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    Research Park Seeks Support from Champaign City Council for Growth-Stage Wet Lab Project

    LabWorks, which will offer turn-key wet lab and office suites for growth-stage startup companies in Research Park, will be available for occupancy in January. News Channel 20 recently featured the project as the City of Champaign deliberates providing additional funding.  Executive Director Laura Appenzeller told News Channel 20/ FOX Illinois that the EnterpriseWorks building at Research Park helps startups launch, but they need more space and resources to scale.“The right facilities to allow them to grow and life science companies in particular need wet laboratory space,” Appenzeller said. LabWorks will enable startups to establish roots and continue to grow in the Champaign-Urbana community, creating jobs and inspiring innovation. The Champaign City Council conducted a study session on the project in early September. It will be reviewed again in October for a final vote.   The project has financial backing from both private and public sectors. In 2021, Research Park received a grant from the State of Illinois that propelled the project forward. It was then estimated to cost $1.1 million dollars, but the construction expenses rose to $1.3 Million due to inflation. Research Park is asking the city to provide $100,000 of the $200,000 difference. To learn more, read the full article on the News Channel 20 website.

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    Community News Research Park

    Abandoned Kitten at Research Park Finds Fur-ever Home with Zite AI

    Monday started off a little hairy when Facility Operations Coordinator James Wells found a kitten roaming near the loading dock on the Research Park campus. Wells knew he had to stay pawsitive and immediately boxed up the frail creature. Then the black kitten found itself experiencing an immersive tour of the EnterpriseWorks incubator. It spent the day exploring the nearby halls, eating chicken donated from people’s salads, and entertaining its many curious visitors in the office of Operations Director and self-proclaimed cat-lover, Cynthia Faullin. “[He was a] sweet snuggly kitten who was not timid and quickly began to play with some improvised cat toys,” said Faullin. While there were several interested parties, ZITE AI CEO Joshua Love volunteered to give the orphan a home and promptly took him to the vet for a check-up. “When I walked into the Zite AI office this morning, I did not expect to come home with a kitten,” posted Joshua Love on LinkedIn. “Weighing in at just 2.5 pounds, the vet estimates he’s between 8 and 10 weeks old… While he had a minor flea issue, I’m happy to report that he received a clean bill of health otherwise.” Many congratulations to Love and his new kitten (now named Bob) in finding a furever home! We have a feline it’s going to be the start of a beautiful friendship.

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    Community Events News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    2023 Research Park Table Tennis Tournament

    The 12th Annual Research Park Table Tennis Tournament took place Tuesday, June 27, and Wednesday, June 28, 2023. It was a great success, with 64 participants from 17 companies across the Research Park playing in 3 categories (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) in a competition for the coveted Golden Paddle.   Here is the full list of winners from each individual bracket:  Beginner  1st: Suneeth Sathyanathan, Graybar  2nd: Bandhuli Maity, Synchrony  3rd: Tarun Bathini, Synchrony, and Linyao Li, Yahoo!  Intermediate  1st: Manav Das, Caterpillar  2nd: Pranav Gaka, Capital One   3rd: Hitesh Vijan, Country Financial, and Ryan Biju Sebastian, Country Financial  Advanced  1st: Fei Deng, Yahoo! 2nd: David Lomiashvili, Identomat  3rd: Neelan Coleman, Yahoo!, and Asim Chitre, Synchrony  The results of Round-Robin games on day one were used to seed participants for the single-elimination tournament played on day two. In these games, companies were awarded points based on the placing of their players. First-place winners received five points; second-place winners received three points; third-place winners received one point. Yahoo!, having received the highest number of points across all brackets, won the Golden Paddle for the 9th time.  More photos from the event can be viewed in our media gallery. Learn more about this event on the Table Tennis Tournament page.

