping, save energy, and serve practical consumer needs. At the same time, its goal was to educate people about the environmental, social and economic value of sustainability. Social media presented the ideal communication channel to engage a community who shared Bennu’s values and beliefs. The company continues to evolve, expanding from promotional products to social media marketing services that help other companies respond to the green wave that’s rapidly changing the world. Bennu has been featured in major press outlets including VentureBeat, Forbes, Fast Company and C-­‐SPAN. Headquartered in New York its clients range from multinational corporations to startups that embrace business sustainability as a competitive advantage. Biogas & Electric LLC University of California, Los Angeles | 2010 Competitor | www.biogasandelectric.com Biogas & Electric is developing NOxRx®, an air pollution control device for stationary biogas engines. NOxRx® is a low-­‐cost solution to nitrogen oxide emissions from biogas engines operating at anaerobic digesters at wastewater treatment facilities and large concentrated animal feeding operations. The biomass industry is under considerable pressure to reduce emissions such as NOX, a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more damaging to the atmosphere than CO2. In 2010, Biogas & Electric established proof of concept for NOxRx®. This represented a significant achievement for the industry since competing NOX reduction technologies are expensive and have difficulty meeting the stringent regulations set forth by regional air quality boards. In July 2013, Biogas & Electric completed a full-­‐scale demonstration project for NOxRx® proving technical feasibility. The company was issued a United States patent in 2011; several international patents are pending. Biogas & Electric is part of EvoNexus, the business incubator of CommNexus™, a leading nonprofit high tech trade organization based in San Diego, California. 8 9
RBPC Success Stories BiologicsMD, LLC University of Arkansas | 2010 Competitor | www.biologicsmd.com Based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, BiologicsMD™ is an early stage therapeutics company focusing on novel technologies to actively improve bone health. The company has an exclusive license to develop a new biologic therapeutic, PTH-­‐CBD™, a molecular fusion of PTH (1-­‐33) with the Collagen Binding Domain (CBD) of ColH collagenase. The CBD selectively binds to type I collagen, thus delivering PTH directly to the bone where it can be most effective in building new bone. This CBD-­‐derived targeting also provides for a long acting therapeutic, thereby enabling semi-­‐annual dosing for chronic disorders. In August 2013, BiologicsMD was issued its first U.S. patent for PTH-­‐CBD. Previously, the company was awarded a significant grant through the U.S. Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program to continue research on its innovative osteoporosis compound. BiologicsMD won the grand prize at the 2010 Rice Business Plan Competition. BlackLocus Carnegie Mellon University | 2011 Competitor | www.blacklocus.com BlackLocus developed a SaaS (software as a service) price optimization platform, offering powerful and affordable e-­‐commerce competitive pricing analysis to customers ranging from small businesses to those on the Internet Retailer 500. Powered by collaboration with industry experts and human-­‐computer interaction researchers, BlackLocus deployed sophisticated machine learning and revenue management techniques in a pricing-­‐
as-­‐a-­‐service model, enabling small and mid-­‐sized online retailers to compete with larger and/or more established players. BlackLocus was named Startup to Watch by Inc. in 2012, and the company was featured in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Tech Crunch and GigaOm. In December 2012, BlackLocus was acquired by Home Depot, a mere 20 months after competing in the 2011 Rice Business Plan Competition. Black Locus has become The Home Depot’s Innovation Lab and will remain in Austin, Texas. 9 0
RBPC Success Stories Bladepad Brigham Young University | 2012 Competitor | www.bladepad.com Bladepad is the world’s most mobile video game controller for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The thin, detachable gamepad connects to a mobile device and adds controls similar to those on a console controller. Bladepad combines a protective case for the iPhone and a detachable, slide-­‐out gamepad, maximizing portability and minimizing unnecessary bulk. Bladepad connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth™. Bladepad will support iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5th generation and the iPad Retina. The company is currently making hardware changes to become compliant with Apple’s upcoming game controller standard for iOS 7, which will allow Bladepad to work with hundreds to thousands of games. Bladepad will be available for purchase later this year. Blue Nano Inc. Formerly Filigree Nanotech | Wake Forest University | 2008 Competitor | http://bluenanoinc.com Blue Nano produces silver nanowires for the transparent conductor industry. The company’s process produces higher quantities of nanomaterials that are of higher qualities and at lower cost than current manufacturing methods. It serves universities, independent research lab, and original equipment manufacturers across the globe in a wide variety of sectors ranging from automotive to energy to healthcare. In particular, Blue Nano has placed an emphasis on cutting edge clean energy products for solar cells, lithium ion batteries and a variety of chemical and fuel cell catalysts. Growing organically through sale of its materials, Blue Nano continues to add new customers, many of whom are FORTUNE 100 companies. It has also added Seika Corporation, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, as its distributor in Japan. The company is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. BOSS Medical Johns Hopkins University | 2011 Competitor | http://boss-­‐medical.com BOSS Medical is a medical device startup developing new orthopedic technologies. Currently, the company is developing its first product, the BOSS Harvester, a novel, intuitive system which will enable surgeons to harvest autologous bone graft (auto-­‐graft) utilizing a minimally invasive approach. Current bone graft solutions are suboptimal in terms of efficacy, safety and cost. Recently, BOSS Medical signed an exclusive license agreement with the Johns Hopkins University and received a Small Business Innovative Research grant from the National Science Foundation. It has been awarded additional grants from the Johns Hopkins Technology Accelerator Fund, the Maryland Innovation Initiative, the Coulter Translational Partnership Award, the Maryland TEDCO University Development Technology Fund and the NCIIA. Based in Baltimore, Maryland, BOSS Medical was founded in 2011 by a group of biomedical engineers from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design and leading spinal surgeons from Hopkins M edical Institute. 10 1
RBPC Success Stories Briteseed, LLC Northwestern University | 2013 Competitor | www.briteseed.com Briteseed, LLC is a Chicago-­‐based medical device company developing SafeSnips™. SafeSnips is a forward-­‐thinking technology that puts sense into surgical cutting tools. By integrating blood vessel detection technology with existing surgical cutting tools, SafeSnips can find vessels at risk of uncontrolled bleeding even where tactile feedback is unavailable. By utilizing near-­‐infrared (NIR) spectroscopy sensors integrated into the tips of cutting tools, such as energy devices, SafeSnips identify the presence and diameter of blood vessels in the immediate cutting area. Surgeons are alerted via video monitors currently used in the operating room. Briteseed was born out of the 2011–2012 NUvention at Northwestern U niversity. The company has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Tech Cocktail, Crain’s Chicago Business and the Chicago Sun-­‐
Times. It placed second in the 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition. C3Nano, Inc. Stanford University | 2010 Competitor | www.c3nano.com C3Nano has developed solution-­‐coated, transparent, conductive materials that compete directly with indium tin oxide (ITO). Produced for flexible display, touch screen, solar cell and smart window applications, C3Nano’s inks and films are poised to meet the industry’s growing demand for a viable, low-­‐cost alternative to the predominantly used, but increasingly scarce, indium tin oxide. Beginning with its recently completed pilot line, C3Nano is optimizing its ink formulation and expanding production capabilities, scaling up its materials for larger customers and partner activity. With a roll-­‐to-­‐
roll coating partner in Asia, C3Nano is positioned to be a complete solution provider to the flexible display, touch panel, organic light-­‐emitting diode and solar industries. C3Nano moves into a new, state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art facility in 2013. Founded in 2010 based on research and technology developed at Stanford University, the company is an early stage, venture-­‐backed startup based in Hayward, California. CamGaN University of Cambridge | 2011 Competitor A spinout from the Department of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge, CamGaN developed low-­‐cost, gallium nitride (GaN) white LEDs (light-­‐emitting diodes) for use on standard and readily available silicon substrates. In 2012, CamGaN was acquired by Plessey Semiconductors. Plessey Semiconductors develops and manufactures semiconductor products used in sensing, measurement and control applications. The company will produce LEDs based on CamGaN’s proprietary six-­‐inch GaN-­‐on-­‐silicon technology at its processing facility in Plymouth, England. 11 1
RBPC Success Stories CaptainU University of Chicago | 2009 Competitor | www.captainu.com CaptainU is the leading provider of Web-­‐based recruiting software for high school athletes seeking to compete on the university level. CaptainU users register to build a profile that includes the student athlete’s statistics, team affiliations, training camp attendances and GPA. The site also provides templates for tracking statistics and displaying highlight videos used by college coaches. The CaptainU Web site is used by more than 400,000 athletes and 50,000 youth teams. The company’s tools and videos have helped athletes land spots on many of the best teams in the country like UCLA, Michigan and Arizona State and many of the best academic institutions in the country like Harvard, the University of Chicago and University of California, Berkeley. CaptainU has a national network of professional cameramen making it easy for students to get filmed anywhere they play. In 2012, CaptainU partnered with Naviance, equiping high school staff and administrators with the tools to help students navigate NCAA eligibility requirements. CaptainU has been featured in The New York Times, CNN and Fox Business News. Founded in 2008, the company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. CEON Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior | 2004 Competitor | http://ceon.in CEON is the pioneer and leading provider of integrated education process management solutions and consultancy to educational institutions. CEON offers accurate real-­‐time information and knowledge management systems to parents, teachers, students and management. Its flagship products, iSchool and iCampus, are uniquely aligned to meet the needs and budgets of diverse schools and colleges. iSchool believes that each child has potential and can be groomed to excellence. iSchool modules are designed to help educators and parents manage, analyze and assist in the multidimensional growth of students over the years. An extension of iSchool, iCampus provides automation software for colleges and universities across India. It is a fully integrated online software solution, enhancing the quality of education and strengthening the institute’s ability to deliver a global standard in an academic environment. CEON Solutions is currently operating across India and in three additional countries. The company was named one of the hottest entrepreneur startups of India by Nen Technologies. Because of its success, CEON has been featured in the Indian national dailies such as the Times of India and The Business Standard. CEON maintains offices in Ahmedabad, Delhi and Patna, India. 12 2
RBPC Success Stories Certo Labs Inc. University of Toronto | 2007 Competitor | www.certolabs.com Certo Labs Inc. is a Toronto-­‐based biotech company providing high throughput kits for the extraction of lipids, vitamins, pesticides and antibiotics from food, tissue or blood samples. Certo’s mandate is to streamline and de-­‐skill the processes involved in nutrient, residue and pesticide extractions from biological samples. A pioneer in extraction science, Certo Labs has discovered a novel, patent pending, chemically modified filter enabling the isolation of compounds such as lipids, pesticides and residues from homogenized biological samples. The Certo Extraction Method is simpler, faster, more accurate and less costly than conventional techniques currently used by laboratories to extract samples. It also uses a significantly lower volume of chemical solvents, allowing laboratories to cut down on waste management costs while being environmentally friendly and socially responsible. In 2013, Certo released its Fatty Acid Extraction Kit and its Sterol (Cholesterol) Extraction Kit. Certo Labs has received funding from the Ontario Centres of Excellence, the Health Technology Exchange Program, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, BioEnterprise, the MaRs Discovery District and by winning several business plan competitions in Canada and the United States. Chipotle Business Group, Inc. The University of Texas at Austin | 2004 Competitor | www.chipotlegroup.com Chipotle Business Group, Inc. (CBGI) is a creator of innovative global water testing solutions. CBGI’s cutting edge technologies offer fast, accurate water testing solutions that are cost-­‐effective and easy to use. Working in concert with state, national, and international agencies and philanthropic organizations, along with best-­‐in-­‐class researchers, developers and service providers, CBGI helps to ensure industrialized and remote communities worldwide can have safe drinking water and clean recreational water supplies Derrick Charbonnet, the company’s COO and inventor, was a Tech Titan Finalist in the Technology Inventors category in both 2011 and 2012. CBGI completed biological and chemical assays, and university researchers finished a comprehensive market analysis in 2011. Its working prototype to quantify chemical contaminates in water was completed in August of the following year. The company is preparing to introduce approximately 30 different complex chemical parameters for emerging contaminants. It will market itself as Lumion Laboratories. Chipotle Business Group is a privately held firm incorporated in Texas, with offices in Texas and Mississippi. 13 3
RBPC Success Stories Citrine Informatics Formerly Big Science | Stanford University | 2013 Competitor | http://citrine.io Citrine Informatics is a materials analysis and analytics SaaS (software as a service) company. The company automates materials data analysis and invents new materials by mining its world-­‐leading materials database, bringing the power of big data to materials science. Currently in private beta, Citrine Informatics will launch in mid to late 2014. It is based in Redwood City, California. Cleanoventions Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur | 2012 Competitor | www.cleanoventions.in Cleanoventions is a venture by IIT, Kharagpur students internally driven by the passion to make India energy self-­‐sufficient. Cleanoventions has a strong portfolio of products ranging from breakthrough solar innovation to algal biofuel technology to portable magnet-­‐based energy generators. Its unique product “SolarEx” harnesses the entire spectrum of light, providing a 44 percent efficiency rating compared to the 10 to 12 percent efficiency rating of solar polarvoltaic (PV) and the 25 percent of concentrated solar power (CSP) technology. It also provides safe drinking water and power generation, very important commodities in rural India where millions of government dollars are spent each year for kerosene subsidies and safe drinking water. Cleanoventions was awarded the Most Promising Technology by the Ministry of External Affairs, India, and was recognized by Entrepreneurial Magazine in February 2012. Its innovations were represented at the Dell Social Innovation Challenge in Boston. The company has won a number of Asian business plan competitions including Concipio, Kshitij, India Future of Change and Empressario. Cleanoventions is a subsidiary of Bidon Services Private Limited. ClearCount Medical Solutions Carnegie Mellon University | 2004 Competitor | www.clearcount.com Pittsburgh-­‐based ClearCount Medical Solutions develops and markets a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tracking system for the surgical operating room. It has assembled an extendable RFID-­‐based platform to improve efficiency while preventing medical errors. ClearCount’s SmartSponge and SmartWand-­‐DTX systems are the only RFID-­‐enabled systems for counting and detecting surgical sponges. The University of California Irvine Medical Center will use ClearCounts products to prevent sponge-­‐
related incidents. The company’s product line is available through Medline Industries, Inc., the nation’s largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare supplies. Poised to begin distribution in the European Union, the SmartSponge product line is the first and only RFID-­‐based surgical safety and efficiency technology bearing a CE mark. ClearCount’s technology was recognized by Popular Science as one of the top 100 innovations of 2009. It received both The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award and the International Design Excellence Award (IDEA). The company has received additional recognition from Time and WIRED magazines. 14 4
RBPC Success Stories ConjuGon, Inc. University of Wisconsin | 2002 Competitor | www.conjugon.com ConjuGon, Inc. is developing fundamentally new products to eliminate bacterial infections. The company is developing and commercializing a conjugation-­‐based antibacterial technology discovered at the University of Wisconsin-­‐Madison. Its products will prevent and eliminate antibiotic-­‐resistant, bacterial infections of the skin and soft tissues including traumatic injury, surgical and burn wounds. Presently, ConjuGon performs most of its research and development operations at its corporate headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. Funded in part by equity financing and grants from the U.S. Department of Defense, it contracts with leading pharmaceutical, manufacturing, clinical research and regulatory experts nationwide to advance its products. CorInnova, Inc. Texas A&M University | 2005 Competitor | www.corinnova.com Corinnova is a pre-­‐clinical stage medical device company that has developed a breakthrough technological platform for the treatment of heart failure. CardiacSTAR™, the flagship product under development, will be the first cardiac assist device in the market to promote heart recovery by enforcing correct cardiac motion. The device does not touch the blood, making it significantly safer than Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs), which have a high rate of stroke and bleeding. CardiacSTAR™ can be delivered minimally invasively, reducing hospital stays and lowering costs. CorInnova is targeting the multi-­‐billion dollar potential market for the treatment of congestive heart failure. CorInnova has successfully manufactured prototypes of the device and is pursuing first-­‐in-­‐human studies followed by regulatory approval in Europe. It has four approved U.S. patents. In 2013, the company’s technology was enthusiastically received at two of the most prominent international conferences on heart failure in Europe, generating multiple offers of clinical cooperation. CorInnova added internationally prominent physicians to its advisory board. In addition, CorInnova has received seed funding and grants from the National Science Foundation and from the National Institutes of Health. Recently, the company became a finalist for a potential $5 million investment from a major foundation. CorInnova is headquartered in Houston, Texas. 15 5
