Want to find out what’s new with VentureWell early-stage innovator teams? Read the VentureWell Startup Roundup! Each month, we’ll share announcements, accomplishments, and other good news from teams in our community.
September Highlights:
- Madorra Raises $6 Million to Target Women’s Health
- DTE Materials Receives $150k CalSEED Grant
- Kinnos Publishes Paper Demonstrating Highlight® Reduces Bleach Wipe Corrosion on Stainless Steel
Partnerships & Sales
AgroSpheres and ADAMA Announce Collaboration
2016 E-Team, AgroSpheres, an agricultural biotechnology company creating synthetic pesticide delivery platforms, has announced a collaboration with ADAMA, a leading global crop protection company. The two companies will focus on developing and launching novel crop protection solutions, starting with AgroSpheres’ proprietary Bioparticle technology for the encapsulation of pesticides.
Technology Breakthroughs
Kinnos Publishes Paper Demonstrating Effects of Highlight® on Stainless Steel
Kinnos Inc., a 2015 E-Team, published a short report in the Journal of Hospital Infection, quantifying the effects of two commercially available bleach wipes on stainless steel corrosion rates. Bleach wipes are commonly used to disinfect stainless steel equipment and other materials in healthcare settings but can damage those surfaces and cause corrosion. In the study, the team examined whether Highlight® in combination with the bleach wipes would have a positive impact on damage, and demonstrated that the use of Highlight® significantly reduces the corrosion rate of stainless steel equipment.
Competitions & Awards
MoQuality to present onstage at Venture Atlanta 2018
Venture Atlanta, the Southeast’s premier technology innovation and investor conference, announced the technology companies that were selected to be showcased during its annual event on October 16-17. Among them was 2015 I-Corps Team, MoQuality, a smart app testing tool that runs simulations on real devices to detect performance and compatibility issues. The team is one of the 33 ventures and early-stage companies that will take the podium to pitch their businesses at the showcase.
Investments
Opus 12 and Mallinda Receive Investments From PRIME Coalition to Combat Climate Change
2015 I-Corps Team, Opus 12, and 2014 I-Corps Team, Mallinda, received investments from the PRIME Coalition, a public charity that funds tech startups that fight climate change. The companies are each developing transformational technologies that could meaningfully reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Mallinda, which is developing circularly recyclable composite materials that enable unprecedented manufacturing efficiencies, and Opus 12, which recycles CO2 into cost-competitive chemicals and fuels, were selected through a rigorous process in which PRIME reviewed more than 2,200 early-stage, climate-impacting startups.
Baltimore medical device startup Sisu Global Health raises $1.2 million
Baltimore’s Sisu Global Health Inc., a 2011 E-Team and rising health-tech startup, recently announced a $1.2 million investment. The team raised a convertible note round that included existing investors Camden Partners, Belle Michigan, and AOL co-founder Steve Case through his Rise of the Rest initiative, as well as new investors Women’s Angel Investor Network of Dubai, the Kent & Russell Croft fund, and Johns Hopkins University trustee Chuck Clarvit. The new funds will help the company as they begin to expand sales into international markets.
Madorra raises $6 million to target women’s health
Sydney venture capital firm OneVentures, recently invested $4 million in the US medical device startup, Madorra. The 2014 E-Team addresses a critical need in the field of women’s health, improving quality of life for both post-menopausal women and women who have received treatment for chronic conditions such as breast cancer. Investments from other prestigious investors, including Stanford-StartX Fund and the Fogarty Institute for Innovation, filled the startup’s $6 million round.
Grants
SFC Fluidics, Inc. Receives SBIR Phase II Funding
SFC Fluidics®, a 2016 I-Corps team, has been awarded a $1.4 million SBIR Phase II grant to support the development of a dual-hormone patch pump for patients with diabetes. Using this new grant funding, the team will continue to develop a new feature of their proprietary ePump® system, a flow confirmation sensor, that will help determine whether dose administration has occurred as expected in real-time and quickly identify any problems within the patch pump.
DTE Materials Receives $150k CalSEED Grant
DTE Materials was among the latest Concept Award recipients of the California Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Development (CalSEED) program. The 2017 E-Team is developing natural fiber additives for building insulation that will improve the performance, fire resistance, and cost of existing insulation materials. The 18 new grantees were selected from more than 400 applicants and each received awards of up to $150,000.