The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) released the winners of this rounds Advanced Industries grant cycle this week. Six out of the twenty-three recipients are clients of the Fort Collins-based technology incubator, Innosphere. Innosphere current and recent graduate clients Eximis Surgical, SiILion, PetroDE, VAIREX, and VisibleHand, RxAssurance were collectively awarded over $1 million in grant funding. 
Eximis Surgical was awarded $150,000 for a proof of concept grant with matching funds raised from private investors. The funding will be used to test the performance of their device, XCor™ platform, so that it can be used during minimally invasive procedures in a clinical setting.
“Innosphere was instrumental in our receiving the grant. They guided us through the grant application steps and introduced us to key individuals at CSU and UCHealth’s northern Colorado research department to plan and submit the grant application,” commented Kristin Johnson, CEO of Louisville med-device startup Eximis Surgical.
SiILion, a Broomfield-based startup, is commercializing a high energy, non-flammable Li-ion system and received $250,000 for an Early Stage Capital Retention grant; matching funds came from federal grant awards. This funding will be used to build and test prototypes for aerospace and consumer electronics applications. They will also be using the award to hire a prototype engineer and support an executive-level team member to develop and maintain the company’s rapidly growing business network.
PetroDE was awarded $250,000 through a partnership between OEDIT and the Colorado Energy Office. This grant will be used “to support efforts to develop our brand, continuously evolve our product to meet and exceed our customers’ needs, increase sales, and raise Series A capital in Q1-Q2 2017,” commented PetroDE’s CEO, Alan Lindsey.
VAIREX air systems, was awarded a $100,000 extension to their first AI Grant Award of $150,000 in 2015. Funds will be used to continue to develop their fuel cell specific motor controllers, conduct customer trials and for other product development and marketing. VAIREX’s CEO, Ski Milburn reported, “The product we are working on is potentially a real game changer in our industry” and is excited to have the funds they need to bring this product to market.
VisibleHand is a Denver-based startup that developed a web-based software and analytics platform that empowers care staff to optimize behavioral outcomes for patients in long-term and acute care settings. This company received a $250,000 award and are finishing raising matching funds from investors. This funding
will be used to enhance the analytics to help supervisors better identify which caregivers are doing a good job identifying the behavioral needs of the residents as well as create training materials for caregivers.
RxAssurance is a graduate company from the Innosphere program that developed a mobile software to connect patients’ prescription drug experiences with their care providers to improve adherence, satisfaction, and cost savings. They were recently awarded $250,000 and are in the process of raising the matching amount required to activate the grant as part of their open $1.5M convertible note. Interested parties contact Bob Goodman at [email protected].
CEO of RxAssurance, Bob Goodman, commented, “My Innosphere liaison, Alan Curtis, was very helpful in guiding the positioning of the RxAssurance application into the correct industry sector. We look forward to remaining in touch with Innosphere as a company graduate of their very powerful programs.”
Innosphere strives to help all of their clients identify the appropriate funding sources and helps prepare them to be successful in their fundraising process. “We are very pleased that many of our clients and graduates won Advanced Industry grants so they can continue to hit their business milestones,” stated Innosphere CEO, Mike Freeman.
For more information about Innosphere contact Innosphere CEO, Mike Freeman at [email protected].
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Innosphere is a nonprofit 501(c)3 incubator focused on supporting entrepreneurs who are building potential high-growth companies in the industries of energy and advanced materials; digital health innovations; biosciences; and software/hardware. Innosphere’s incubation program for startups focuses on mentoring, capital, strategy, and growth. Headquartered in Fort Collins, CO, Innosphere has multiple locations across the state to better serve entrepreneurs.
innosphereventures.org