RBPC Success Stories cycleWood Solutions Formerly cycleWood Plastics | University of Arkansas | 2011 Competitor | www.cyclewood.com cycleWood Solutions has developed a patent-­‐protected technology. The company creates a viable, biodegradable and compostable thermoplastic alternative to plastic bags. Offering retailers and consumers a cost-­‐comparative, environmentally friendly alternative, the XyloBag utilizes lignin, an abundant natural resource that biodegrades in approximately 150 days once it reaches the natural environment. The lignin used in the bags is a byproduct from paper mills and biofuel plants. cycleWood’s thermoplastic can be applied in a variety of commercial plastics including cups, plates and bags. The XyloBag is a 2012 Edison Awards finalist for the Safety & Sustainability category. In 2011, cycleWood Solutions was the South Central Regional Winner of The Cleantech Open and placed fourth overall in the 2011 Rice Business Plan Competition. Recently, cycleWood’s product was certified as the first compostable plastic created from a renewable source. The company is in trials with a number of leading grocery retailers while concurrently moving towards commercial volumes to support larger customers. It has received media coverage by Harvard Business Review Today, Reuters, FORTUNE and Ecopreneurist. cycleWood is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an additional office in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Cytex Therapeutics Duke University | 2006 Competitor | http://cytextherapeutics.com Cytex Therapeutics is developing bio-­‐artificial devices to treat orthopaedic diseases and improve patients’ quality of life. The company’s bio-­‐artificial cartilage mimics the mechanical and biological properties of natural cartilage. It will be used to replace arthritic hip cartilage through minimally invasive surgery. In September 2012, Cytex was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant through National Institutes of Health to study the effects of biochemical crosslinking. Additional funding and support has been provided by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, The Kauffman Foundation, NC IDEA and the Duke StartUp Challenge. Cytex is headquartered in Durham, N orth Carolina. 16 6
RBPC Success Stories Datafiniti Formerly 80legs | R ice University | 2009 Competitor | www.datafiniti.net Datafiniti is the world’s first search engine for data. The company compiles and indexes data from the entire Internet. It serves business data, people data and product data to customers including Barnes & Noble, hoppit and DealersLink. Its data is compiled from millions of online sources, scanning the entire Internet for publicly available content and pushing that content through a sophisticated data pipeline to produce structured data. Every record that comes out of this pipeline is then validated against its entire database to correct any inaccuracies and fill in gaps. This process allows Datafiniti to verify every record against millions of other data points. The end result is a comprehensive and accurate database. Datafiniti has recently begun a massive overhaul to its original 80legs platform. Named Voltron, the new platform promises to deliver faster and seamless integration. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Datafiniti was a finalist at the 2009 Rice Business Plan Competition. DIAGENETIX, Inc. University of Hawai’i | 2011 Competitor | h ttp://diagenetix.com DIAGENETIX, Inc. is a molecular diagnostics company. Its Smart-­‐DART platform is a gene-­‐based solution, highly sensitive, accurate and adaptable. Smart DART is based on an isothermal amplification method. When combined with the company’s patent-­‐pending molecular probe, hardware and a smart phone or tablet, the technology results in one of the only truly mobile, real-­‐time detection platforms. It is well suited for in-­‐field detection and diagnostics. DIAGENETIX and its Smart-­‐DART platform help agricultural producers and processors easily and accurately test on-­‐site for costly food borne and agricultural pathogens, reducing their liability and saving cost and time. The company is currently working with producers, processors researchers and regulatory agencies. In 2012, DIAGENETIX was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support the application of the Smart-­‐DART platform to detect three costly agricultural pathogens: salmonella, citrus greening and fungal pathogens. The DIAGENETIX DART platform was developed while the company’s founders attended the University of Hawai’i. DiagNano, Inc. Georgia Institute of Technology | 2008 Competitor | www.nanohc.com DiagNano is a biotechnology company focusing on quantitative in vitro diagnostics for the clinical market. Using micro and nanotechnologies, the company provides clinicians with next generation tools for quantitative molecular profiling and personalized medicine. DiagNano’s core technology, nanoparticle surface coatings, was developed from research at Georgia Tech and Emory University. The surface coating technology allows quantum dots and other metal nanoparticles to be used in a number of biological applications including in vitro diagnostics. The company was featured in Georgia Trend and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. 17 7
RBPC Success Stories Differential Dynamics Corporation Columbia University | 2005 Competitor | www.ddmotion.com Based in Owings Mills, Maryland, Differential Dynamics Corporation (DD Motion) has developed an all-­‐
mechanical green technology called infinitely variable motion control (IVMC). A new type of turbine, IVMC has applications for power generation, compression and air conditioning and vehicle transmissions. By converting variable input into constant output, IVMC realizes dramatic cost efficiencies across each of these platforms. The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) awarded DDMotion a grant to validate IVMC’s ability to convert variable wind speed into constant output. This allows for wind power generation that is more robust, more efficient and capable of capturing a greater portion of the available energy. The TEDCO funds will enable DDMotion to demonstrate that its technology can increase the power generated by at least 15 percent, reduce failures caused by complexity and down time by 26 percent or more, and increase revenues by at least $50,000 annually for each 1.5 megawatt generator with no additional costs in manufacturing. DD Motion was awarded a grant from the Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program to further the development of its wind turbine. Digital Proctor The University of Texas at Austin | 2010 Competitor | www.digitalproctor.com Digital Proctor was founded in 2009 to combat cheating in online tests. Working with academic partners, it developed three unique tools to help with verifying student identity in online or hybrid courses, rooting out cases of blatant collusion, and addressing a new, pervasive form of plagiarism termed ‘Plagiarism 2.0’. Digital Proctor’s unique, data rich platform allows for other applications such as helping institutions detect financial aid fraud schemes. Its latest project is using its data set to help improve student retention rates, designing an early intervention system for students with falling grades. Digital Proctor is authenticating half a million students every day, taking the burden off some of the largest online universities in the world, including Coursera, Liberty University and Walden University. Austin-­‐based Digital Proctor was awarded District Administration Readers’ Choice Top 100 Products of 2011. It has been featured in The Huffington Post, the Austin Business Journal and Market Watch. Disease Diagnostic Group, LLC Case Western Reserve University | 2013 Competitor Disease Diagnostic Group, LLC is developing a malaria diagnostic device based on magneto-­‐optical technology. Its malaria diagnostic uses simple magnets and lasers to leverage malaria’s magnetic biomarker and offers a handheld, quantitative diagnosis in one minute with just one drop of blood. The electronics within the device then serve as a complete patient identification system to track the disease. Disease Diagnostic Group is an Ohio for-­‐profit social venture that was founded in August 2012. The company has received funding from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators (NCIIA). 18 8
RBPC Success Stories DMF Medical Incorporated Formerly Purisorb Inc. | Dalhousie University | 2011 Competitor | h ttp://dmfmedical.com DMF Medical Incorporated has developed a revolutionary carbon dioxide (CO2) filter for anaesthetic circuits, which uses mechanical separation rather than traditional absorbent chemicals. This approach provides a ready solution to the known problem of toxin creation in anaesthetic circuits, produced when anaesthetic vapours react with traditional CO2 absorption materials. These harmful by-­‐products are both neuro and nephrotoxic. The company’s device is fully compatible with all existing anaesthesia equipment while eliminating the disposal of contaminated and hazardous absorption materials. As a result, the company’s product allows for a safer and less expensive delivery of anaesthesia for patients and operating room staff. DMF Medical received funding from the Atlantic Innovation Fund to develop its device; the company will go to market in 2015. DMF Medical is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. D-­‐Orbit Santa Clara University | 2010 Competitor | www.deorbitaldevices.com D-­‐Orbit develops smart propulsive devices to destroy obsolete satellites. The device is installed on satellites before launch and is capable of deorbiting or re-­‐orbiting them in a quick, safe and controlled manner, avoiding collision with other spacecraft in space or falling onto people and assets on Earth. D-­‐Orbits’ device provides a sustainable access to space. The company offers satellite owners a reliable and cost-­‐effective product to increase the operating life of satellites, control insurance costs, and avoid the costs of collisions with other spacecraft or assets on Earth. Having successfully tested its prototype, D-­‐Orbit Inc. founded a California-­‐based subsidiary in 2012 to address the American market. In November 2013, the company launched the “brain” of the device aboard a Ukrainian-­‐Russian Dnepr rocket to test its reliability in operational conditions. The next stage in D-­‐Orbit’s development will include the launch of the complete deorbiting device. The company has received numerous awards and honors including the 2013 IAIR Award for innovation and leadership and the 2013 Red Herring Global 100. Additionally, D -­‐Orbit has been featured in various articles and interviews in the primary Italian newspapers. The company’s operating office is in Florence, Italy. 19 9
RBPC Success Stories DSGM Systems Drive Safe Glucose Monitoring Systems | Kennesaw State University | 2010 Competitor | www.dsgmsystems.com DSGM is commercializing the Glusonic Alert™, a new approach in glucose monitoring that harnesses the body’s own response to changing glucose levels. The first-­‐of-­‐its-­‐kind, noninvasive glucose meter continuously tracks blood glucose levels and trends painlessly using a smartwatch format. This new technology is the result of over $5 million in research grants and 10years of research and development by leading experts in the field of noninvasive glucose monitoring. DSGM’s technology will help diabetics maintain better control of their glucose levels, assisting in the prevention of “dead-­‐in-­‐
bed” syndrome and unhealthy excursions in glucose levels that can lead to serious medical complications. DSGM is headquarters are in Waco, Georgia. Dynamics Inc. Carnegie Mellon University | 2009 Competitor | www.poweredcards.com Dynamics Inc. produces and manufactures intelligent powered payment cards and advanced payment platforms. Focused on introducing fast-­‐cycle innovation to top card issuers, the company’s first commercial application is the world’s first fully card-­‐programmable magnetic stripe for use in next-­‐
generation payment cards. The company has won many of the worlds’ most prestigious international business plan competitions including the Rice Business Plan Competition, Carnegie Mellon McGinnis Venture Competition and the University of San Francisco Business Plan Competition. It won DEMOgod and the $1M People’s Choice Award at DEMO Fall 2010, Best of Show at FinovateFall 2010, FinovateFall 2011, FinovateEurope 2012, Best of Show at Cartes 2011 and Best of Show at BAI Retail Delivery 2011. Dynamics won Best in Show for Personal Electronics and Technology Honors at the 2012 International CES show. Founded in 2007, Dynamics is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 20 1
RBPC Success Stories Dynamo Micropower Duke University | 2012 Competitor | www.dynamo-­‐micropower.com Dynamo Micropower is a small power products company developing a unique generator with proprietary, novel micro gas turbine architecture. Its generator (less than 30 kilowatts genset) is significantly smaller, longer-­‐lived and more efficient than conventional diesel generators. The initial target market is the energy industry. Dynamo Micropower’s generator will lower the energy costs of marginal gas wells through reduced maintenance and fuel costs; however, there are several additional niches where a Dynamo genset will command a premium price. Dynamo also sees its technology enabling new markets such as robotics and bringing clean power to six billion people. A recent recipient of several grants, the company was one of the winners of the M ass Challenge and a semifinalist at the Clean Tech Open. Dynamo Micropower is funded by Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. Having completed the SURGE Accelerator in Houston, the company is located in Somerville, Massachusetts, at Greentown Labs, a regional clean energy incubator. EcoHarvester Formerly E&M Devices | University of California, Berkeley | 2009 Competitor | www.ecoharvester.com EcoHarvester is a green technology startup company that designs and builds consumer electronics devices powered by users’ own energy, not batteries. The company combines Bay Area technological innovation with Japanese-­‐inspired aesthetics to create elegant, energy efficient products. In January 2014, the company introduced its BonsaiLight switch and LED lamp at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. BonsaiLight lets users charge and operate electronic devices through their own micro-­‐kinetic energy, eliminating the need for batteries. The company is backed by private investors and a grant from the National Science Foundation. EcoHarvester is the winner of the 2008 University of California, the Berkeley Venture Lab Prize and the 2009 NASA Innovation prize at the Rice Business Plan Competition. Founded in 2008, EcoHarvester is based in Berkeley, California. EcoLight Formerly Cirquility & House Inc | Dartmouth College | 2012 Competitor EcoLight installed and managed energy efficient systems for residential and commercial businesses. In partnership with Dartmouth College, EcoLight installed energy efficient systems in the Thayer School of Engineering. After competing in the 2012 Rice Business Plan Competition as House Inc., the founders reorganized, first as Cirquility, then as EcoLight. In April 2013, EcoLight’s founder sold the company. It is still operating under the same name in New Hampshire. 21 2
RBPC Success Stories EEME Carnegie Mellon University | 2013 Competitor EEME crunches smart meter data to identify savings opportunities across energy efficiency m easures for every residential user in a given territory. The company uses existing utility and public data and statistical algorithms to provide personalized recommendations. In February 2014, EEME launched its residential user dashboard with its pilot customer, the San Diego Gas and Electric Company. Effortless Energy The University of Chicago| 2013 Competitor | http://goeffortless.com Effortless Energy partners with home contractors to identify cost-­‐effective home efficiency measures like insulation and air-­‐seals as well as exploring available utility and tax rebates. The company’s proprietary SaaS (software as a service) software automatically generates an optimized financing solution that eliminates the hassle and up-­‐front costs for homeowners. The financing partners then recoup their up-­‐front investment by splitting the energy bill savings with homeowners over the life of the contract. Effortless Energy was a semi-­‐finalist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2013 MIT Clean Energy Competition. The company has been featured in Forbes, the Chicago Tribune and VentureBeat. In November 2013, Effortless Energy was accepted into Hawaii’s Energy Excelerator. EGG-­‐energy Formerly Sulico | London Business School | 2011 Competitor | http://egg-­‐energy.com EGG-­‐energy provides sustainable energy solutions to off-­‐grid African households. It is building a last-­‐
mile distribution network for solar energy systems by efficiently managing local logistics, sales and marketing, consumer financing and installation and maintenance. The company engineers solutions and builds distribution networks that connect homes and businesses to affordable and reliable energy services. Although EGG-­‐energy’s first local subsidiary was established in 2009 near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the company intends to scale throughout Tanzania and East Africa. Its processes and systems can be replicated in other locations that have mobile money systems available. EGG-­‐energy is working on forging a variety of partnerships with technology providers, financial institutions and larger scale energy producers. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing funding for EGG-­‐energy to improve information technology systems, build a scalable financing program and acquire the latest, most cost-­‐
effective technology for EGG-­‐energy customers. Additional support is provided by GDF SUEZ and National Geographic. EGG-­‐energy is partnering with Power Africa, a U.S. Government initiative, to address the lack of access to electrical power in sub-­‐Saharan Africa, a barrier to sustainable economic growth and development in that region. 22 3