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    Community Investments News Research Park

    DeepWalk Raises $1.4M in Seed Funding to Scale City Sidewalk Accessibility Solution

    DeepWalk, an automated measurement company whose first product streamlines the wheelchair sidewalk accessibility process for cities and universities, announced the close of a $1.4M seed investment from CEAS Investments on May 1, 2023. The investment brings DeepWalk’s total financing to $1.8M. The funding will support the rapid growth fueled by increased infrastructure funding, shifts in Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines, and new capabilities in LiDAR sensor technology. DeepWalk’s iPhone scanning app makes a 3D model of the sidewalk, then uses machine learning to inspect it for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The software then generates the maps, reports, and construction documents cities need to make the sidewalk accessible for people with disabilities. The new funding will enable DeepWalk to scale its automated measurement processing to address the rapidly growing demand from cities, universities, and the engineering consultants that serve them. In 2022, DeepWalk’s software was used to perform more than 3,000 sidewalk accessibility inspections across Danville, Peoria, and Corinth. This data is being used to plan construction projects to improve sidewalk wheelchair accessibility. The Department of Justice requires every city and university to inspect their sidewalk system for accessibility issues, then create a Transition Plan to address those issues. Failing to do this often leads to multi-million dollar lawsuits: Seattle ($294M), New York ($1.4B), Los Angeles ($1.6B). DeepWalk supplies the tools to simply reach and implement these accessibility requirements. “As a City Engineer, the data we get from working with DeepWalk helps us comply with ADA Transition Plan requirements and be more informed when making decisions about the hazards and needs in our community. It also shows our community that we are being proactive about the issue of accessibility. The DeepWalk process is pretty hands off for managers as the technology allows capable interns to lead the charge. After completing an assessment of about 20-25% of Danville’s sidewalks, we are excited to continue the process. The best part is that the technology, data, and dashboards that DeepWalk provides are always improving, providing even more value than when we started,” said Sam Cole, a client and City Engineer of Danville, IL. DeepWalk’s main focus for 2023 is growing its consulting partner program. The program allows civil engineering consulting firms and data collection firms to offer DeepWalk sidewalk inspections as a service to their city and university clients. DeepWalk’s software automates the cumbersome data collection process for their sidewalk-related projects and gives their clients a simple path to Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance. DeepWalk’s iPhone-based data collection process requires less than 15 minutes of training, allowing them to rapidly deploy the solution across hundreds of clients nationwide. DeepWalk’s technology isn’t just limited to sidewalks. The team is piloting a new batch of inspection types including traffic signals, transit stops, crosswalks, and building entrances. These new products were requested from cities, universities, and consultants already working with DeepWalk. The technical team has also been experimenting with other data collection systems such as drones, car-mounted LiDAR, satellite, and tripod-based survey equipment. The 3D models from these systems can be fed into their existing software, greatly increasing data collection speed and the types of inspections DeepWalk can automate. “As cities continue to focus on accessibility as a means to support growth, DeepWalk is poised to provide an easy and cost-effective solution to the presently complicated process of becoming ADA compliant. We are excited to partner with DeepWalk and look forward to seeing cities continue to leverage DeepWalk to attain ADA compliance,” said Blake Hatten, Venture Analyst at CEAS Investment Team. “We’re excited to lead the charge on bringing AI-enabled engineering solutions to the city engineers that build and maintain the infrastructure that we rely on every day,” said Brandon Yates, CEO of DeepWalk. About DeepWalkDeepWalk is a product of the entrepreneurship programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the University of Chicago. Founded in 2019, the company participated in university-sponsored programs such as the Cozad New Venture Challenge, NSF iCorps, iVenture Accelerator, and Polsky College New Venture Challenge. The cofounders Brandon Yates (Civil Engineering, UIUC Class of 2021) and Anshul Shah (Computational Physics, UIUC Class of 2021) have been pursuing the company full-time since May 2021. They were supported by pre-seed investors such as Illinois Ventures, LongJump, Mark Tebbe, Manu Edakara, Jonathan Prigoff, Alex Davies, Jill Soley, Jacob Isserman, and Emily Aron. The team has been based out of the University of Illinois Research Park, EnterpriseWorks incubator since 2021. The DeepWalk team is changing headquarters to Chicago (620 LaSalle in River North). “The University of Illinois Research Park is the perfect place to found a tech-based startup. Extremely high access to talented technologists with skillsets in machine learning and computer vision that are very challenging to find elsewhere. Our company is a blend of Civil Engineering, Computer Science, and Entrepreneurship (All areas where the University of Illinois is a nationally recognized leader). “The shift to Chicago allowed us to more easily hire mid-level software engineers to help mature our technical stack. Chicago’s central location and reasonable cost of living gives it a significant edge over other tech hubs in the US. It also has a rapidly growing startup ecosystem that we are excited to join.”– Brandon Yates, CEO of DeepWalk

