Eight Purdue startups receive total investment of $160,000 from Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund

INDIANAPOLIS and WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund officials announced Thursday (Dec. 21) that it has awarded $20,000 in investment funding to each of eight Purdue-affiliated startups.

 “As we enter the fourth year of the Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund, we are able to see how the recipient companies have performed over time. It is clear that these companies are well beyond normal growth and advancement of most companies in the early years of a startup’s life,” said John Hanak, Purdue Ventures managing director. “Like past awardees of the fund, each of the early-stage startups in this round has demonstrated strong potential for high-growth within the Purdue entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

Since the program’s creation in 2014, 60 Purdue-affiliated startups have received a total of $1.94 million in investment funding. In addition, the funding gives each of the startups a “Black Award” status, making the companies eligible for a “Gold Award” after attaining pre-determined milestones. The first-tier Black Award provides up to $20,000 to recipients and qualifies them for the second-tier Gold Award offering up to $80,000 to its winners.

Previous winning entrepreneurs have used the funding for commercialization activities, such as market research, product development and prototype creation.

Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund is a joint venture between Elevate Ventures, a venture development organization that nurtures and develops high-potential businesses into high-performing Indiana-based companies, and Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurial accelerator in Discovery Park’s Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship.

“These eight Purdue startups join a distinguished list of 60 companies that the Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund has supported over the years,” said Chris LaMothe, Elevate Ventures CEO. “It is exciting to see the effort, resources and professionalism Purdue is applying to take commercialization of its innovation and the entrepreneurship it is launching.”

Black Award recipients fit the following criteria: Purdue Foundry clients; holding intellectual property patented through the Purdue Research Foundation; and/or companies owned by Purdue students, faculty or staff. Other considerations include market potential, operational viability and leadership.

Purdue startups have raised more than $270 million in venture funding and created more than 200 positions. During this time, Purdue has hosted the creation of 165 startups: 100 with Purdue-patented intellectual property and 65 based on company-owned intellectual property.

The Black Award offers funding through a nonrecourse convertible promissory note finalized directly with Elevate Ventures. Purdue Foundry, Elevate Ventures and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation have collaborated over three years, offering up to $2 million on this targeted investment program.

Black Award recipients

* Advanced Renewable Power is developing Mobile Power Grid (MPG), a battery management system integrating the electric grid with energy sources, such as solar or wind generators.

* Enhance Therapies’ technology enriches surgical guided imaging with a targeted dye that binds to bladder cancer cells and allows surgeons to more fully see and remove the cancerous tissue.

* Explore Interactive has built an augmented reality application assisting students in hands-on learning of STEM education concepts.

* Kardiana provides a medical imaging analysis tool based on physics that quantifies clinical metrics and diagnoses with over 90 percent accuracy.

* Petal Solutions LLC constructs aero-engine monitoring systems measuring the pressure and flow directions in high-temperature environments and devices with client-specific software processing sensor output.

* Rofori Corp.'s hygienic software as a service (SaaS) alerts business owners to their cybersecurity posture for their digital assets.

* Teichos Laboratories LLC is developing an immunotherapy for bovine mastitis that uses synthetic versions of bacterial cell wall to direct immune response mechanism.

* VeoRide provides communities with a scalable bike share system that allows riders to return bikes at any designated bike parking area with an affordable pay-as-you-go price model.

Black Award submission will be accepted again in early 2018. For more information, entrepreneurs can contact Purdue Ventures managing director, John Hanak, at jmhanak@prf.org or an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Purdue Foundry.

About Purdue Foundry

The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization accelerator in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. Managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, the Purdue Foundry was named a top recipient at the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Designation and Awards Program by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities 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 fast growth, 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. To learn more about Elevate Ventures, its team and its funds under management, visit www.elevateventures.com. 

Writer: Kelsey Henry, 765-588-3342, kehenry@prf.org

Purdue Research Foundation Contact: Cynthia Sequin, 765-558-3340, casequin@prf.org

Elevate Ventures Contact: Alisha Estabrook, 317-975-1917, aestabrook@elevateventures.com

Source: John Hanak, 765-588-5255, jmhanak@prf.org