RBPC Success Stories Elemental Enzymes University of Missouri | 2012 Competitor | http://www.elementalenzymes.com Elemental Enzymes is commercializing a patent-­‐pending bioprocess to manufacture stabilized enzymes and biologicals for a variety of environmental, industrial, and biomedical applications. Its technology reduces the process steps and energy costs of enzyme production and yields enzyme products with greater stability and potency than those currently on the market. The initial focus is on row crops. Having previously licensed its technology from the University of Missouri, Elemental Enzymes has renegotiated for better terms as well as for additional applications of the technology. In 2013, Elemental Enzymes completed its first year of field trials in corn and soybeans. The company was able to show significant yield increases in these crops on top of standard seed treatments. The agriculture market generally requires multiple years of field trials, however Elemental Enzymes has generated much excitement and have begun license negotiations for products in this market. Elemental Enzymes is based in Columbia, Missouri. Elevate K12 Formerly Elevate Learning | University of Michigan | 2007 Competitor | www.elevatelearning.net Elevate K12 is a comprehensive, result-­‐oriented and research-­‐based one-­‐to-­‐one online tutoring program. The company helps currently struggling students and bridges the achievement gaps in schools. Elevate pairs each student with a dedicated, personal tutor who is present in the learning process from start to finish. It offers solutions for elementary, middle school, and high school math and reading, high school readiness, state assessments, and ACT/SAT test preparation. Elevate K12 challenges the boundaries of typical online learning models through the extensive use of innovative technology. The team pursues the newest and best technological avenues, providing the most personalized one-­‐on-­‐one instruction possible. Instead of ‘click and submit’ questions, Elevate’s E-­‐
Write virtual whiteboard technology requires students to write out and solve problems step by step. This visual record helps tutors to analyze students’ thinking and logic patterns and to identify misconceptions in real time. Most recently, Elevate has moved to “the cloud” and can now provide its cutting-­‐edge instruction from anywhere, to anyone, at any time. Elevate has won several social impact awards including the University of Michigan Dare-­‐to-­‐Dream grant and the ILIR Social Impact Award. Today, Elevate K12 serves the math needs of thousands of at-­‐risk, special needs, and gifted students across the country with a network of tutors, project managers, and implementation specialists. Elevate has also led the way in educational job creation and has since become the number one math resource choice for school administrators across the country. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. 23 4
RBPC Success Stories eMotion Group, Inc. Illinois Institute of Technology | 2009 Competitor | http://emotioncorporation.com | www.bffgemz.com The eMotion family is dedicated to connecting people emotionally using technology while promoting human-­‐to-­‐human interactions. BFF Gemz is the company’s founding product. BFF Gemz combines a wireless communication device with social networking and windows App to enable web security for kids. This patent pending product was developed in Macedonia and Vietnam by team of engineers, developers and industrial designers; it is manufactured in China. The eMotion Group has patents pending in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom. eMotion Group and its product have received broad media coverage in The Huffington Post, CNNMoney.com, the Houston Chronicle, and the Chicago Tribune. It is based in Chicago, Illinois. EnerLeap Inc. Formerly NanaNET | Boston College | 2013 Competitor | http://nanonetbatteries.com EnerLeap is developing a new lithium ion battery company that is poised to fundamentally change how the world experiences portable power. The company’s patents are comprehensive, covering the nanostructure, chemical morphology, design process and the specific application to lithium ion batteries. EnerLeap’s technology offers significant performance improvements in power and capacity. Its modular application will seamlessly integrate with future advancements in the industry. EnerLeap was a 2013 finalist at the MassChallenge. essDOCS Formerly Electronic Shipping Solutions and eShipping Solutions | University of Pennsylvania | 2004 Competitor | www.essdocs.com Established in 2003, essDOCS provides electronic document services for international trade participants to better manage the documents required for operations, legal, compliance and customs purposes. The company owns and operates the essDOCS eB/Ls exchange that guarantees instant delivery of legally effective, original, electronic trade and shipping documents. The documents offered include trading documents such as bills of lading, certificates of quality, and cargo manifests; compliance documents such as safety data sheets; and customs documents such as electronic administrative documents. The essDOCS platform replaces the current paper flow, eliminating cost and risk. In recent years, essDOCS’ network has grown significantly, by 500 percent in 2012 and by an additional 70 percent in 2013. The company expects its network to double in 2014. Its more than 1,250 customers are active in 51 nations. EssDOCS’ customer base is comprised of leading oil companies, commodities traders, trade finance banks, ship operators, surveyors and shipping agents. It includes companies like Shell, Bank of America and Total. The company is headquartered in Valetta, Malta. 24 5
RBPC Success Stories EternoGen University of Missouri | 2011 Competitor | www.eternogen.com EternoGen is a medical biotech company established to design, manufacture and commercialize novel collagen replenishment therapies for soft tissue therapeutic application. Bringing advanced nanotechnology into the field of protein engineering has allowed EternoGen to create biological implants that are uniquely shielded from enzymatic degradation and work in harmony with the natural physiological processes of the body to deliver lasting natural results. Founded in 2009, the company is a spin-­‐off of the University of Missouri Biodesign and Innovation Program. The quality of EternoGen’s academic research attracted the first investment dollars granted by the University of Missouri Enterprise Investment Program. In November 2013, EternoGen filed its provisional patent application for Rapid Polymerizing Collagen (RPC). The company is now entering its commercialization phase. Subsequent funding has allowed the startup to establish an office of operations in St. Louis, Missouri, and a commercialization office in Stockholm, Sweden. FEED Resource Recovery Inc. Babson College | 2007 Competitor | http://feedresource.com FEED Resource Recovery Inc. provides the food industry cost-­‐effective waste disposal solutions. It provides grocery stores and restaurants onsite waste conversion systems that produce renewable energy and organic fertilizer from their own food waste. The company recently has completed a project for Kroger. The Kroger system is designed and operated by FEED Resource Recovery and leverages Kroger’s existing distribution network to generate clean, sustainable power for onsite operations, reduce emissions and save millions of dollars on waste removal costs. The groundbreaking system is located at Kroger’s Compton, California distribution facility and will convert over 55,000 tons of food waste into clean energy to offset more than 20 percent of the energy demand of the Kroger distribution facility. Featured in the Los Angeles Times and Biocycle, FEED Resource Recovery is based in Boston, Massachusetts. FlashFood Arizona State University | 2013 Competitor | www.flashfoodrecovery.com FlashFood is a food recovery social network that feeds the hungry by collecting excess food from caterers, restaurants, and other food service businesses, and delivering it to community centers where the food insecure can receive it. As food banks typically handle only nonperishable goods, FlashFood addresses the unmet need of immediately available food donation. The company fights hunger and reduces food waste while creating value for donating businesses through tax breaks and marketing opportunities. FlashFood, has won recognition and funding from the U.S. Microsoft Imagine Cup, the National Collegiate Innovators and Inventors Association (NCIIA), the Dell Social Innovation Challenge and the Arizona State University Edson Student Entrepreneurship Accelerator. It is based Scottsdale, Arizona. 25 6
RBPC Success Stories Global Cell Solutions University of Virginia | 2004 Competitor | www.globalcellsolutions.com Headquarted in Charlottesville, Virginia, Global Cell Solutions provides three-­‐dimensional cell culturing tools and cell-­‐based assays to biotechnology, drug discovery, therapeutic and pharmaceutical researchers. The University of Virginia named co-­‐founder Robin Felder the 2012 Edlich-­‐Henderson Innovator of the Year. The award recognizes an individual or group whose research is making a major impact. Additionally, Global Cell Solutions and its partner Vivo Biosciences developed a device to grow and th
culture tumors; the device placed 10 in Scientist magazine’s Top 10 Innovations of 2012. Global Cell was awarded a Small Business Technology Transfer Research Phase I grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, supporting the research and development of Global Cell’s microcarriers and automation platforms for various cell culture applications. Global Cell is positioned to be an integral partner to the next generation of scientific breakthroughs in medicine, research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and the emerging field of orthobiologics. Hemova Medical Johns Hopkins University | 2011 Competitor | www.hemovamedical.com Hemova Medical is a medical device firm developing solutions for more effective treatment and management of end stage renal disease (ERSD). The company’s primary product, the Hemova Port, is an alternative vascular access device for ESRD patients requiring hemodialysis treatment. The system harnesses the natural patterns of high-­‐flow vasculature to minimize the hemodynamic footprint and cardiac impact of the implant. A novel subcutaneous port system and cleaning capability serve to drastically reduce infection and simplify access site maintenance. Hemova’s provisional patents covering the original design have been converted to full utility filings, and the company has completed multiple rounds of large animal trials. Hemova is refining its design for the next round of animal studies. Its founder, Brandon Doan, has a target date of 2017 to launch his product. Hemova won the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Annual Conference, the Innovation Showcase of 2011 and placed in the top three spots of several other competitions. It has received grants and awards through the Johns Hopkins University and Johnson and Johnson Technology Accelerator Fund, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation and the Coulter Foundation. Most recently, the company won the BioAccel Solutions Challenge in Phoenix, Arizona. Hemova was founded in 2010 as a spinout from The Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design at Johns Hopkins University. The company is currently headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland with an office in Boston, Massachusetts. It has plans to open an additional office in Phoenix, Arizona. 26 7
RBPC Success Stories Husk Power Systems University of Virginia | 2008 Competitor | www.huskpowersystems.com Husk Power Systems is a rural empowerment enterprise, using electric power as the backbone of inclusive rural development. Husk Power Systems (HPS) designs, installs and operates biomass-­‐based power plants. Each plant uses proprietary gasification technology to convert abundant agricultural residue (procured from local farmers) into electricity. It is then distributed to rural households and micro-­‐enterprises through a microgrid system, providing a better and cheaper way to meet energy needs. HPS creates an ecosystem around each plant by providing income generation opportunities to local farmers and entrepreneurs. Additionally, it creates employment through its livelihood programs such as an incense manufacturing program which largely employs women. This enables sustainable development within the communities HPS serves. Since 2008, HPS has successfully installed more than 80 mini-­‐power plants, providing electricity to over 200,000 people spread across 300 villages and employing 350 people operating across the state of Bihar. Each plant serves around 400 households, saving approximately 42,000 liters of kerosene and 18,000 liters of diesel per year, significantly reducing indoor air pollution and improving health conditions in rural areas. By extending village life beyond daylight hours, HPS promotes economic development by enabling businesses to stay open after dark and allowing children to study at night. Husk has received funding from venture capital groups and from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank. In 2011, the company won the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund Award and the Ashden Award for Sustainable Energy. HPS continues to receive a great deal of positive attention from the media and has been featured in publications including The New York Times, the Daily Beast and, most recently, the Voice of America, The Washington Post and PBS NewsHour. Hybridtronics University of Chicago | 2007 Competitor | http://hybridtronics.com Hybridtronics is a Chicago-­‐based commercializing hybrid electric technology for buses and trucks. Its Hybrid Electric Systems that can be retro-­‐fitted onto trucks and buses. In addition to complete hybrid electric systems, the company offers hybrid components that can be incorporated in existing hybrid electric or pure electric programs. Its rugged high-­‐speed AC Traction Motors are the best in their class. They provide high and almost constant torque at high speeds. Hybridtronics has a specially configured AC Traction Drive that is configured to work with its motor. The company also offers fully assembled Battery Packs with BMS (Battery Management Systems) that can simply plugged into a vehicle. The hardware-­‐based Battery Management System will ensure that all the batteries stay balanced and are not over charged. Currently, Hybridtonics has designed this to work on lead acid batteries only, but as the company moves forward, it will provide BMS for LiON batteries also. Hybridtronics operates out of New Delhi, India. 27 8
RBPC Success Stories Illusense Inc Formely AME | The University of British Columbia, Canada | 2013 Competitor | h ttp://illusense.com Illusense is developing a laser-­‐based imaging system for inline inspection of oil transportation pipelines. Its patentable technology maps the size of a pipeline pinhole, allowing Illusense to bypass the engineering limits of other leak detection methods. The technology will mitigate environmental damage and the heavy costs of pipeline leaks and spills. The company is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. ilumi solutions, inc. Formerly ilumi Lighting Solutions | The University of Texas at Dallas | 2011 Competitor | http://ilumisolutions.com ilumi solutions is a company at the convergence of mobility and LED lighting technology, providing intelligent, simple and innovative wirelessly controlled light bulbs. Through its patent-­‐pending TM
computing, wireless and Hyperlux LED technology, ilumi offers over a million hues, pays for itself and provides a wireless and programmable lighting control system. Incorporated in June 2011, the company has raised capital through a successful Kickstarter campaign. It has been featured in TechCrunch, CNET, Forbes and in a business section cover story in the Dallas Morning News. ilumi was named a Most Promising Company at both the 2012 Rice Alliance Web and IT Venture Forum and the 2012 Rice Alliance CleanTech and Energy Venture Forum. Additionally, the company was a semifinalist at the SXSW Eco Startup Showcase and at the CleanTech Open Accelerator and Competition. ilumi is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. ImagineOptix Corporation The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2007 Competitor | www.imagineoptix.com ImagineOptix (IO) develops innovative solutions to optical systems challenges using patented thin-­‐film optics technologies. One initial application area is in improving video projector devices. It will enable the world’s smallest, lowest cost, and most battery efficient projectors to be imbedded in consumer electronics d evices such as cell phones and laptops. IO is also applying its technologies to revolutionize telecommunications markets, other optical consumer electronics markets and military and industrial equipment markets. The company signed its first major development contract in November 2012. IO executed its first strategic investment and achieved its first sales in the same year. The company expects to become profitable this year. ImagineOptix is one of North Carolina State University’s Fast 15 startup companies launched by the campus research community. The company placed fourth in the 2007 Rice Business Plan Competition. Founded in 2004, IO is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. 28 9
RBPC Success Stories Impel NeuroPharma University of Washington | 2009 Competitor | www.impelneuropharma.com Impel NeuroPharma, Inc., is developing a novel intranasal device to enable drugs to bypass the blood-­‐
brain barrier using direct nose-­‐to-­‐brain delivery. Impel’s technology can dramatically improve the delivery of drugs, including biologics, into the brain and central nervous system. Nose-­‐to-­‐brain delivery may enable molecules previously unable to cross the blood-­‐brain barrier to become therapeutics, potentially aiding treatment to some of the most common and devastating neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Impel NeuroPharma successfully completed its human proof-­‐of-­‐concept studies and has entered into multiple research and development collaborations with large pharmaceutical partners. Based in Seattle, Washington, Impel NeuroPharma has secured funding from top pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. Department of Defense, Washington’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund, the National Institutes of Health and the Wings medical device network. Inanovate Babson College | 2005 Competitor | www.inanovate.com Inanovate is developing and commercializing a new category of protein screening technology for clinical diagnostics and therapeutics. Inanovate’s first product was the i-­‐Slide, a high performance protein microarray surface. This surface technology has since been combined with unique screening and analysis methods to create the Bio-­‐ID: a new and holistic solution to protein screening with applications in protein research, drug development, quality control, biomarker profiling, biomarker validation and clinical diagnostics. Inanovates’s nanoscale, surface fabrication technology was developed at the Nanoscale Physics Research Laboratory at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Inanovate owns an exclusive license on patents issued in the United States, the European Union, and Japan for its nanostructured, substrate manufacturing system. It has filed comprehensive patent applications on the core technology underpinning the Bio-­‐ID. The company also owns exclusive licenses to patent filings covering protein biomarkers for the clinical diagnosis of prostate and ovarian cancer. Recently, Inanovate successfully completed testing and benchmarking the first platform to integrate LAS: The Bio-­‐ID 400. Inanovate continues to build an operational infrastructure to facilitate product development and the growth of commercial relationships. Inanovate has been awarded government grants through the National Institute of Cancer and the United Kingdom’s Technology Strategy Board, and it has been accepted into prestigious loan programs through the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. It maintains collaborations and strategic partnerships with Harvard Medical School, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Dana Faber Cancer Institute, Thermo Fisher Scientific, the University of Birmingham, Johnston Matthey and Teer Coatings. Founded in 2005, Inanovate has offices in Birmingham, England and in the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. 29 0