    DeepWalk Raises $1.4M in Seed Funding to Scale City Sidewalk Accessibility Solution Read Post »

    Community EnterpriseWorks Events News Research Park

    Puzzle Labs, Research Park Launch “Working in AI” User Group

    EnterpriseWorks startup Puzzle Labs, together with Research Park, is launching a new local meetup group to build community around AI. “Working with AI” is for anyone in the Champaign-Urbana area interested in exploring Artificial Intelligence and its real-world applications. It will meet on the second Friday of each month at EnterpriseWorks in the Research Park. Meetings are free and open to the public. The group aims to provide a platform for learning, networking, and collaboration among individuals and organizations working with AI or looking to get started in this field. Anyone interested in learning more about AI, including students, professionals, researchers, and enthusiasts, are welcome. The group will include those just starting out or have years of experience working with AI. “The primary goal is to foster a community of AI enthusiasts and experts, where we can share knowledge, exchange ideas, and collaborate on projects related to AI. We aim to cover a broad range of topics related to AI, including machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, robotics, and more,” said Brad Miller, COO of Puzzle Labs. The Research Park hosts several technical meetups, including the Champaign-Urbana Data Science User Group, the Champaign Urbana Cloud Computing User Group, and the Champaign-Urbana Blockchain User Group. For the latest speaker lineup and to register for lunch, please check out the Research Park event calendar. Please contact Brad Miller, Ph.D., COO of Puzzle Labs, with any questions at brad@puzzlelabs.ai.

    Puzzle Labs, Research Park Launch “Working in AI” User Group Read Post »

    Community Events News Partnerships & Acquisitions Recognition & Awards Research Park

