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EnterpriseWorks Graduates News Research Park

EnterpriseWorks Graduate IntelinAir Raises $20 Million in Series B Funding

EnterpriseWorks graduate IntelinAir, a startup that collects data-driven insights on crop performance, has announced $20 million in Series B funding. The company graduated from EnterpriseWorks in 2019 and maintains an office in Champaign in addition to Indiana, California, and Canada. The IntelinAir team developed technology that surveys land and alerts farmers of various operational issues that affect crop yield. “IntelinAir’s AGMRI crop health and intelligence platform leverages modern artificial intelligence technology to monitor and proactively alert to issues before they become yield-stealing and loss-generating problems for our farmers,” said IntelinAir’s CEO and Co-Founder Al Eisaian. Naira Hovakimyan, the co-founder and chief scientist of IntelinAir, is a professor of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois. IntelinAir plans to use the funding to expand commercial operations, invest in their flagship crop intelligence product, and deepen their partnerships with other agriculture companies. IntelinAir has experienced continual success from being ranked in the Inc 5000 in 2020 to being named one of seven ag-tech startups to watch by Agriculture.com in 2018.

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Community EnterpriseWorks Features News Research Park

Using Technology to Improve the Lives of First Responders: Innovations @ Research Park Podcast with Ascent Integrated Tech CEO

Episode 7 of the Innovations @ Research Park podcast features Paul Couston, CEO of Ascent Integrated Tech. The EnterpriseWorks-based startup is using and building technology to improve the safety conditions of those who work in various hazardous environments, such as firefighters, industrial operators, and SWAT members.  In this interview Couston, a well-known figure in the student start-up community and entrepreneurial scenes at UIUC, gives us a glimpse of his own journey as a young entrepreneur while being an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, talks us through the innovations going on at Ascent Integrated Tech, and offers fellow young entrepreneurs, especially college students, valuable advice about what it takes to live the entrepreneurial, start-up life.  Couston offers “useful information for entrepreneurs on strategy and practical advice”, and lets us in on why college is the perfect time to jump in and start a company. You can catch this episode of Innovations @ Research Park on iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you may prefer to listen to your podcasts.  Do you have questions about Research Park? Have an idea for a guest for the show, or a story we should pursue? Do you want to provide other feedback? Contact Laura Bleill (lwbleill@illinois.edu)

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EnterpriseWorks News Recognition & Awards Research Park

FrostDefense Envirotech Receives $1 Million Phase II NSF SBIR Award

FrostDefense Envirotech Inc., an agtech startup based at the EnterpriseWorks technology incubator in Research Park, has been awarded a highly competitive SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) Phase II grant by the National Science Foundation. The $1 million, two-year award will expand the company’s capacity to further develop its propriety technology to protect grapes from early spring frost damage. The two-year funding will help the company accelerate production and bring its specialty product to the market. The company is led by Dr. Manfredo Seufferheld, president, and vice president Dr. Gabriel Burks (pictured below). FrostDefense Envirotech Inc. develops sprayable polymer products that delay grape bud break and a complementary predictive analytics package that predicts both frost events and grape phenology. FrostDefense received its original Phase I SBIR Award from NSF in 2020, for $225,000. To learn more about its team, the project, and the company visit the FrostDefense Envirotech website at www.frostdefense.com.

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EnterpriseWorks News Recognition & Awards Research Park

