$8.6 million Advanced Industries Awards Accelerate 36 Colorado Start-ups
Client companies and graduates of Innosphere Ventures’ commercialization program, as well as tenants of the building and university faculty supported by Innosphere, were awarded proof-of-concept and early-stage capital grants by Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT).
Innosphere Ventures would like to congratulate all awardees of the Advanced Industries Accelerator Grant Program! One of Innosphere’s current client companies receiving grant funding from OEDIT is HiveTech Solutions, a woman-owned tech startup that is now half a million dollars closer to its goal of saving honeybees thanks to this grant. Coincidently, HiveTech’s team was notified of their award status on on World Bee Day, May 20, 2021. HiveTech Solutions was one of only two companies to win $500,000 out of the 36 grants awarded to startups and individuals.
“We are humbled and thrilled that this state is committed to supporting science and keeping tech startups like ours here in Colorado,” said Kimberly Drennan, HiveTech Solutions’ co-founder and CEO. “With this grant, we’re able to move forward and get our product to market so we can start stabilizing the pollinator population at a grass-roots level.”
Drennan is an architect specializing in environmental design and high-performance housing. She teaches architecture at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where she met the company’s
co-founder and Chief Science Officer Chelsea Cook after discovering there were beehives near a project site for her sophomore design class. Cook was managing those hives for CU as she
completed a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She’s now an assistant professor at Marquette University. The two started a research project that capitalized on their professional
talents and their commitment to saving the planet’s most ubiquitous pollinator.
“Congratulations to all our Innosphere Ventures client companies on your approved funding from OEDIT’s Advanced Industries Accelerator Grant Program! You’re building companies and developing technologies that will change the world, and your efforts do not go unnoticed. We’re excited to be working with such dedicated founders,” said Mike Freeman, Innosphere CEO.
Innosphere would like to thank the Colorado Bioscience Association’s Policy + Advocacy team who worked to preserve the Advanced Industries Accelerator Grant Program during this fiscal year in the face of massive state budget shortfalls due to COVID-19. Thanks to our partners like CBSA, capital and growth can remain a top priority for our ecosystem, as these grants are a critical source of non-dilutive funding for high-technology and bioscience companies.
Innosphere companies receiving AI grant funding in this current cycle (May 2021) include:
Current client company:
1. HiveTech Solutions, LLC – Westminster, CO $500,000 – HiveTech Solutions is a women-owned, mission-driven company that spun out of the University of Colorado Boulder. With its expertise in honeybee biology and environmental design, HiveTech Solutions has designed, built, and tested a smart container system that eliminates the spread of varroa mites and precisely manages the interior environment to match the optimal winter conditions for honeybees. Their product is a non-chemical approach to preventing mite infestation and preserving the strength of honeybee colonies during the most difficult season, winter.
Graduate companies:
2. Hippo Health – Boulder, CO $125,000 – Hippo Health enables convenience and quality by seeing a doctor who knows you in a matter of minutes. With Hippo Health’s platform, you can talk to your doctor and care team, but then that care team can talk with other care teams in the community. Their on-demand doctors work within your doctor’s practice to enable seamless convenience and continuity of care.
3. Cubby Beds- Denver, CO $250,000 – 1 in 54 kids have Autism. 80% of these kids have daily sleep issues and over half have self-harm issues or run away from safe environments. The insurance reimbursable smart beds have customizable sensory inputs to help with sleep and anxiety and padding + remote monitoring to improve safety.
SAGE company and tenant of the Innosphere building:
4. Ageto, LLC. – Fort Collins, CO $250,000 – Ageto is making renewable energy work. Ageto has developed the Ageto ARC Microgrid Controller, a simple, intuitive, and operator-focused microgrid control solution. The Ageto ARC Microgrid Controller is the brains of the microgrid seamlessly integrating, optimizing, and managing diverse energy resources. ARC maximizes clean, renewable energy while ensuring the power system is stable and resilient. At Ageto, they break down the cost and complexity barriers that are currently preventing more renewable microgrid projects from moving forward. Ageto Energy — Making Renewable Energy Simple.