    2023 Research Park AgTech Summit Attracts Global Audience, Speakers

    Research Park welcomed more than 600 registered participants from 200 companies for the 2023 AgTech Summit. Attendees hailed from across the Midwest and around the globe.  The agenda featured panels on hot topics including sustainability in agriculture, carbon strategy, opportunities in alternative proteins, the future of the agtech workforce, and the intelligent farm. The event concluded with a panel of growers and producers from across Central Illinois sharing their perspective on many of those topics addressed in earlier discussions. The moderators and panelists represented a range of the actors in agtech, including startups, investors, academics, industry, media, growers, government, and non-profit. The AgTech Summit is a free event that is open to the public, true to the land-grant mission of its host institution. Thanks to the 2023 AgTech Summit sponsors who made the event possible:  John Deere, World Business Chicago, Bayer, Corteva, Cargill, GDM, Sikich, and Kin + Carta. The AgTech Summit is hosted by University of Illinois Research Park with support from the University of Illinois, the College of ACES, and the Office of Corporate Relations. The AgTech Summit is the flagship event for Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week. 2023 was the fourth annual C-U AgTech Week. Save the date for next year’s AgTech Summit on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. NEWS BITES: March 7, WCIA: U of I kicks off AgTech Week March 6, WCIA: AgTech Week back for fourth year See below for the 2023 agenda.  7:30 AM REGISTRATION OPENS  8:00 AM WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS  Laura Appenzeller | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park  8:05 AM CHAMPAIGN-URBANA WELCOME WEEK PROCLAMATION Deborah Frank Feinen | Mayor, City of Champaign Diane Wolfe Marlin | Mayor, City of Urbana 8:15 AM THE JOURNEY OF SUSTAINABILITY Brad Arnold | SVP, General Manager Precision, AGCO Corporation Paul Hunter | Global Sustainability Manager, Kin + Carta Emily Heaton | Regenerative Ag Stakeholder Coordinator, UIUC College of ACES Moderator: Kim Kidwell | Associate Chancellor for Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives, University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign 9:15 AM OPPORTUNITIES IN ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS Michelle Ruiz | CEO & Co-founder,  Hyfe Sean Madison | Director of North American Business Development, Innovafeed Michael Tai | Co-founder & CEO, Boston Bioprocess Moderator: Jack Marck | Managing Director, Illinois AgTech Accelerator 10:15 AM BREAK 10:30 AM CARBON STRATEGY IN AGTECH Dennis Beard | Managing Partner, Serra Ventures Nick Reinke | CEO, HabiTerre  Ross Bricklemyer | Modeling Strategy Lead, Bayer Crop Science Moderator: Lisa Ainsworth | Research Leader, USDA ARS 11:30 AM GLEN “GB” BRANDT PRIZE FOR AG ENTREPRENEURISM  11:45 AM LUNCH 12:30 PM THE FUTURE OF THE AGTECH WORKFORCE Laura Gerstner | Director of Precision Tech Enterprise Program Management, CNHI Maggie Brickerman | Partner,  gener8tor  Jen Quinlan | Food & Agtech Innovation Program Lead, Cargill Amy Funk | Director, Jackie Joyner Kersee Foundation, Agriculture and Nutrition Innovation Center Moderator: Amy Fruehling | Sr. Director Corporate Relations, UIUC College of ACES 1:30 PM MOORE INNOVATION PRIZE AND STARTUP PRESENTATION  1:45 PM BREAK 2:00 PM THE INTELLIGENT FARM Brian Sutton | Founder and President, AirScout Mark Moran | Tech Innovation Leader, John Deere Connie Bowen | Co-Founder, Farmhand Ventures Jeff Klock | North America Digital Strategy Leader, Cargill Moderator: Germán Bollero, Interim Dean, UIUC College of ACES 3:00 PM PERSPECTIVE OF GROWERS & PRODUCERS Mark Scholl | President, J and M Scholl, Inc. Lena Head | Co-Owner & External Relations Manager, Head Bros. Land and Cattle LLC Matt Riggs | President, Riggs Beer Company Moderator: Sarah Michaels | Agriculture Reporter, WEEK 25 4:00 AGTECH SHOWCASE & NETWORKING RECEPTION  You’re invited to join us for the AgTech Showcase & Networking event immediately following the Summit at the Illinois Conference Center. The AgTech Showcase is an opportunity to connect with other attendees and see what innovations companies are working on. Snacks and beverages will be provided.  

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    Community EnterpriseWorks News Research Park

    EnterpriseWorks Startup DeepWalk Pilots Technology That Keeps Campus Sidewalks ADA Compliant

    A EnterpriseWorks startup is changing the way that city workers and civil engineers inspect sidewalks for safety. DeepWalk has built a scanning app that makes it easier and more inexpensive to inspect sidewalks on university campuses and municipalities. The app is innovative in that users are trained how to use the program on the device. DeepWalk comes with a wide variety of unique features, including community mapping data, 3D site visit models, self-evalutation templates and automatically generated work orders. All of these tools can help a city to generate their estimated cost for sidewalk repairs in a matter of minutes. Co-founders Brandon Yates and Anshul Shah came up with the app idea in a first-year engineering course at UIUC. Since then, they have participated in the COZAD New Venture Challenge and the iVenture Accelerator program that is sponsored by Gies College of Business. The iVenture Accelerator is a university program that provides a variety of resources and opportunities for student-led entrepreneurial endeavors. “iVenture Accelerator is a safe and helpful place to make a lot of mistakes quickly. It taught us to create a fundraising pitch before we would have on our own,” said Yates.  With the iVenture program, DeepWalk was able to formulate a simple and responsive business model that could appeal to a greater pool of clients. Since DeepWalk’s enrollment in the iVenture program, it has managed to complete a pilot program in Danville, Illinois, and it has confirmed contracts with the University of Maryland, and Western Michigan University. By May 2023, the startup will be used in 15 different cities. As cities continue to grow and the Baby Boomer generation becomes older, there is a greater need for the inspection of sidewalk safety. There is also a greater need for technology that can analyze whether walkways are compliant with American Disability Act (ADA) guidelines. DeepWalk is currently located in the EnterpriseWorks building, where it is working on expanding past its current client base. In the future, the company envisions becoming an automatic measurement company that utilizes drones to scan pathways. Learn more about DeepWalk here.