RBPC Success Stories Incept BioSystems University of Michigan | 2005 Competitor | www.inceptbio.com Incept BioSystems developed innovative microscale technologies to provide fertility specialists with breakthrough capabilities. Its technology improved in vitro manipulation, performance, and viability of high value cells. Like many specialized cells, human embryos typically behave much differently while in vitro than they would in the body, and this performance gap can limit their developmental growth and potentially their viability. Incept’s System for Microfluidic Assisted Reproductive Technology (SMART) platform was the first to deliver unique control of in vitro cell culture environments so that fertility specialists can offer patients new hope in starting a family. In 2011, Incept BioSystems was acquired by ORIGIO, a Danish company specializing in assisted reproductive technologies. In turn, ORIGIO was purchased by CooperSurgical. Market launch of Incept’s SMART technology is expected in 2016. InContext Solutions, LLC University of Chicago | 2009 Competitor | www.incontextsolutions.com InContext Solutions is an award-­‐winning technology and market research firm specializing in online 3-­‐D environment simulations for virtual store research, collaborative store planning and e-­‐commerce. Its research delivers highly accurate behavioral and attitudinal insights into shopper behavior. The company’s collaborative software tools allow companies and its partners to make more effective product and store planning, environment design and promotional business decisions. Recently, InContext has broadened its product from store shelves and aisles to include the full store, allowing retailers, designers and architects to experiment with different layouts. InContext partners with Tobii Technology to add eye-­‐tracking solutions to its research systems. The company was named one of the Midwest’s growing technology companies, was listed as one of the Top 50 Employers of 2012 for Gen Y Talent in Chicago and was named One of America’s Most Promising Companies by Forbes.com. InContext Solutions rang the opening bell at NASDAQ, has been featured on the Today Show, CNBC’s Inside Business Report, FORTUNE, the Chicago Sun-­‐Times and Crain’s Chicago Business. Headquartered in Chicago, InContext Solutions also maintains offices in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in Fairfield, Connecticut. InSof℠ Formerly mPOSbooks | University of Virginia | 2013 Competitor | http://in-­‐sof.com InSof℠ helps users of mobile point of sales (POS) systems meet their data integration needs. Its core product is a service that connects the Square card reader with QuickBooks™ to help merchants sync services with accounting software. InSof is currently in beta testing. The company is part of the i.Lab incubator at the University of Virginia. 30 1
RBPC Success Stories Intellidemia Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 2009 Competitor | www.intellidemia.com Intellidemia develops a syllabus content management platform for higher education. It works with schools to streamline workflow and enhance collaboration with smart solutions that address accreditation, compliance, and retention. As the experts in syllabus management, Intellidemia supports higher education with Concourse, an easy-­‐to-­‐use platform that improves student performance, faculty productivity and administrative efficiency. Originally a concept conceived in a marketing class, Concourse has transformed into the world’s first commercial syllabus system. It enables syllabi to be put online fast, making it easy to organize, share and analyze course information. Intellidemia is the 2013 winner of the University Business Top Product Award. Clients include Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Webster University, Bucks County Community College, Oregon Health and Science University and the University of British Columbia. The company was founded in 2007 by two MBA students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Intellidemia is headquartered in Troy, New York. Inviroment LLC Brigham Young University | 2013 Competitor | http://inviromentllc.com Inviroment is developing an eco-­‐friendly chemical solution that will degrade all classes of plastic within one to three years. The solution, PlasTek™ is made from safe, natural compounds. It is completely environmentally friendly; it won’t hurt animals, create harmful toxins or damage landfill liners or equipment. PlasTek™ will accelerate plastic degradation, which means these plastics will release methane. However, PlasTek™ will only be used by landfills that collect methane for energy. With PlasTek™ the average landfill will produce enough additional energy to power over 4,000 homes. Inviroment has filed for a full nonprovisional patent. Its laboratory tests are demonstrating strong progress. Based in Provo, Utah, the company has been recognized by ABC News, Plastic News and by the U.S. Department of Energy. 31 2
RBPC Success Stories iShoe Harvard University | 2009 Competitor | www.i-­‐shoe.net iShoe, Inc. is an early stage consumer health company, developing balance diagnostic technology and algorithms to mitigate the risk of falling. The company is commercializing NASA technology originally used on astronauts upon return from space flight. Balance is a crucial sensory perception in humans, very much like vision and hearing. And just as vision and hearing deteriorate with age, so does a human’s ability to balance. Poor balance directly leads to catastrophic falls, which is the surprising leading cause of death in the elderly, far exceeding cases of cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases. iShoe’s algorithm development is progressing smoothly, and the company hopes to complete its research and development in the next 12 months. It holds three, nonprovisional, pending patents on proprietary technology that will deliver the first all-­‐encompassing human balance biometric. The company has entered into a partnership with Kissito Healthcare. It was featured on CNN, on the Discovery Channel and in special reports by the President of the AARP. iShoe’s first target market is the elderly consumer population; subsequent products in the pipeline may target athletic and clinical markets. Ix Innovations Formerly PocketPico & Audiallo | University of Michigan | 2009 Competitor | www.pocketpico.com Ix Innovations makes semiconductor test equipment, enhancing the usability of electrical test and measurement instrumentation through continual product innovation. The founders of Ix Innovations competed in the 2009 Rice Business Plan Competition as Audiallo, a manufacturer of fabless, IC (integrated circuit), analog semiconductors. Using that core technology, it created the PocketPico, which became Ix’s first product to market. The PocketPico picoammeter is a sensitive instrument that quickly and accurately measures electrical current down to trillionths of an ampere. Ix’s work on this product earned the company the prestigious Best in Test Award from Test & Measurement World magazine. The picoammeter is only Ix’s first product to market. Ix Innovations is growing by developing additional low power instrumentation under the PocketPico brand as well as products for the broader test and measurement industry. The company is headquartered in the historic N orthern Brewery building in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Kaffeination Ltd The University of Manchester, England | 2013 Competitor | www.kaffeination.com Kaffeination makes energy sweets for busy people, stepping into a gap between the growing energy drinks and sweets market. The company is marketing its products in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Slovakia. Additionally, it successfully launched its product UPs SolidEnergy in Germany, Kaffeination’s second largest market in Europe. Kaffeination has identified a new way to market its product to leverage and increase its sales significantly. Currently, the company is in negotiations with big retailers. 32 1
RBPC Success Stories Klymit Formerly Argon Technologies | Brigham Young University | 2008 Competitor | www.klymit.com Klymit is a noble gas technology company based in Ogden, Utah. The company develops and licenses variable insulation technologies. The gasses used by Klymit are inert, meaning they are nontoxic, nonflammable and completely safe for both the user and the environment. Currently marketed for use in outdoor gear, Klymit’s system uses flexible, airtight chambers filled with argon gas instead of down or other fiber insulations. NobleTek insulation is thinner, warmer and lighter weight than fiber insulators. The gear is heat-­‐welded making it strong and lightweight. Klymit’s markets its technology through its vests, shells, base layers, camping pads and frames. The company’s products can be found at outdoor gear stores throughout the United States and Canada or on Kymit’s Web site. In 2011, Business Week touted Klymit’s vest as one of “This season’s coolest snow gizmos and gadgets,” and Gear Junkie named Klymit’s products as the Top Gear of 2013. Klymit won the Thermolite Hardware Summer Award at the ispo BrandNew Competition. The company and its founder Nate Adler have been featured in Forbes as well as in publications such as Popular Science, Backpacker and Outside Magazine. KnowCharge Inc. University of New Brunswick | 2010 Competitor | www.knowcharge.com KnowCharge (KCI) is a paper technology company based in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The company’s patented technology brings together market leading static protection with sustainability, providing electronics manufacturers and component distributors with a new electrostatic discharge (ESD) packaging solution that not only protects sensitive electronics but lowers cost. Knowcharge’s packaging products consists of ESD paper boxes, ESD paper void fill, and ESD moisture or shielding paper bags. The company’s ESD products lower costs by decreasing the labor, overhead and disposal costs associated with nonrecyclable foams and plastic packaging during the electronic manufacturing process. As part of its global product launch in 2012, KnowCharge introduced the first patent pending ESD moisture paper bag and ESD shielding paper bag at the electronica trade show in Germany. To support the international launch, the company established production and distribution partnerships in both North America and Asia. In 2013, KnowCharge Inc. was recognized by the New Brunswick Legislature for its world leading commercial technology that will transform and revitalize the pulp and paper industry, not just in New Brunswick, but across Canada. KnowCharge is headquartered in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. 33 2
RBPC Success Stories lark technologies Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2010 Competitor | www.lark.com Founded in 2010, lark technologies is a consumer electronics company that makes wearable wellness monitors for sleep, exercise, and diet. Its products include larklife, lark and lark pro. The company takes a holistic approach to developing its products that includes innovative hardware, intuitive software and expert-­‐backed content. Fast Company named lark one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Consumer Electronics Companies. It has received broad coverage by the national press including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, InStyle magazine, Oprah Magazine, VentureBeat, ABC News, Tech Crunch and CBS News. Forbes named founder Julia Hu one of Twenty Female Entrepreneurs To Follow On Twitter. Lark is a venture-­‐backed company based in Mountain View, California. Lumedyne Technologies Formerly Omega Sensors | San Diego State University | 2007 Competitor | www.lumedynetechnologies.com Lumedyne Technologies specializes in next generation MEMS (micro-­‐electrical-­‐mechanical systems) based displacement sensors for a variety of markets, including structural and structural monitoring, consumer electronics, oil exploration and navigation. The award winning, patented technologies behind its AcXel accelerometers and V-­‐Power energy harvesters operate on unique principles that allow performance not previously possible. Developed by the U.S. Navy, these technologies are now licensed exclusively to Lumedyne. Lumedyne’s TDS (time domain switched) technology is applicable to accelerometers, gyroscopes, MEMS clocks and analog-­‐to-­‐
digital converters. Lumedyne was awarded Phase II of an EOIR (electro-­‐optical infrared) Systems contract for MEMS Accelerometers and Gyroscopes. The company has expanded its technology portfolio and raised additional funding. It was given an award for Outstanding Commercialization Success for its successful transfer of technology developed at a federal laboratory. Lumedyne’s CEO, Brad Chisum was a semifinalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year 2011 Award for the San D iego region. Lumedyne Technologies is headquartered in San Diego, California. 34 3
RBPC Success Stories LyoGo Formerly GlucoGo | Indiana University & Purdue University | 2010 Competitor | www.lyogo.com LyoGo develops innovative drug reconstitution and delivery systems. The LyoGo Plunger/Valve can transform any standard primary container (syringe or cartridge) into a dual chamber reconstitution system for lyophilized (dry powder) pharmaceutical products. In partnership with industry-­‐leading medical device manufacturers, packaging component suppliers and research institutions, LyoGo has created a proprietary dual-­‐chamber system that stores a lyophilized active pharmaceutical ingredient in one chamber and its diluent in the other. LyoGo answers an urgent need for reconstitution and delivery in a self contained, inexpensive, intuitive, safe and flexible product. In 2010, LyoGo won third place at the Rice Business Plan Competition and has been featured in FORTUNE and on the Big Ten Network. The company is based in El Segundo, California. Medical Informatics Rice University | 2013 Competitor | www.medicalinformaticscorp.com Medical Informatics Corp is providing the next generation of clinical decision support technology for healthcare professionals. Clinical decision support links real-­‐time clinical observations like high-­‐
resolution physiological data streams, with health knowledge to improve patient outcomes. Medical Informatics Corp’s innovative technology is designed in a clinical setting using evidence-­‐based medicine. Each application is developed collaboratively by clinicians, engineers and hospital leaders to create a better experience for clinicians at the point-­‐of-­‐care. Medtric Biotech Purdue University | 2012 Competitor | www.medtricbiotech.com Medtric, LLC was founded in 2010 on a vision to deliver scalable and environmentally friendly antimicrobial technologies for use in the medical, industrial and agricultural markets. The company’s core technology is an innovative antimicrobial nanoemulsion. The stable nanoemulsion possess significant antimicrobial activity, and scientific studies have shown rapid inactivation (fewer than 60 seconds) of multidrug resistant bacteria strains such as MRSA and VRE, fungus and viruses. Medtric has implemented this nanotechnology into products designed initially for wound care, with additional applications in industrial and agricultural sectors. Medtric won second place at the 2012 Rice Business Plan Competition and has taken top honors at other competitions. The Layfayette, Indiana-­‐based company has received grants from Purdue’s Trask Innovation Fund, Indiana CTST for project development, BIOMEDSHIP and Purdue’s Emerging Innovations Fund. 35 4
RBPC Success Stories Mesdi Systems University of Central Florida | 2013 Competitor | www.mesdisystems.com Mesdi provides advanced spray equipment for manufacturing nanomaterials and precision coatings and powders in energy, industrial and medical applications. In September 2013, Mesdi signed a license agreement with University of Central Florida. The agreement will allow the company to scale up its proprietary equipment. Mesdi is headquartered in Melbourne, Florida. Mi Viejita London Business School | 2005 Competitor | www.miviejita.com Founded in 2003, Mi Viejita is an online retailer selling chilaquiles, salsas, and frijoles. Mi Viejita’s products are cooked according to traditional recipes. Its recipes are prepared with 100 percent natural ingredients and no chemical preservatives. Mi Viejita markets its products both domestically and internationally to the hotel and restaurant industry and to retailers such as Walmart and HEB. Microfluidic Innovations Purdue University | 2010 Competitor | www.microfluidicinnovations.com Microfluidic Innovations has developed a programmable lab on a chip, the first multipurpose, software-­‐
programmable microfluidic LoC (SPLoC). Instead of designing assay specific chips, developers will be able to use a single chip, simply writing or downloading a program for each experiment. Example assays using Microfluidic’s platform have been developed for glucose level testing, particle sorting, enzyme kinetics, and bacteria culturing and synchronization. Microfluidic’s system can cater to wide market segments including contract research organizations (CROs), pharmaceuticals, and academic research. Headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana, Microfluidic Innovations has been awarded two Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grants. The company also received a grant from Purdue’s Emerging Innovations Fund. Microfluidic Innovations has two major global customers. 36 5
RBPC Success Stories MicroGREEN Polymers, Inc. University of Washington | 2003 Competitor | www.microgreeninc.com Founded in 2002, MicroGREEN™ Polymers was created to transform the plastics industry by developing and licensing economically and ecologically viable advanced plastics technologies to promote sustainable living across many industries and countries. ®
MicroGREEN has commercialized its patented technology to manufacturer its InCycle cups. These are the world’s first recyclable and insulating beverage cup made using recycled PET (plastic water bottles) as the raw material. An InCycle sheet is a recyclable, printable, plastic sheet stock made from recycled water bottles. MicroGREEN unveiled its first food packaging products made from its InCycle sheet in November 2011. In 2014, United Airlines replaced its Styrofoam cups with InCycle cups. MicroGREEN is a finalist for the 2014 Edison Awards. Demand for MicroGREEN’s products exceeds its supply. MicroGREEN has won a number of awards including the Dupont Award for Packaging Innovation, the Green Washington Silver Award, and The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award. The company was voted one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Washington. MicroGREEN is a privately held company headquartered in a 40,000-­‐square-­‐foot manufacturing facility in Arlington, Washington. Microlution Inc. University of Illinois at Urbana-­‐Champaign | 2005 Competitor | www.microlution-­‐inc.com Microlution Inc. is a machine tool manufacturer specializing in building high performance, CNC (computer numerical control) machine tools that have been optimized to fabricate small high precision parts. All Microlution machines have been developed on the concept that small parts should be manufactured on small machines specifically designed for micro-­‐scale manufacturing. Every machine is fully equipped to maintain micron level accuracy through the rigors of harsh production environments. A wide variety of businesses are currently operating Microlution machine tools including automotive, aerospace, semiconductor, electronic, medical device, defense and contract manufacturing companies. Microlution has been featured in a number of trade publications including Micro Manufacturing Magazine, Commerical Micro Manufacturing and Engineering TV. With its partners, Microlution has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop an energy efficient method for micromachining complex shapes using ultrafast laser technology. Located in Chicago, Illinois, Microlution proudly designs and builds every machine in the United States. 37 6
