Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund awards second round of funds to support to Indiana startups
October 27, 2015
INDIANAPOLIS and WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Officials announced today that seven Purdue-affiliated startups each received $20,000 in the latest round of funding for Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund First-Tier Black Awards.
"The quality of the startups that submitted proposals was extremely high again this round, which made the selection process very difficult," said Greg Deason, executive director of the Purdue Foundry. "We feel the companies in this round have very high potential to make a strong impact, not only on the market, but also adding great value to our society."
Startups receiving funds must meet certain criteria, which include being a Purdue Foundry client, being owned by Purdue students, faculty or staff, and/or based on intellectual property patented through the Purdue Research Foundation. Companies are also evaluated for the strength of market potential, operational viability and leadership team. The Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund is operated jointly by officials from the Purdue Foundry and Elevate Ventures.
As part of the collaboration, Elevate Ventures provides support for four entrepreneurial advisers to work in the Purdue Foundry at the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship.
"In just one year, the Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund has already provided funding for 27 startups that have the potential of making a strong impact on economic development across Indiana," said Chris LaMothe, Elevate Ventures CEO. "The depth and variety of innovation and entrepreneurial activities shown in these companies and the others who submitted proposals is encouraging and is a testament to the talent and hard work of researchers and entrepreneurs at Purdue University."
The startups receiving the funding are:
*Adranos Energetics LLC, a rocket fuel company that serves the aviation and aerospace industries, has developed an innovative solid rocket fuel that could minimize HCI aerosol formation and increase total propulsion.
*Lodos Theranostics LLC, a health-care startup that is commercializing a nanotechnology called "Radio Luminescence Therapy" that promises to achieve improved benefits of radiation treatment with reduced negative effects.
*Phlebotics LLC, a biomedical startup that is developing an innovation that could reduce the amount of blood drawn for diagnostic testing through automated micro-volume blood collection.
*Resarci Therapeutics LLC, a biomedical startup that could improve treatment for late-stage prostate cancer through a new therapeutic strategy by targeting the cholesterol metabolism instead of the androgen pathway.
STEMinent LLC, an educational assessment company that provides students and educators with an effective online platform to assess faculty performance in the classroom using a valid, consistent and unbiased standard in real-time following the end of a class session.
*Vibronix Inc., a biomedical company commercializing an innovation that could guide early heart disease treatments through better identification of location and severity of the disease.
*ZeroUI Inc., a computer software company that is commercializing a new class of hand-free, gesture-based 3-D modeling software that helps design and make things on a 3-D printer.
The First-Tier Black Award is in the form of a nonrecourse convertible promissory note, and the promissory note agreements will be finalized directly with Elevate Ventures. The First-Tier Black Award also qualifies the startups to apply for a Second-Tier Gold Award that is available in amounts up to $80,000 through a convertible debt or equity investment, upon reaching pre-established milestones determined jointly between the startup, the Purdue Foundry and Elevate Ventures.
The funding is part of a three-year, $2 million targeted investment program through collaboration among the Purdue Foundry, Elevate Ventures and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
The next application period for the Black Award will be announced in late October or early November.
For more information, entrepreneurs can contact an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Purdue Foundry or John Hanak, Purdue Foundry venture funding relations officer, at 317-616-1860, jmhanak@prf.org.
About the Purdue Foundry
The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship where professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. The Purdue Foundry is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.
About Elevate Ventures
Elevate Ventures is a private venture development organization that nurtures and develops emerging and existing high-potential businesses into high-performing, Indiana-based companies. Elevate Ventures accomplishes this by providing access to capital, rigorous business analysis and robust advisory services that connect companies with the right mix of resources businesses need to succeed long term. As a not-for-profit organization, Elevate Ventures is able to offer unbiased, in-depth perspective and recommendations. To learn more about Elevate Ventures, its team and its funds under management, visit www.elevateventures.com.
Media Contacts:
Cynthia Sequin, 765-588-3340, casequin@prf.org
Alex Bowers, 317-252-0258, abowers@elevateventures.com