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    Community News

    Local Preschool Gives to Eastern Illinois FoodBank For Annual Holiday Giving Initiative

    This past holiday season, Chesterbrook Academy Preschool instilled leadership into its students’ young minds. The school has made an effort to encourage its students to participate in community service through its annual Holiday Giving Initiative. This program makes serving those in need a part of its academic curriculum. Each year, the students choose an organization to give to. Organizations helped in previous years include local hospitals, Make-a-Wish, and the Crisis Nursery in Urbana. This year the students chose to give to Eastern Illinois Food Bank. The youngsters were able to gather 150 non-perishable items to give to the organization. The program helps the kids to see first-hand the significant impacts that they can make on their local community. “I want them to be worldly and realize there’s more to life than what’s in their home and school because we see the same thing every day here. It’s important to have that diversity and see some people aren’t as fortunate as others. It helps us put into perspective what’s important”, said Chesterbrook Pre-K 2 teacher Sarah Webb. Chesterbrook, which is located near Research Park, also hosted a food drive that occurred this past November. These experiences have helped the students to embrace diversity both inside and outside of the classroom. The school stresses the importance of introducing kids to community service so that they can continue to volunteer as they age. Webb says that the preschool is hoping to expand the initiative to more than just a holiday program so that it can help more organizations. Read more about this story here.

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    Community Features News Research Park

    Illinois AgTech Accelerator Director Jack Marck on Latest Research park Podcast

    The most recent episode of the Innovations @ Research Park Podcast features Jack Marck, the Managing Director of the Champaign-based Illinois AgTech Accelerator. Host Tanmay Shaw discusses the benefits that the Accelerator offers agtech companies that are in the ideation stage. The Illinois AgTech Accelerator is unique in its approach because of how tailored the program is to the individual needs of startup companies selected for the program. The Accelerator focuses on fewer companies than other programs so that it can prioritize their specific issues, provide funding and help them develop an effective strategy to move forward. (Read more about the latest accelerator cohort here.) The episode also delves into the origins of the program and how Champaign was considered to be a prime spot to build an accelerator. Marck emphasizes how Champaign is unique in the collection of all the great ag-focused resources that it has to offer. University of Illinois’ strength in STEM and agriculture makes it a perfect place to recruit bright minds that can bolster innovation in the sector. “The confluence of natural resources, what the University has built over the last several hundred years…you start keeping a tally of all this, [Champaign] really is in a class by itself,” said Marck when reflecting on all the assets the community brings to the Accelerator. Marck also talks about success stories in the AgTech Accelerator and how going globally has been a great experience because of its ability to make a tangible impact on other communities that are also focused on AgTech initiatives. With a food crisis on the horizon, Marck says that innovation in this sector is critical to survival and it is inevitable as well as essential that changes are made. To listen to the podcast, visit Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to download your podcasts. Is there something you want to know about Research Park? Do you have an idea for a guest for the show, or a story we should pursue? Contact Laura Bleill (lwbleill@illinois.edu).

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    Community EnterpriseWorks Features Media Mentions News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    EnterpriseWorks Entrepreneurs Recognized in Chicago Inno 25 Under 25 List

    Chicago Inno’s 2022 Inno Under 25 list recognizes young innovators who are already making their mark on the city’s business community. Based on nominations from readers, Chicago Inno compiled a list of founders, investors, community builders and more who are 25 years old and younger. Among those featured are innovators and entrepreneurs whose startups are located at the EnterpriseWorks incubator at Research Park, including the founders of Ascent Integrated Tech, Haylon Technologies, and Natrion. Those honored are: Paul Couston, 25 Founder and CEO, Ascent Integrated Tech Alex Kosyakov, 21 Co-founder of Natrion Dante Vaisbort, 22; Tyler Revesz, 21; Raj Lulla, 21; and Namin Shah, 22 Co-founders of Haylon Technologies The full article is available online, however it is only available to Chicago Inno subscribers.

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