RBPC Success Stories MicroTransponder Inc. The University of Texas at Dallas | 2008 Competitor | www.microtransponder.com Spun out from the University of Texas at Dallas, MicroTransponder Inc. is a medical device company developing therapies for treating tinnitus and stroke patients. MicroTransponder developed The Serenity System™ to treat tinnitus. The system pairs an existing therapy called vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) with listening to tones via headphones. The device is fully implantable and can be used at home. In addition, The University of Glasgow in Scotland has begun a clinical trial using the company’s neurostimulation system to treat stroke patients. MicroTransponder recently was issued a U.S. Patent for “Timing Control for Paired Plasticity.” Its funding comes from venture capital groups as well a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense and an additional eight grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The company has published a paper in Nature magazine and received many awards and accolades including the Tech Titan Award and the Frost & Sullivan Early Stage Investment of the Year Award. Founded in 2007, Microtransponder is based in Austin, Texas. Midway Pharmaceuticals, Inc. University of Chicago | 2005 Competitor | www.midwaypharma.com Midway is developing proprietary drugs for the treatment of gastrointestinal and systemic diseases. These bacteria-­‐related diseases in the GI include radiation enteritis, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis, febrile neutropenia, traveler’s diarrhea and other infectious diarrhea (including those in the developing world). Licensed from the University of Chicago, Midway’s platform technology capitalizes on the finding that certain high molecular weight polymers, taken orally but not systemically absorbed, can inhibit the pathogenic behavior of bacteria in the GI tract, enhance gut barrier function and promote gastrointestinal healing. Midway is also developing a compound to be used as a component in human food to assist with certain medical conditions. The company spun out its Midway Food Animal Sciences, a startup developing products to replace antibiotics used in food animals. Midway Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held pharmaceutical company located in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Miret Surgical Stanford University | 2009 Competitor | http://miretsurgical.com Miret Surgical is a medical device startup spun out from Stanford University’s Biodesign program. The company designs and develops trans-­‐abdominal, minimally invasive, surgical tools for laparoscopic surgical procedures. These tools allow extremely small incisions that leave no visible scars by enabling the assembly of complex tools inside the patient’s body. Existing scar-­‐free techniques are burdened by steep learning curves and high costs, but Miret’s device, called ENGAGE, requires minimal surgeon retraining and aligns with current insurance reimbursement plans. Miret Surgical has completed two animal studies, and it is poised to launch its Web site. 38 7
RBPC Success Stories MODX Formerly Enterprise Theory | Southern Methodist University | 2009 Competitor | www.modxcms.com MODX is a content management platform. It is equal parts PHP (an embedded scripting language used in Web design) application framework and content management system (CMS). MODX excels at web content management and content management framework duties. The company has two open source content management platforms: MODX Evolution, released in 2005 and MODX Revolution, released five years later. Both Evo and Revo are actively maintained and developed, and each are used by tens of thousands of users to power hundreds of thousands of Web sites. Founded in 2004, the company has bootstrapped its way into profitability. MODX has a user and developer community of more than 42,000, and its core software has surpassed two million downloads. It has been translated into over 20 different languages. MODX won the 2013 People’s Choice and 2012 Critic’s Choice for Best Open Source CMS. In April 2013, MODX spun out a cloud platform company, SiphonLabs. Based in Dallas, Texas, MODX’ operations are supported by employees and contractors in the United States (Dallas, Portland, Taos), Canada (Nova Scotia, British Columbia) and the United Kingdom. MoMo Scientific Now part of Jhpiego | Johns Hopkins University | 2012 Competitor | www.jhpiego.org Momo Scientific developed a medical device to prevent cervical cancer. The patent-­‐pending CryoPop uses dry ice to treat precancerous, cervical lesions in women living in developing countries. Routine tests such as pap smears are often financially out of reach for many women in the developing world. Dry ice, used to freeze cervical lesions, is readily available. The technology was featured on National Public Radio, Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry Magazine and the medical device blog Medgadget.com. The device was named the Best Medical Device 2012 at the NCIIA BMEIdea Competition. MoMo Scientific participated in the 2012 RBPC as a social venture. The technology is no longer being advanced by the company, instead, it is being developed under the auspices of Jhpiego. Jhpiego is a nongovernment organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University; the organization focuses on women’s health. 39 8
RBPC Success Stories MouseHouse The University of Chicago | 2013 Competitor | www.mousehouseapp.com MouseHouse is an iPad plus Web application that allows researchers in the life sciences research industry to track experimental data, health and complex breeding schemes of laboratory mice. MouseHouse partnered with over 100 academic research laboratories from 15 leading institutions to alpha test the product. Chicago-­‐based MouseHouse has received press coverage in CNNMoney, CNBC and the Houston Chronicle. The company was a Silver Winner at the 2013 MassChallenge and a finalist in the 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition. Nano Precision Medical, Inc. University of California, San Francisco | 2009 Competitor | http://nanoprecisionmedical.com Nano Precision Medical, Inc. is a startup company developing implantable drug delivery systems. Its technology enables constant rate, low-­‐cost delivery of a wide variety of therapeutics. The biologics are delivered from a subcutaneously implantable device, improving the treatment of chronic diseases that currently require frequent injections. Nano Precision Medical has raised financing from angel investors and has negotiated exclusive licensing agreements for its key intellectual property. It is preparing to launch and is incubating at the QB3 East Bay Innovation Center in Northern California. NanoFex Tulane University | 2010 Competitor | http://nanofexllc.com NanoFex Is a materials engineering company specializing in innovative nanomaterials for the environmental remediation industry. Its technology utilizes cellulose nanospheres made from sugar, resulting in a product with a significant cost advantage over current competitors. Injected into the ground, NanoFex’ particles travel with groundwater, break down chlorinated solvents dissolved in groundwater and partition bulk phases of chlorinated solvents. NanoFex specializes in product development and manufacturing with field deployment partnerships targeting the industrial and private soil and the groundwater remediation markets. NanoFex has received support through the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, The New Orleans Idea Village, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Science Foundation. It won N ew Orleans Entrepreneur Week’s inaugural Water Challenge and was recently selected as a top 10finalist for the regional clean energy MegaWatt Ventures competition. NanoFex was featured in The Huffington Post and Inc. magazine. A spinout of Tulane U niversity, NanoFex is incubated at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center. 40 1
RBPC Success Stories Navillum Nanotechnologies, LLC The University of Utah | 2013 Competitor | www.navillum.com Navillum Nanotechnologies, LLC is a chemical manufacturing company. It has developed and patented an innovative method for fabricating quantum dots (QDs) and other types of semiconducting nanocrystals at commercial scale. Despite the great potential of quantum dot technology, producing them in large-­‐scale amounts is a major barrier to commercialization. Navillum has the solution to bridge this gap so that quantum dot applied technology finally can be supplied to end-­‐use application manufacturers. Founded in early 2012 by scientists at the University of Utah, the company already has impressive achievements to date. Navillum received exclusive rights on two pending technology patents from the University of Utah. It has received funding support from the National Science Foundation and the Utah Technology Commercialization and Innovation Program. Navillum was a finalist in multiple cleantech competitions including the U.S. Department of Energy Cleantech Competition at Colorado University, the National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition and Cleantech Open 2012. Additionally, Navillum was a top three finalist in the Governor’s Energy Technology Innovation Award. Navillum has moved into the Bioinnovations Gateway Incubator Facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. NextRay The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2009 Competitor | http://nextray.com NextRay’s is developing a new medical imaging technology called Diffraction Enhanced Imaging (DEI). Developed at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Brookhaven National Laboratories, DEI uses a patented technique utilizing x-­‐ray refraction instead of absorption by the body. It produces images superior to those produced by current x-­‐ray imaging absorption techniques while exposing the patient to less than 1 percent of the conventional radiation dosage. NextRay’s proprietary crystal configuration enables it to detect minor deviations (refractions) in the x-­‐ray beam. This allows the imaging of soft tissue, including tendons, cartilage and muscle that cannot be seen with the same clarity or detail on a standard radiograph. NextRay believes that DEI can ultimately reduce the amount of radiation patients receive in a CT (computerized tomography) scan to one-­‐one thousandth of current levels, greatly reducing their chances of over exposure. NextRay placed second in the 2009 Rice Business Plan Competition. 41 2
RBPC Success Stories NGen Corporation Formerly Stanford Nitrogen Group | Stanford University | 2012 Competitor | http://ngencorporation.com NGen is developing a wastewater treatment process that removes and recovers energy from nitrogen in wastewater. The process is called ”CANDO“ and converts ammonia to nitrous oxide gas, then burns biogas with the nitrous oxide to increase power output. Nitrogen discharge regulations require many municipal treatment facilities to meet discharge limits that are beyond their current capacity. The company’s patented CANDO process makes nitrogen treatment more efficient by lowering the top two operational costs of wastewater treatment, aeration and biosolid disposal. It is the first wastewater treatment process of its kind that enables energy recovery from waste nitrogen. After participating at the RBPC, NGen won the U.S. Department of Energy Clean Energy Prize, Western Region. NGen’s research is sponsored by the ReNuWit Engineering Research Center, the National Science Foundation; the Woods Institute for the Environment and Stanford University. It has three patent applications pending and is in partnership with a San Francisco Bay area municipality to build a pilot scale system for convert wastewater nitrogen into electricity. The company’s founder, Yaniv Scherson, was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Energy for 2012 and recently published an article in a peer-­‐reviewed journal. He was interviewed, and the pilot plant was videoed for Bloomberg. Novabio Technologies Formerly Ligadon | The University of Utah | 2012 Competitor | dollyholt@gmail.com Novabio Technologies provides a simple, effective device for ligament and tendon recombination. Ligament and tendon injuries involve lacerations that are treated with sutures, but, as the tendon or ligament stretches, high tension often tears the sutures and often requires repeated surgeries. Novabio’s device equally distributes tension along either end of the ligament or tendon, preventing the tissue from tearing under strain. The company has filed its nonprovisional patent and recently filed a PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) patent application. Funding, largely from the NCIIA (National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance) has been put toward patent fees and prototype development. Novabio has developed a fully functional prototype and has conducted preliminary mechanical tests showing the efficacy of the device. It is pursuing licensing with several medical device companies. Novabio exhibited at the Open Minds Inventor Showcase sponsored by the NCIIA at the Smithsonian last year and has been invited to do a video interview with the University of Utah Lassonde Entrepreneur program. Novabio’s founder, Dolly Holt, is finalizing the formation the company; the process should be complete in late spring 2014. 42 3
RBPC Success Stories Novira Therapeutics Inc. Formerly Molecmo Nanobiotechnologies | Harvard University | 2007 Competitor | www.noviratherapeutics.com Novira Therapeutics is an antiviral drug discovery company discovering first-­‐in-­‐class antiviral therapeutics for the treatment of chronic HBV and HIV infections, two global diseases with high levels of unmet need. Novira’s antiviral drugs bind to and disrupt the function of a virus protein called the capsid. The oral drugs target the capsid and offer a promising treatment option both as monotherapy and in combination with the current standards of care. The company’s antivirals potentially address limitations in treating chronic HBV infection, a disease for which the only class of oral drugs available, polymerase inhibitors, is rarely curative and often requires lifelong treatment. Novira’s drugs may also be used to treat HIV infection, a disease for which the continued ability of the virus to mutate inevitably leads to drug resistant viral strains. Based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Novira is transitioning from a drug discovery company into a drug development company. NuMat Technologies Northwestern University | 2012 Competitor | http://numat-­‐tech.com NuMat Technologies is a materials technology company changing the way the world stores, separates and transports gases. The company is committed to enabling fundamental performance shifts in the gas storage and separations industries through its tailor-­‐designed nanoporous materials. With its patented supercritical activation technique, NuMat’s synthesized materials retain astronomical internal surface areas. One of its materials holds the world record for surface area, with just one gram being able to cover two acres of land when unfolded. NuMat is able to rapidly prototype materials with its patented computational tools, screening millions of hypothetical structures in a matter of hours. Its metal organic framework (MOF) patent portfolio is licensed from Northwestern University. The company builds its materials from the ground up with atomic precision and then integrates these materials into high value products and processes. Featured in The Wall Street Journal and FORTUNE, NuMat won both the 2012 RBPC and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. Cofounder Chris Wilmer was named to the 2012 Forbes List of 30 Under 30 in Energy. NuMat Technologies is located in the Illinois Science and Technology Park in Skokie, Illinois. 43 4
RBPC Success Stories OrthoAccel Technologies, Inc. University of Illinois at Chicago | 2006 Competitor | www.acceledent.com Based in Houston, Texas, OrthoAccel® Technologies, Inc. is a privately owned medical device company developing, manufacturing and marketing products to enhance dental care and orthodontic treatment. OrthoAccel developed and sells AcceleDent®, the first Food and Drug Administration-­‐cleared clinical approach to safely accelerate orthodontic tooth movement by applying gentle micropulses (SoftPulse Technology) as a complement to existing orthodontic treatment. Used daily by patients for approximately 20 minutes, it can reduce treatment time by 50 percent. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued OrthoAccel a patent for its hands-­‐free AcceleDent in 2013. AccelDent is now offered at over 1,000 orthodontic locations nationwide and distributed in over 20 countries. Canada was the most recent nation to approve the product in March 2013. OrthoAccel and its product have been featured in various news outlets including The BusinessMakers show and ABC News. The company has received funding to expand its sales and marketing staff and scale up manufacturing. OrthoAccel intends to introduce new products as the company grows. OsComp Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2010 Competitor | www.oscomp-­‐
systems.com OsComp develops and commercializes technology for the movement and storage of natural gas. Its breakthrough compression technology enables wet gas compression and decreases the energy required to compress natural gas. The company also provides a unique end-­‐to-­‐end transportation solution for transporting natural gas with a virtual pipeline system, making it easy for customers to switch to natural gas as a primary energy source. OsComp partners with Global Partners LP to provide compressed natural gas (CNG) to customers in New England, reducing the cost and increasing the efficiency of the trucked CNG system. Recently, the company has been split into three different entities, two of them with a different investor base. Forbes named Chief Executive Pedro Santos to its 2011 list of 30 Under 30 in Energy. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, OsComp has two world-­‐class facilities, in Houston and in Boston. Each has ample lab space to develop technology, grow ideas and build and test compressors. 44 5