Tenant of the Innosphere building:
5. New West Genetics – Fort Collins, CO $250,000 – New West Genetics is a plant genetics and breeding company that provides novel genetics for efficient, sustainable, large-scale production of hemp. NWG’s primary focus is on the development of high-yielding hemp cultivars carrying novel grain (seed size, protein, fatty acids) and flower (i.e. cannabinoid) traits.
Colorado School of Mines winners supported by Innosphere:
6. Colorado School of Mines- Researcher: Andy Herring- Golden, CO $150,000 – Tuffbrane Membranes for Water Electrolysis Applications
7. Colorado School of Mines- Researcher: Jeff Squier- Golden, CO $150,000 – Super resolution metrology and manipulation for Advanced Manufacturing
View the full list of 36 Colorado startups that received Proof-of-Concept and Early Stage Capital Grants for a total of $8,567,756 million here: https://oedit.colorado.gov/press-release/86-million-advanced-industries-awards-accelerate-36-colorado-start-ups
Innosphere client companies and graduates who received grants from in the last cycle back in June 2020 include:
Blue Cubed, LLC- Niwot, CO $250,000
Blue Cubed provides cost-disruptive satellite communications systems through new design approaches. The company’s products span RF and optical links bringing new capabilities and dramatically lowering cost to each. CDMA allows a single ground (or space) station to talk to many satellites at once. A new approach to pointing optical inter satellite links allows much relaxed manufacturing tolerances while retaining the utmost precision required for long distance links. “I want to thank you all for your support in helping Blue Cubed prepare for the OEDIT Early Stage Capital Retention Grant,” said Scott Palo, co-founder of Blue Cubed, LLC in discussing Innosphere’s support of his company and grant application.
Epic River – Loveland, CO $250,000
Imagine a scenario where you’re paid in-full at the time your medical services are rendered, your patients are guaranteed low-interest medical financing with reasonable payment terms, and your local bank or credit union is able to remain viable by helping you and your patients with revenue generating loans. Epic River makes this scenario a reality. Their solution enables providers and patients to overcome the challenges that come with the high costs of our healthcare system.
MicroGrid Labs, Inc. — Boulder, CO $250,000
Fleet electrification is both capital intensive and complex. It requires tools for detailed analysis and system sizing. MGL offers software to minimize costs and risks in electrification projects. The software helps develop the right charging strategy and optimize size and operation of vehicle batteries and charging/energy infrastructure. The unique nature of the solution is the joint modeling of transportation and energy. The platform is aimed at fleet operators, consultants, and utilities.
Momentum Optics, LLC – Longmont, CO $250,000
Momentum Optics is leveraging semiconductor processing techniques to develop an innovative manufacturing technology capable of producing optical components about 10X less expensively and 5-10X faster than traditional methods. Momentum Optics, LLC is solving the problem of long lead-times for custom optical lenses, a pain point for many companies as they seek a first-to-market advantage to capture early market share and create brand awareness.
SiVEC Biotechnologies– Fort Collins, CO $250,000
Scientists and doctors can “cure” diseases in a test tube using nucleic acid drugs, however delivery to the patient remains a challenge and biopharma is looking for a delivery solution that works. SiVEC is offering a delivery system for nucleic acid therapeutics which provides a large therapeutic window, long-term payload stability, and tissue targeted delivery with a favorable safety profile. Potential targets are broad and include influenza, cancer, genetic disorders, and diabetes.
University of Colorado Boulder, Researcher Christopher Lowry- Boulder, CO $150,000
Lead compound discovery from environmental mycobacteria strains for treatment of PTSD.
Colorado State University- Researcher Todd Bandhauer- Fort Collins, CO $150,000
Advanced Data Center Cooling System.