RBPC Success Stories Owlet Baby Monitors Brigham Young University | 2013 Competitor | www.owletcare.com Owlet Baby Monitors have developed a wireless device to monitor a sleeping infant’s oxygen levels, heart rate and temperature and provide rollover alerts. The Owlet Smart Sock is hypoallergenic, wireless and doesn’t use any adhesives. The electronic components are housed in a water-­‐resistant, medical-­‐grade silicone case to protect the child from any electrical contact. Powered by a rechargeable battery that will last for up to two days, the sock uses Bluetooth 4.0 to wirelessly transmit information to a phone. The accompanying app is available in the iPhone App Store. Selling for $250, the company sold out of the first set of monitors it produced. The second batch ships in summer 2014. Owlet Baby Monitors have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, ABC News and Mashable. The company was a finalist at the 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition. PathoS Johns Hopkins University | 2013 Competitor PathoS (Pathology Solutions) is an early stage company streamlining the processes used in diagnostic pathology. The company strives to design low-­‐cost solutions that augment the current capabilities of pathologists to diagnose disease. Its first product, ClearView, will reduce reoperations in breast conserving surgery (BCS). ClearView is a mechanical stabilization system comprising a reusable applicator and a disposable component. It produces high quality histology slides within minutes, enabling a pathologist to rapidly assess tumor margins while the patient is still in the operating room. ClearView leverages the existing infrastructure and the expertise of trained pathologists to provide BCS patients with the gold standard of care: histological assessment of tumor margins. The PathoS team is based in Baltimore, Maryland, at the Johns Hopkins University, where they are collaborating closely with leading clinicians from the Johns Hopkins Breast Center to develop a solution that can be implemented with minimal disruption to the current surgical workflow. The company is in the early stages of patent application and has received funding from the Coulter Foundation. 45 6
RBPC Success Stories Perfuzia Medical, Inc. Babson College | 2009 Competitor | www.perfuzia.com Perfuzia Medical, Inc. is a clinical stage medical device company developing ultra-­‐compact products for treating chronic wounds. The company is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Perfuzia is currently focused on the clinical development of its ActiveFlow platform technology for chronic wound healing. ActiveFlow is a nonbiologic, noninvasive medical device that harnesses the therapeutic stimulation of blood flow and transforms the way chronic wounds are treated and managed. In May 2012, Perfuzia Medical, in collaboration with Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University School of Medicine, was awarded the very competitive Science and Technology Advisory Council collaborative research grant by the state of Rhode Island. Perfuzia’s application was one of only eight selected from 85 applications. The announcement was covered in the Providence Business News. The grant proceeds will fully fund an exciting pilot study in burn patients. An additional study in venous ulcer patients is pending funding. PhoneSoap Brigham Young University | 2012 Competitor | www.phonesoapbox.com PhoneSoap is a device built to safely sanitize and clean cell phones with powerful, germicidal, ultraviolet sanitizing light. PhoneSoap is a small box that simultaneously charges and sanitizes cell phones using UV-­‐C light. UV-­‐C light is electromagnetic radiation used in hospitals and clean rooms around the world. The PhoneSoap Charger plugs into a socket and has an internal USB port to which users can connect a charging cable and their phone, which is then closed inside the box. The charging box contains two UV-­‐C lights that, according to the company, kill 99.99 percent of bacteria and germs in less than five minutes. The charger features an indicator light to let users know when charging is complete and has acoustic outlets to ensure that alarms and notifications can be heard. Featured in The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, MSNBC, WIRED, Mashable and on the Discovery Channel, the PhoneSoap sanitizer is available through the PhoneSoap Web site. It retails at $49.95. 46 7
RBPC Success Stories Picasolar University of Arkansas | 2013 Competitor | www.picasolar.com Picasolar is developing a patent-­‐pending selective emitter technology for crystalline silicon solar cells. The Hydrogen Super Emitter (HSE) process increases solar cell conversion efficiency while reducing the number of silver gridlines. This enables a manufacturer to save money through reduced materials use (silver is the second most costly part of cell processing) while increasing the total watts produced (increased efficiency). The HSE technology is a single step that occurs at the end of the manufacturing line. This means it minimizes downtime and reduces implementation complexity. The HSE process utilizes atomic hydrogen that can be generated from tap water. No toxic chemicals are needed. Picasolar won the 2013 NSTAR MIT Clean Energy Prize and the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clean Energy Prize. Picasolar’s technology will be developed by Silicon Solar Solutions. Silicon Solar Solutions, a competitor in the 2009 Rice Business Plan Competition, owns a majority stake in Picasolar. Both companies are startups out of the University of Arkansas. Pixel Velocity, Inc. University of Michigan | 2002 Competitor | www.pixel-­‐velocity.com Pixel Velocity Inc. has leveraged experience in the defense industry to create the world’s first end-­‐to-­‐
end video surveillance system specifically optimized to provide high-­‐definition, synchronized multi-­‐
camera video and highly reliable automated wide area threat detection over large complex sites. Pixel now concentrates it efforts on commercial applications. With engineering expertise in the areas of video automation, sensor fusion and system integration, Pixel Velocity is continuously striving to deliver the world’s most innovative and effective security solutions. Pixel Velocity partners with CNL Software, a world leader in physical security information management software. The partnership allows Pixel Video Fusion to be managed through CNL’s software-­‐based integration and management platform. Pixel Velocity was recognized as one of the Michigan 5 0 Companies to Watch in 2009. Founded in 2001, the company is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 47 8
RBPC Success Stories PK Clean Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2011 Competitor | www.pkclean.com PK Clean has developed a patented catalytic depolymerization process to convert landfill plastic into hydrocarbon fuels. The company has successfully demonstrated its technology at four different scales and is now operating its first commercial scale unit in Salt Lake City, Utah. PK Clean accepts plastic waste from a number of major corporations and recyclers across the country. PK Clean’s vision is to end landfilled waste. Its fifth generation system allows its customers to utilize their plastic waste and lower their energy costs. By providing a low-­‐cost, compact and automated solution, PK Clean’s goal is to make its processors as widely available as possible. Founder & CEO Priyanka Bakaya was named to the 2012 Forbes list of 30 Under 30 in Energy. The company placed third at the 2011 Rice Business Plan Competition and was one of the three finalists at the 2011 CleanTech Open, Northeast Region. PK Clean has been frequently featured in publications including FORTUNE, CNN Money, and the Harvard Business Review. Polytorx, LLC dba Helix Steel Formerly Torx International | Georgia Institute of Technology | 2003 Competitor | www.polytorx.com Polytorx, LLC manufactures and sells Helix, a steel fiber additive used in varying dosages to reinforce construction concrete. It replaces rebar in concrete. Subjected to over 10,000 tests both in laboratories and in the field, Helix has been proven to meet or exceed rebar performance in every application of concrete. Originally designed at the University of Michigan for applications in earthquake and blast resistance, Helix is now used in a broad spectrum of projects including industrial and commercial structures, roads, bridges, homes, and airports. Polytorx recently received Uniform Building Code Approval for the product. This allows the product to be utilized for new applications and removes barriers to entry put up by engineers and building officials. The company has garnered major entrepreneurial awards including the Michigan Technology Tricorridor Award and was featured on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. As noted on the CBS Evening News, Helix was used to rebuild homes in Joplin, Missouri, destroyed by the 2011 tornado. Helix is manufactured in the United States but sold worldwide from offices in the U.S, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and Singapore. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the company operates two manufacturing facilities, using its own proprietary, high-­‐ speed machines to manufacture Helix. 48 9
RBPC Success Stories Power2Switch University of Chicago | 2010 Competitor | www.power2switch.com | www.interactivebill.com Power2Switch uses design, data, and technology to help consumers make responsible decisions about their energy usage and expenses. The company helps residents and businesses reduce energy costs through an online comparison of competitive rates and an automated switching process to new electricity suppliers. The service is provided free of charge. The company also delivers greater awareness of energy deregulation, creates a competitive landscape for suppliers and promotes the use of renewable energy. Operating in Illinois since 2010, Power2Switch now offers the same services for the residents of New Jersey. Power2Switch, part of the 2011 class at Excelerate Labs, was selected as one of five U.S. startups to participate in President Clinton’s 2011 Clinton Global Initiative. The company was chosen as one of the Top 10 Up and Comers at the Chicago Innovation Awards. It was featured in the Chicago Tribune, Fast Company, Mashable and on the Chicago affiliates of both ABC and NBC. In September 2013, Power2Switch was acquired by Choose Energy for an undisclosed amount. Choose Energy is an online marketplace for electricity consumers and is based in San Francisco, California. PowerMundo Colorado State University | 2009 Competitor | www.powermundo.com Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, PowerMundo is a clean technology distribution company. It builds and manages a network of customers, retailer, and suppliers to design, develop and disseminate a suite of appropriate technology products for people in emerging markets. PowerMundo first listens to the needs of people and then displays a suite of cleantech products that may fit their needs. The company connects people in developing and developed countries to improve everyone’s economic wellbeing, create health benefits and conserve natural resources. It organizes social marketing campaigns to educate people about healthy products. If clients or sales people cannot afford the initial product price, PowerMundo provides support through partnering with micro-­‐finance organizations. PowerMundo currently operates throughout Peru in the regions of Arequipa, Cajamarca, Cusco, Lima and San Martín. Additionally, its partners, Trees, Water & People and Asociación Hondureña para el Desarrollo, have replicated our model in Honduras. PrepMe Corporation Stanford University | 2005 Competitor | www.prepme.com PrepMe was an education company dedicated to bringing high quality, customized learning to students. It launched the first open adaptive learning platform, Coursification. Over the years, the company garnered significant press coverage in publications such as FORTUNE Small Business Magazine and CNN.com. In 2011, PrepMe was divided and sold. Its adaptive learning platform for higher education was acquired by the Providence Equity-­‐backed Ascend Learning. PrepMe’s college test prep and adaptive learning platform for grades K-­‐12 was acquired by Naviance in February 2012. 49 0
RBPC Success Stories PulmoCADx, Inc. Formerly PulmoCAD | Washington University in St. Louis | 2011 Competitor | www.pulmocad.com PulmoCADx is developing a computer-­‐assisted diagnosis (CAD) system for early, noninvasive diagnosis of lung cancer. Its imaging software analyzes thoracic computerized tomography (CT) scans and assists radiologists to detect and diagnose malignant lung nodules. The PulmoCADx system enables better diagnostic decisions for earlier treatment and improved outcomes. It also reduces the number of unnecessary invasive procedures and follow-­‐up CT scans. The company has completed proof-­‐of-­‐concept studies in 27 patients; the work was published in a peer-­‐
reviewed journal. It is expanding the studies on an additional 100 patients. PulmoCADx was a finalist at the St. Louis County Economic Council Business Plan Competition, where it was among the top six finalists chosen from nearly 120 submissions. PulmoCADx is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Qcue The University of Texas at Austin | 2008 Competitor | www.qcue.net Qcue is the world’s first dynamic pricing engine for live entertainment events. Using a scientific approach to pricing, Qcue combines computational analysis and external data sources to allow organizations to adjust pricing multiple times per day. Sophisticated algorithms analyze real time sales data and other external factors to generate sales and revenue forecasts based on various price recommendations. Once approved, price changes are automatically pushed to ticketing systems that process the changes at the point of sale and across all channels. Clients include leading franchises across Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and the International Speedway Corporation. In 2013, the company was named one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company, and Business Insider called founder Barry Kahn one of the Most Innovative People Under 40. Qcue was additionally recognized as the third Most Innovative Company in Sports, outranked only by Nike and the NBA. It has been featured in major publications including The New York Times, Forbes, The Economist Magazine, and on National Public Radio. Qcue is headquartered in Austin, Texas. 50 1
RBPC Success Stories Quad Technologies LLC Northeastern University | 2013 Competitor | www.quadtechnologies.net Quad Technologies LLC, is a cell separation startup working on an improved way to isolate cells for research. The company makes magnetic microbeads. Microbeads have long been used in cell separation to, for instance, isolate stem cells in human blood. Through its QuickBead platform, Quad is developing a microbead that dissolves after separation, leaving the cells unharmed. Through a grant from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), Quad Technologies has received a significant grant to study the effects of microgravity on the manufacture of its separation technology on the International Space Station. The money from CASIS covers the costs of developing and engineering the project equipment for space flight, analysis, transporting the payload to and from the ISS as well as the costs of the ISS scientists. The company is a 2013 MassChallenge startup. It is located at the North Shore InnoVentures at the Cummings Center in Beverly, Massachusetts. Quantitative Insights, Inc. University of Chicago | 2011 Competitor | www.quantinsights.com Quantitative Insights is harnessing the power of cutting edge research and advanced imaging solutions to create an intuitive computer-­‐aided diagnosis (CADx) workstation– QuantX. Based on technology created at the University of Chicago, QuantX is the industry’s first fully integrated, multimodality breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), solution, providing real time, advanced functionality, analytics and image handling. The QuantX product has been submitted for FDA review according to the 510(k) market clearance process. The company is now positioned to launch its flagship product in the U.S. and select global markets. It is actively recruiting the industry’s influencers to work in its Early Adopter Program (EAP) to redefine the way M R imaging is utilized in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Quantitative Insights won the 2010 Chicago Biomedical Consortium Business Plan Competition and was selected as Chicago Booth’s top health care company in the 2010 New Venture Challenge. The company is an alpha participant in the Chicago Innovation Mentors Program and part of the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Accelerator. 51 2
RBPC Success Stories Rebellion Photonics Rice University | 2010 Competitor | www.rebellionphotonics.com Rebellion Photonics is commercializing its unique ”snap shot” hyperspectral imaging technology invented at Rice University. Its platform technology allows users to decipher an object’s chemical composition while simultaneously taking a traditional visible picture or video. Snapshot hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology can be used for a variety of groundbreaking chemical imaging products in the biological research, drone, and gas leak detection markets. Rebellion has launched its first product line, the ARROW, for biotech research. The ARROW offers researchers breakthrough imaging capabilities providing real time chemical signature analysis for liquids, solids, and live cell samples. In 2013, Rebellion founder Allison Sawyer was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy and Industry. The company has won numerous awards including the R&D 100 Award, and, most recently was called the WSJ Startup of the Year by The Wall Street Journal. Placing second in the 2010 Rice Business Plan Competition, Rebellion has been featured in Vision Systems Design Magazine, FORTUNE, CultureMap Houston and on the cover of BioOptics World. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. ReGenerate Solutions, LLC University of Michigan | 2011 Competitor | www.regenerate-­‐usa.com ReGenerate Solutions is developing and commercializing on-­‐site waste management technologies that lower the cost and environmental impact of organic waste disposal. Its product, the Compact Organic Waste System (COWS), is a microscale, high solids anaerobic digestion solution for managing and reducing the cost and environmental impact of organic waste disposal. Organic waste is fed into the COWS and digested in the absence of oxygen. This process generates methane, or natural gas, which is combusted in a small, efficient boiler. The boiler heats water for buildings through a closed loop heat exchange system, similar to those used to heat water in solar thermal systems. The compost is picked up by local waste haulers once a month, refined at composting facilities, and sold as a local cradle-­‐to-­‐cradle product through home improvement centers or used on a client’s own site. ReGenerate was runner up in the 2012 U.S. Department of Energy’s Eastern Midwest Region Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. 52 3
RBPC Success Stories Remedium Technologies, Inc. University of Maryland | 2008 Competitor | www.remediumtechnologies.com A University of Maryland-­‐based startup, Remedium Technologies is medical device startup that operates with a vision of user-­‐directed advancement in the standard of care for the control of severe hemorrhage. The principals of Remedium Technologies have created a proprietary life-­‐saving technology called Hemogrip™ that acts to stop traumatic bleeding rapidly. As the active component in a suite of pipeline products under development, Hemogrip™ is a uniquely user-­‐friendly hemostat which is able to orchestrate the self-­‐assembly of a clot-­‐like seal upon contact with blood. It can be used effectively by a surgeon, a soldier or an unskilled “buddy.” Currently, Remedium has six patents pending related to its Hemogrip™ technology. Remedium is working under grants awarded from the National Science Foundation, the United States Army Research Lab, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, the Maryland Biotechnology Center and the Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program. The company won the 2013 ICE Award for Innovation in the State of Maryland. Remedium has been featured in publications including CNN Money, CBS News (Washington, DC), WJZ-­‐13 (Baltimore), and the Washington Business Journal. reNature, Inc. Arizona State University | 2012 Competitor | www.renatureinc.com ReNature reprocesses organic waste into high value commodity products such as highly concentrated natural fertilizers. While industrializing the natural processes of decomposition to provide sustainable alternatives to land filling food waste, the company simultaneously creates alternatives to petrochemical-­‐based agricultural products. reNature utilizes manmade technology to promote the natural process of decay. It is reNature’s core belief that the planet already knows what it is doing; it is simply for humanity to innovatively cooperate rather than impose. The company has started to assemble an industrial-­‐scale pilot system at the MAC6 manufacturing incubator in Tempe, Arizona. The fertilizer produced by reNature’s earlier prototype has been validated by third party laboratories. ReNature was a 2013 Mass Challenge finalist and received funding from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). Reveal Design Automation University of Michigan | 2010 Competitor | http://reveal-­‐da.com Reveal Design Automation is an electronic design automation startup developing software tools and technologies for verification of complex semiconductor designs. With fully automated solutions enabling highly scalable architecture validation, formal verification runs that take days with competing solutions can now be completed in hours with Reveal. Where a typical verification cycle for a new chip design requires dozens to hundreds of such verification runs, Reveal can save chip designers millions of dollars in verification expense, reduce time-­‐to-­‐market by months, and significantly improve confidence in chip design correctness. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Reveal is currently a member of the University of Michigan’s Venture Accelerator. Reveal was a finalist at the 2010 Rice Business Plan Competition. 53 4
RBPC Success Stories RhoMania Carnegie Mellon University | 2011 Competitor | www.rhomania.com RhoMania creates and provides iPad-­‐based wine, spirits, and beer menus for restaurants, retail stores, and events, using sophisticated data mining techniques, social media and cutting edge hardware technologies. Its product, Grail™ is an interactive, digital menu-­‐list that contains additional information such as tasting notes, ratings and reviews. Grail has helped RhoMania’s customers increase their alcohol revenues by 10 to 20 percent. Founded in 2010, RhoMania is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was recently profiled in the Pittsburgh Post-­‐Gazette. Grail is used by a number of restaurants in and around Pittsburgh. Ruckus Fermentation Co. Formerly MuPor Technologies | University of Idaho | 2013 Competitor | http://ruckusfermentation.com Ruckus Fermentation Co. uses a patent-­‐pending fermentation technology to produce the Bootlegger Bottle. The Bootlegger Bottle is a home brewing kit that uses a technology that takes the yeast necessary for fermentation and encapsulates it within a semi-­‐permeable membrane. This makes fermentation faster and easier, turning sugars into alcohols in hours instead of days, while preventing problems such as contamination and foam formation. The Bootlegger Bottle can be easily sanitized between batches and reused for up to five months. The company competed as MuPor Technologies in 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition. MuPor was developing a biofuel fermentation technology for fuels and consumption. Ruckus uses the same technology in its home brewing kits. Ruckus Fermentation funded the Bootlegger Bottle through a successful Kickstarter campaign and is featured in the Idaho Statesman, CrowdDistrict and the Idaho Business Review. It is based in Nampa, Idaho. Salveo Vascular Johns Hopkins University | 2012 Competitor | www.salveovascular.com Salveo Vascular is developing a patent-­‐pending solution against the mortality and morbidity associated with catheter infections and occlusions. Catheter-­‐related bloodstream infections account for 90,000 patient deaths and over $2.3 billion in unreimbursed expenses to the health care community each year. Salveo Vascular is developing the Sonicade, a patent-­‐pending technology that is the first to address infections and blockages associated with central venous catheters. Finalists in the 2012 Rice Business Plan Competition, the company has since made significant strides in development and testing. Salveo Vascular won the Coulter Grant in 2012. It is based in Baltimore, Maryland. 54 5
RBPC Success Stories Samplesaint, Inc. University of Chicago | 2006 Competitor | www.samplesaint.com Headquartered in Cincinnati, Samplesaint, Inc. is an interactive mobile media company that provides companies and retailers offering consumer packaged goods with both mobile and Internet platforms for delivering coupon offers and multimedia messages to the consumer. Samplesaint offers fraud-­‐proof mobile technology to help consumers facilitate the decision process and ensure brands increase awareness, trial and perceived value. Consumers access digital coupons online or at the mobile Web site. They download the offers onto their mobile device at any given time to be redeemed at checkout. A barcode appears on the mobile device that the consumer then presents to the cashier to be scanned, and the consumer is awarded the same savings as a conventional coupon. Manufacturers and retailers benefit from this technology even more so than the consumer. When the consumer redeems the bar-­‐coded coupon on their cell phone, Samplesaint and the retailer immediately know the customer’s identity and where and when it was redeemed. This unique technological platform supports real time, in depth, advanced analytics. It works with retailer's current point-­‐of-­‐sale scanning hardware, which is invaluable when managing a coupon campaign or cultivating relationships with customers. Sanergy Babson College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2010 Competitor | http://saner.gy To combat the lack of sanitation in the ever-­‐expanding slums of Nairobi, Kenya, Sanergy is developing a comprehensive sanitation infrastructure that has significant environmental, health, economic, and social impact. Sanergy franchises high quality, low-­‐cost toilets to local entrepreneurs. It creates an efficient, equitable, and sustainable sanitation cycle by building a dense network of small-­‐scale sanitation centers across the slums, providing a low-­‐cost containerized waste collection infrastructure, and converting this waste at its central processing facility into electricity, fertilizer, and other high margin products. Through its network of almost 160 operators, Sanergy has opened 300 sanitation facilities serving 12,500 people daily. Its waste collectors pick up about 20 tons of waste each week with no spills and a perfect daily collection record. The solid waste is converted into a nutrient rich organic fertilizer, lab-­‐
tested and approved for mineral content and safety levels. The liquid waste is sold to coffee farms as a high nitrate fertilizer. Throughout this past year, Sanergy has continued to win awards and recognition for its work. It was a winner of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) competition for development ideas co-­‐funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID. The Lemelson Foundation awarded Sanergy its inaugural Sustainable Practice Impact Award; the award was given by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) and funded by the Lemelson Foundation. Additionally, Sanergy made Fast Company’s list of Most Innovative Companies dedicated to social good. The company has received global media attention from Forbes, Voice of America, Businessweek, and Scientific American. 55 6
RBPC Success Stories Saranas, Inc. Rice Universtiy | 2013 Competitor | http://saranas.com Saranas, Inc. is a medical device company focused on improving patient outcomes through early detection of internal bleeding complications. The company’s patented technology allows for the rapid detection of these complications and enables physicians to mitigate the downstream consequences by addressing the complication immediately using accepted, straightforward adjustments to the flow of the procedure. First place winners of the Goradia Innovation Prize, Saranas recently closed on a seed round of funding. The company is based in Houston, Texas. Scan Formerly QR Code City | Brigham Young University | 2011 Competitor | http://scan.me Scan creates web and mobile experiences and tools that enable both enterprises and individuals to benefit from mobile transaction technologies (QR codes, NFC, and more). These benefits include mobile web pages, mobile commerce, social media, lead generation and analytics. Scan 2.0 was launched in November 2013. Scan has had over 25 million downloads and received funding from top San Francisco-­‐based venture capitalists. Founded in 2011, the company maintains offices in San Francisco, California, and Provo, Utah. Seismos The University of Texas | 2013 Competitor | seismostechnologies.com Seismos is a technology-­‐enabled services company that detects and interprets changes in underground oil and gas reservoirs. The company has developed a real time, non-­‐invasive fluid monitoring platform for enhanced oil recovery applications. Currently, Seismos is engaged in its Series A fundraising process. Its IP portfolio consists of four issued patents with an additional patent application pending. Following its win of the Shell Technology Ventures Award at the 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition, Seismos won first place in the Energy/Cleantech division at the UC Berkeley Startup Competition and the Energy/Cleantech Wells Fargo Award at the Global Venture Labs Investment Competition in Austin, Texas. 56 7
RBPC Success Stories Semprus BioSciences Formerly SteriCoat | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2007 Competitor | www.teleflex.com Semprus Biosciences was a venture-­‐backed biomedical company designing new tools to prevent infection and thrombus-­‐related complications in patients with implanted medical devices. Semprus Sustain™ Technology is a permanent, nonleaching, biomaterial modification that chemically bonds to the surface of the implant device. The technology vastly improved patient outcomes by preventing serious medical complications such as infection, blood clots, improper healing, and cell overgrowth. In June 2012, Semprus BioSciences was acquired by Teleflex Inc., a Pennsylvania-­‐based medical device company. SensorHound Innovations Purdue University | 2013 Competitor | www.sensorhound.com SensorHound Innovations specializes in software and services that improve reliability and reduce the operations cost of networked embedded systems, the enabling technology behind smart grids, energy-­‐
efficient buildings and high-­‐precision agriculture. Monitoring and diagnosing software failures in large scale networked embedded systems is very challenging due to in-­‐situ deployments and resource constraints. SensorHound Innovations will soon introduce software products and services based on award-­‐winning research to the market that reduce the cost of development, deployment, and operation of networked embedded systems. SensorHound Innovations was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation. It is based in West Lafayette, Indiana. Sensulin The University of Oklahoma | 2008 Competitor | www.sensulin.com Sensulin is developing a once-­‐a-­‐day, glucose-­‐responsive insulin for Types I/II diabetes. It may eliminate the need for basal and mealtime insulin, offers a substantial improvement in the standard of care and most importantly, gives people with diabetes a chance at a normal life. The company’s proprietary drug delivery platform, called Agglomerated Vesicle Technology, is covered by one issued U.S. patent and one U.S./PCT patent application. Sensulin has received funding from a Small Business Technology Transfer grant through the National Science Foundation and a Series A closing. Sensulin was a 2013 MassChallenge finalist and was named a Most Promising Company at the 2013 Rice Alliance Life Science Venture Forum. It is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 57 8
RBPC Success Stories Seryx Biomedical Formerly Sarentis Opthalmics, Inc. and Bombyx Technologies | Cornell University | 2009 Competitor | www.seryxbiomedical.com Seryx Biomedical is an ophthalmic medical device company developing a silk bandage for corneal regeneration and presbyopia. The product caters primarily to the growing elective photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) procedure market. It also addresses blast wound injuries received on the battlefield. The company has licensed its technology from Cornell University, and its founders are Cornell alumni and faculty. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Defense, Sarentis works with the Margaret M. Dyson Vision Research Institute and the Belfer Gene Therapy Core Facility of Weil Cornell Medical College. Seryx Biomedical is headquartered in New York, New York. Silicon BioDevices Formerly Integrated Diagnostics | University of California, Berkeley | 2009 Competitor | www.siliconbiodevices.com Silicon BioDevices is a biotech semiconductor company. It has developed the next generation point-­‐of-­‐
care testing technology: a small disposable device with integrated display that measures multiple analytes directly from a finger stick of blood and instantly transfers the results to a mobile device or wireless server accessed electronic medical record system. This breakthrough innovation will help integrate in vitro diagnostic test information into patient care workflow and allow many more blood tests to be performed in nonmedical settings. This disruptive approach raises the bar on body fluid testing at the point of specimen collection by delivering performance equal to the clinical laboratory. Silicon BioDevices has established a state-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art lab in the QB3 Garage@Berkeley. It has demonstrated feasibility of the technology and built a solid IP portfolio and supplier network. Currently, the company is in the process of developing a fully functional device for trial use. Silicon Solar Solutions University of Arkansas | 2009 Competitor | www.siliconsolarsolutions.com Silicon Solar Solutions provides a low-­‐cost method for manufacturing silicon-­‐based solar cells and thin-­‐
film modules. The patent protected technologies developed by Silicon Solar Solutions utilize abundant, nontoxic materials that minimize negative environmental impact and are easily recyclable. Its goal is to enable competitive solar manufacturing regardless of geographic location. Silicon Solar Solutions received the highly competitive SunShot Incubator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy. The application funds for the SunShot project were awarded though a Technology Transfer Assistance Grant from the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority. As a component of this program, Silicon Solar will further develop technology commercialized by another University of Arkansas startup, Picasolar. Silicon Solar Solutions owns majority interest in Picasolar, a Rice Business Plan Competition competitor in the 2013. Picasolar’s technology increases the efficiency of solar cells. Inventors Digest recognized founders Douglas Hutchings and Seth Shumate as the Nation’s Top New Inventors. The company is an Innovate Arkansas client firm based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 58 9
RBPC Success Stories Simprint Nanotechnologies, Ltd. Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2009 Competitor | http://simprintnanotech.com Simprint Nanotechnologies, Ltd. provides software tools and simulation services to users of nanoimprint lithography (NIL). Nanoimprint lithography is a revolutionary technique that reduces the manufacturing costs of semiconductors and data storage. Conventionally, designs are transferred to microchips using projected light; in nanoimprint, the design is mechanically stamped onto the chip. Simprint Nanotechnologies offers an extremely fast way of simulating the nanoscale transformation of material involved in NIL. Its software allows semiconductor, photonics, and data-­‐storage manufacturers to use nanoimprint reliably and with greatly reduced development costs. The latest version released July 2013 has both UV-­‐NIL and thermal NIL simulation capabilities. Simprint software helps users to build intuition about the physics of the nanoimprint process, making it invaluable in nanoimprint lithography research. Simprint Nanotechnologies is based in Bristol, England. SiNode Systems Northwestern University | 2013 Competitor | http://sinodesystems.com SiNode Systems is a Chicago-­‐based venture developing advanced materials for the next generation of lithium-­‐ion batteries. SiNode materials offer increased battery capacity and faster charging rates, all while being produced via a low-­‐cost, chemistry-­‐based manufacturing process. SiNode seeks to change the landscape for lithium-­‐ion batteries so they can meet the demands of a wide range of industries, from consumer electronics to electric vehicles. The company’s core technology was developed at Northwestern University, and SiNode’s founders are all Northwestern graduates from the business and engineering schools. Recently, the company was granted U.S. Patent 8,551,650 for porous graphene materials and featured in TechCrunch article. SiNode Systems is the Grand Prize Winner of both the 2013 Rice Business Plan Competition and the 2013 National Department of Energy Business Plan Competition and is the recipient of a 2013 Department of Energy Small Business Innovation Research Award. Since winning the Rice and DOE business plan competitions, the SiNode team has made significant progress: closing a round of seed financing; signing a joint development agreement with Sonim Technologies, a manufacturer of mobile phone devices; recruiting a technical advisory board; establishing a new lab facility in Chicago with an expanded team and securing partnerships for full-­‐cell battery testing and manufacturing process design for the company’s materials scale-­‐up. The company’s headquarters are located in the University Technology Park at the Illinois Institute of Technology. 59 0
RBPC Success Stories Soka Formerly SasaAfrica | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2012 Competitor | http://shopsoko.com Soko is an innovation in global fashion and technology, an online store that connects online consumers to global makers and handcrafted jewelry from the developing world. With Soko, people can discover incredible design and creative ingenuity originating in communities outside of the digital economy. Soko delivers exceptional style with stunning handcrafted jewelry designs created by artisans in emerging economies, using natural and upcycled materials. Soko provides a way for artisans to improve their livelihoods by directly accessing a global consumer base and removing the middlemen. Over 85 percent of women in sub-­‐Saharan Africa are self-­‐employed in the informal economy. Many produce crafts and handmade goods to make or supplement very small incomes. But their sales are limited to local inconsistent demand or other markets via extortionate middlemen. Soko empowers these women by providing direct consumer access, ensuring a majority of the profits stay with the artisans and in the local community. Soko was founded in May 2011, originally launching under the name SasaAfrica. The private beta launched in October 2012 and the public beta launched, re-­‐branded as Soko, in April 2013. The Collections offering, along with a full site re-­‐design, was released in October 2013. Soko currently has three offices: Nairobi, Kenya; San Francisco, California and New York, New York. SolidEnergy Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2012 Competitor | http://solidenergysystems.com SolidEnergy is developing a safe, high energy density and wide temperature capable, rechargeable battery that has the potential to transform the consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and downhole exploration industries. The core technology is called Solid Polymer Ionic Liquid lithium metal battery. Based on technology from MIT, the company was founded by two Harvard graduate students. Recently, SolidEnergy founder Qichao Hu was named to the 2012 Forbes’ list of 30 Under 30 in Energy. The company is building its commercial prototypes and sending them to customers for testing and validation. SolidEnergy placed fourth in the 2012 Rice Business Plan Competition and was a finalist in the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. The company is an A123 Venture Technologies company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. 60 1
RBPC Success Stories Soltage, Inc. Yale University | 2006 Competitor | www.soltage.com Soltage is a leader in the development, financing and operation of solar power stations for commercial, industrial and municipal clients. Since its founding, Soltage has successfully developed 23 solar power projects totaling more than 40 megawatts of distributed generating capacity. In January 2014, Soltage announced its partnership with Greenwood Energy to build six solar projects in Massachusetts, New York and Vermont. It expects the projects to be online by mid year and to generate 13 megawatts of power. The electricity produced by this joint venture will be sold exclusively through long-­‐term agreements with a mix of top-­‐tier corporate customers, municipalities and utilities. Soltage cofounders Stewart and Jesse Grossman were named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year New Jersey finalists in 2011. Soltage is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. Somatis Sensor Solutions Formerly Somatis Technologies | University of Southern California | 2011 Competitor | www.somatistechnologies.com Somatis Sensor Solutions develops and commercializes sensing power technologies for industrial robotics, energy efficiency and data services. The company owns two subsidiaries: IntelliVibe and SomaDAQ. The IntelliVibe sensor is a printed circuit board with embedded piezoceramic (PZT) wafers. SomaDAQ specializes in devices taking analog or digital data and deliver in USB (universal serial bus). Somatis Sensor Solution is part of Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator and is based in Los Angeles, California. Sproxil, Inc. Formerly mPedigree Logistics | Dartmouth College | 2009 Competitor | www.sproxil.com Sproxil® is a venture-­‐backed enterprise that provides world-­‐class brand protection services in emerging markets. The company’s M obile Product Authentication™ (MPA) solution helps ensure purchased goods are not stolen or counterfeit by allowing consumers to verify product genuineness within seconds through a text message. Compatible with any tangible item, MPA is widely used by leading pharmaceutical companies to curb the multi-­‐billion dollar counterfeit drug industry. Sproxil has also expanded into nonpharmaceutical industries including personal care, automotive aftermarket parts and electrical cables. The company has won the 2010 IBM SmartCamp Boston Award and the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative Outstanding Commitment Award, as well as received regulatory endorsements in Nigeria and Kenya. Most recently, Sproxil received the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patents Humanity Award in Information Technology. Sproxil also ranked No. 1 in health care and No. 7 overall in Fast Company Magazine’s World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sproxil continues to expand across Asia and Africa. 61 2
RBPC Success Stories Takachar Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2013 Competitor | http://takachar.blogspot.com Takachar is a waste management company that turns unmanaged organic waste into high-­‐quality charcoal. It employs local waste pickers to source and transform urban organic disposables into clean and affordable cooking fuel. Takachar delivered its first order in December 2013. Takachar was a 2013 MIT/Clean Energy Semi-­‐Finalist. Its cofounder, Sophi N i, was named one of Forbes 30 U nder 30 in Energy and Industry for 2013. Taxcient Formerly vAudit Group, Inc | San Diego State University | 2004 Competitor | www.avalara.com In business for six years, Taxcient was a sales and use tax compliance software provider. The company was founded with the intent of relieving corporate tax departments of the time consuming and costly effort required to report sales and use tax across multiple jurisdictions. Designed by former state tax auditors, the software provided an alternative to the administrative burden of state and local tax compliance. The software was trusted by some of the leading companies in the world to provide accurate sales tax compliance with minimal cost. In 2010, Taxcient merged with Avalara, the leading provider of web-­‐based sales tax automation. The merger marked a major milestone in the companies’ common quest to revolutionize the sales and use tax management industry via the application of leading-­‐edge technology and top-­‐flight tax knowledge and expertise. TeleEMG Boston University | 2005 Competitor | www.teleemg.com TeleEMG is educational website and forum for practicing physicians, residents, and health care professionals interested in understanding medical tests used for evaluating nerve and muscle diseases. Its Web site furthers the understanding of electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies by providing anatomical, technical, and clinical descriptions of the EMG procedure. It markets high quality EMG and nerve conduction training material with superior scientific value and high technical quality to improve the quality of care of patients suffering with neuromuscular disorders. The site is intended as an educational forum for practicing physicians, residents-­‐in-­‐training, and health care professionals who are interested in the peripheral nervous system and means of investigating it. Headquartered in Woodburn, Massachusetts, TeleEMG provides health care professionals with EMG practice setup, EMG manuals, anatomical charts and graphs, EMG case studies, online training courses, discussion forums, high quality educational materials and electrodes and supplies. 62 3
RBPC Success Stories The Eye Tribe Formerly Senseye | IT University of Copenhagen | 2012 Competitor | http://theeyetribe.com The Eye Tribe develops software that enables eye control on mobile devices and computers, allowing hands-­‐free control, eye activated login and enhanced gaming experiences. The company’s software is based on infrared technology to achieve high accuracy and responsiveness. Unlike other infrared eye tracking systems that are expensive and proprietary, its software works with low-­‐cost hardware components that can be integrated into the next generation of smartphones and tablets. The Eye Tribe Tracker launched as the world’s first affordable eye-­‐tracking device; it sells for $99. Since competing at the 2012 Rice Business Plan Competition, The Eye Tribe has earned a number of awards including Best Nordic Startup 2012 at Arctic15 and Best Company at the Accelerace Program. It won first prize at the eHealth Innovation Contest. The company received funding from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. TheraNova, LLC Duke University |2003 Competitor | www.theranova.com Located in San Francisco, California, TheraNova is a medical device company developing solutions for large markets with unmet needs. This is accomplished by internal concept generation and development and by external project support. Essentially TheraNova is an intellectual property-­‐holding company that files patents and incubates a variety of medical device technologies that include an endoscopic obesity therapy, an implantable shunt to remove chronic abdominal fluid, and a noninvasive incontinence therapy. TheraNova also supports external projects through traditional research and development. The company has successfully spun out several venture capital-­‐backed companies including BAROnova, novashunt, velomedix, Channel Medsystems, and EMKinetics . All of TheraNova’s technologies have a common element: Each was designed based on the observation of a definitive need identified by one of the founders through clinical practice. Once the need has been defined, TheraNova works to develop proprietary technologies to fill that need and the resulting technology is either licensed or becomes the centerpiece for a viable spinout. 63 4
RBPC Success Stories Thin Air Nitrogen Solutions International (TANSI) Colorado State University | 2010 Competitor | www.thinairnitrogen.com Thin Air Nitrogen Solutions is an independently owned company dedicated to natural, energy-­‐efficient, high-­‐altitude fertilizer production. The company manufactures and is a wholesale supplier of organically derived blue green algae fertilizer, targeting farmers in Ethiopia and Colorado. It has had successful high-­‐altitude production runs through the summer of 2013. Thin Air Nitrogen Solutions has received funding and support from the NCIIA (National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Association), USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development), Western SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education) and Colorado State University. It is based in Ft. Collins, Colorado. TiFiber University of Arkansas | 2011 Competitor | www.tifiber.com TiFiber is commercializing the production of Titanium Dioxide in sheets of nanofibers. Developed at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, TiFiber’s process converts TiO2 powder into long nanofibers that can form a pulp-­‐like material. The material can be shaped for variety of applications including filtration and lightweight thermal media. The inorganic, freestanding membranes can readily crafted into macroscopic vessels and tools for important applications at high temperatures and in the harsh environments encountered during cleaning, chemical manufacturing, and other similar situations. TiFiber™ was a finalist at the 2011 Rice Business Plan Competition. It is a Virtual Incubation Company portfolio company based in Arkansas. TITIN Georgia Institute of Technology | 2011 Competitor | www.TITINtech.com Titin designs and manufactures the world’s first weighted compression gear for athletes. Its heavy-­‐duty weighted gear features a zippered inner shirt with 14 strategically placed pockets that evenly distribute eight pounds of hydrogel inserts across the upper body’s major muscle groups. The gel can be heated or frozen for a mobile ice bath for post-­‐workout recovery. Titin’s apparel is being distributed throughout the United States and in seven other countries. The company’s client list includes athletes such as Tim Tebow, Mike Trout and Peyton Manning, a four-­‐star general, and the executive team at Under Armour. Its international clients range from the British Royal Air Force to the Springboks, the national rugby team of South Africa. In addition to its U.S. market, Titin distributes its gear to 13 other countries. Titin was issued a patent on all weighted apparel and won the Under Armour Innovation Challenge. It is headquartered in Cumming, Georgia. 64 5
RBPC Success Stories TNG Pharmaceuticals University of Louisville | 2011 Competitor | www.flyvax.com TNG Pharmaceuticals (TNG), a Louisville, Kentucky-­‐based company, is furthering the development of a patented vaccine that could significantly reduce the horn fly population. The vaccine, FlyVax, is expected to hinder the ability of the horn fly to effectively feed on cattle by counteracting the horn fly’s anti-­‐clotting agent. FlyVax counteracts the horn fly’s anti-­‐clotting agent, Thrombostasin, by triggering an immune response that clots the blood at the point of the wound. The horn fly’s inability to feed thus directly affects reproduction capabilities, leading to the potential systematic eradication of horn fly populations. Smaller horn fly populations can directly translate into lower infestations per cow that leads to less stress, more weight and more milk yield. TNG recently closed a Series A round of financing. The funding round will allow TNG to complete the product development necessary to commercialize the vaccine. TNG Pharmaceuticals won first place at the 2011 Rice Business Plan Competition. The company was named one of Louisville’s Hot Dozen startups and one of Global Entrepreneurship Week’s 50 Most Innovative Companies with the Greatest Growth Potential. TNG Pharmaceuticals has been featured in articles published by FORTUNE, Inc. Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. Translate Abroad University of Illinois at Urbana-­‐Champaign | 2010 Competitor | www.translateabroad.com Waygo by Translate Abroad makes becoming a Chinese local easy, tackling the language barrier that can hold you back during a business or leisure trip. Using optical character recognition, Waygo translates Chinese to English by simply holding a smartphone camera over the characters with no need for an Internet connection. It is also a helpful tool for language learners to master new words and phrases. Waygo uses proprietary algorithms to create simple phrases. Rated a 4+ in the App Store, it can be downloaded for free in the App Store. The company built the first iteration while in the Betaspring Accelerator in Providence, Rhode Island, in summer 2011. It has received media attention from Tech Crunch, GigaOM, and Forbes. Currently, Translate Abroad is part of the 500 Startups Accelerator located in Mountain View, California; it maintains an office in Providence, Rhode Island. 65 6
RBPC Success Stories Traycer Systems, Inc. Formerly Traycer Diagnostic Systems, Inc. | The Ohio State University | 2008 Competitor | www.traycer.com Traycer Systems, Inc. has built the first terahertz imager that will enable real-­‐time, cost-­‐effective imaging for commercial applications and research. The patent pending imager is a platform technology with multiple industry applications including quality control (materials and devices), nondestructive testing, communications infrastructure, medical imaging and security screening applications. Proceeds from a recent round of funding will be used to complete product commercialization of Traycer’s broadband terahertz imaging systems and components. Traycer Diagnostic Systems, Inc. is a spinout from The Ohio State University and the University of Notre Dame and has received funding from TechColumbus, Ohio Tech Angels and the U.S. Department of Defense. The company is located in Columbus, Ohio. US Chia Formerly Kentucky Chia | University of Louisville | 2012 Competitor | www.kychia.com US Chia is the premier producer of American grown chia seeds in the equine industry. Rich in fiber, antioxidants and protein, and with the highest concentration of plant-­‐derived Omega-­‐3s, chia seeds are instrumental in preventing colic and laminits, the two leading causes of premature death among horses. Having planted its first commercial crop in January 2013, US Chia completed its first commercial scale harvest and began sales in late 2013. Founded at the University of Louisville in 2011, Kentucky Chia is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Veran Medical Technologies Vanderbilt University | 2003 & 2004 Competitor | www.veranmedical.com Veran Medical Technologies, Inc. is a privately held, image-­‐guided medical device company developing the next standard of care for minimally invasive delivery of interventional oncology therapies. Veran provides proprietary 4-­‐D registration capability for precise targeting of lesions via its FDA-­‐cleared ig4 platform. It allows physicians to easily biopsy and place markers for planned procedures. With the Veran suite of products, the company will reduce procedure times and increase accuracy rates, enabling clinicians to cost-­‐effectively treat patients with reduced co-­‐morbidity risk. In 2013, Jupiter Medical Center became the nation’s first hospital to offer patients Veran’s Total Navigational Oncology Solution. Veran Medical Technologies placed third in the 2003 Rice Business Plan Competition and is headquartered in St. Louis, M issouri. 66 7
RBPC Success Stories Vitalnx Vanderbilt University | 2013 Competitor | www.vitalnx.com Vitalnx is developing the iSMART IV (shock monitor for advanced resuscitative therapy IV). The iSMART IV is designed to replace the existing invasive pulmonary artery, or Swan-­‐Ganz catheter, with a noninvasive sensor. This device estimates the hemodynamic (volume) status and fluid needs of a patient without adding a single step in the workflow of fluid administration. It is a next-­‐generation hemodynamic monitor: minimally invasive, compact, disposable and wireless. Vitalnx has received funding through the NCIIA (National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Association) Phase I and Phase II grants. WiPower, Inc. Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2007 Competitor | www.wipower.com During its four years in business, WiPower, Inc. was widely recognized as the technology leader in the wireless power marketplace. WiPower developed and commercialized the world’s first wireless charging systems capable of extended range charging and insensitive to the position and orientation of receiving devices relative to a charging station. WiPower distributed its commercial and industrial product solutions across the United States and in Japan. WiPower filed 17 U.S. patents related to wireless power technology and counted numerous FORTUNE 500 companies among its customers. In 2010, WiPower, Inc. was acquired by Qualcomm for an undisclosed amount. Ziosk Formerly TableTop Media | Southern Methodist University | 2006 Competitor | www.ziosk.com Ziosk is a Dallas-­‐based media technology and content management company that has created the first digital promotion and pay-­‐at-­‐the-­‐table device for the casual dining restaurant market. The technology, featuring a 7-­‐inch touchscreen and credit card reader, resides on each table and enables the guests to see promotions, play games, view news, order food and beverages, and pay on demand. With its interactive capabilities, the Ziosk creates a digital media platform for partners to create engaging experiences at the point of purchase. Ziosk currently serves eight million guests each month. By the middle of 2014, it anticipates that number will grow to 30 million people each month. Founded in 2008, the company is the recipient of the 2009 National Restaurant Association Technology Innovation Award and the 2010 Hospitality Technology Breakthrough Award. Ziosk was named one of 100 Brilliant Companies by Entrepreneur in 2011. 67