EnterpriseWorks Startups PSYONIC, EarthSense, Natrion Win IIN Innovation Awards

Three EnterpriseWorks startups received awards at the inaugural Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) innovation awards Wednesday at the Illinois State Fair’s Tech Prairie STEAM Expo. PSYONIC, EarthSense, and Natrion were honored as among the best innovators in the state. The awards were presented to faculty, staff or scientists from IIN hubs in three of the IIN’s key subject areas: environment and water, food and agriculture, and health and wellness. IIN also presented an award to the most impactful innovation by a team, as well as two awards to student innovators from IIN member universities. “We are thrilled to celebrate these innovators and their discoveries,” said Jay Walsh, interim vice president for economic development and innovation for the University of Illinois System, which coordinates the network of IIN education and innovation hubs. “They are all examples of the incredible research, discovery and education going on at our state’s universities, and we are incredibly grateful for the impactful work that each one of them is doing.” Innovators were honored for developments in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the eye; robots that measure critical plant traits; converting biomass, coal and other substances into high-value chemicals and liquid fuels; more functional, touch-sensitive prosthetics; COVID-19 testing; next-generation battery technology; and transforming a dilapidated research facility into Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s (SIUC) Green Roof Project, a home for experiential and experimental learning for all students. “These innovators are an example of one of the things I love most about our state: We have brilliant people coming up with solutions to some of the world’s most difficult challenges,” said Bruce Sommer, director of economic development and innovation at the University of Illinois Springfield, whose office facilitated the awards program. “I am encouraged by the diversity of our recipients and the incredible work that they are doing.” IIN Innovation Award recipients: EnterpriseWorks startups Food & Agriculture CategoryGirish Chowdhary is director of the Distributed Autonomous Systems Laboratory and Donald Biggar Willet Faculty Fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and co-founder and chief technology officer of EarthSense. EarthSense enables the creation of highly productive, resilient and sustainable crops, and fundamental improvements in farm profitability. Its first product, the TerraSentia robot field phenotyping system, provides 100 times as much trait data for a tenth the effort, compared to current methods of field data collection. The compact, easy-to-use, under-canopy robot measures critical plant traits such as stem width, leaf area index and leaf and stem diseases with unprecedented accuracy and ease. EarthSense’s machine vision and machine learning-based analytics seamlessly convert terabytes of multi-sensor field data to quantitative, consistent and objective information to reduce these risks. The TerraSentia robot uses a number of sensors to collect data on crop health, as well as machine learning-based analytics to convert this data into actionable insights for farmers. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, EarthSense is working to adapt its autonomous robots for cleaning in hospitals and public spaces. By reducing the need for sanitary workers, EarthSense’s robotic cleaning units can help lower the community transmission rates of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Health & Wellness CategoryAadeel Akhtar is founder of PSYONIC, which is based at the EnterpriseWorks incubator in the UIUC Research Park. Akhtar has developed algorithms that make upper-limb prosthetics much more functional to use. Some send electrical currents to stimulate the nerves so that users can “feel” what their prosthetics are touching; others record the electrical currents caused by muscle contractions, making it possible to control movement. Akhtar holds four patents on advances in prosthetics that have all gone into PSYONIC’s first product, the Ability Hand. The Ability Hand was designed to be controlled by both muscle sensors and Bluetooth, and provide tactile sensory data to its user, all while withstanding the normal stresses of everyday life without cracking. Akhtar’s 20-person team prioritized affordability throughout the design process and built a hand inexpensive enough to be covered by Medicare. Student Category Alex Kosyakov of UIUC is founder of Natrion, a battery research and development startup.  It was launched in 2018 by Kosyakov and co-founder Tom Rouffiac. Natrion, a leader in the research and development of next-generation battery technologies, has created a new high-performance, flexible and durable solid-electrolyte thin film for the production of all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). Called the Lithium Solid Ionic Composite (LISIC), this technology has been designed as a “plug and play” component that can be rapidly implemented by lithium-ion battery manufacturers to turn their existing product lines into ASSBs that mitigate fire risk, improve lifespan, and enable the construction of longer-range electric vehicles. Natrion recently was named the grand-prize winner at UIUC’s 2021 Cozad New Venture Challenge and won first prize at the 2021 University Pitch Madness competition, which featured startups from nine Midwestern universities.

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EnterpriseWorks Features News Research Park

“Redefining Human” through Advanced Prosthetics: Innovations @ Research Park Podcast Episode with PSYONIC CEO

Episode 6 of the Innovations @ Research Park podcast features an interview with  Aadeel Ahktar, CEO and founder of advanced prosthetics startup PSYONIC. Ahktar sheds light on his exhilarating entrepreneurial journey, from winning startup competitions to partnering with U.S. Army sergeants to being selected as a MIT Top 35 Under 35 Innovator. He also dives into ways in which he and his team overcame significant obstacles and where he thinks the prosthetics industry is headed next. The PSYONIC Ability Hand — the world’s fastest and first touch-sensitive bionic hand — will be available to users and clinicians nationwide on September 1, 2021. The Innovations @ Research Park podcast highlights the thriving entrepreneurial and corporate innovation culture in Champaign. It is hosted by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumnus Tanmay Shah. To listen to the podcast, visit iTunes 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? Do you want to provide other feedback? Contact Laura Bleill (lwbleill@illinois.edu).

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EnterpriseWorks Events News Recognition & Awards Research Park

FrostDefense’s Gabriel Burks Advocates for More Startup Resources During Congressional Testimony

Dr. Gabriel Burks, vice president and head of research and development of EnterpriseWorks startup FrostDefense Envirotech, recently delivered testimony in front of the United States House of Representatives Small Business Committee to advocate for more federal investment in programs that support innovation and entrepreneurship. “Our major successes as a company have come as a direct result of timely funding and support from several sources, including the university, incubator, private and federal,” Burks said. EnterpriseWorks won funding in 2019 from the Small Business Administration’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition to support the AWARE Proof of Concept program. The SBA innovation initiative provided $50,000 grants.  FrostDefense applied and received funding from the incubator to support research and development critical to the advancement of the company’s frost prevention and mitigation technology. The award allowed the company to pivot at a critical time in its development. “At the time of the award, our company had recently completed a field trial, where we did not obtain the results that we expected.  What we did discover what we thought would be several key factors moving forward,” Burks said.“AWARE funding allowed us to quickly test our new hypotheses over a three-month time period, and develop a new version of our product that we found to be a success shortly after. “That success would go on to serve as the backbone for our petition for new funding.” FrostDefense subsequently applied for, and received, an SBIR Phase I Award from the National Science Foundation. Late spring frost causes more economic loss to agriculture than any other climate-related hazards, costing growers more than $10 billion annually, Burks said. FrostDefense’s technology minimizes the impact of frost on delicate fruit. Its first target is grapes. Burks’ testimony starts around the 42-minute mark of the session, done remotely via videoconference, and lasts for about five minutes. View the video below or see it here. 

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EnterpriseWorks Investments News Recognition & Awards Research Park

EnterpriseWorks Startup Reconstruct Secures $17.3 Million in Series B Funding

Reconstruct, a startup that provides progress tracking and quality control solutions to construction project stakeholders, has announced $17.3 million in Series B funding. The company entered EnterpriseWorks in 2016 and maintains its core office in Champaign. The Reconstruct team developed a web-based platform that gathers analytics about productivity and risk for delays. The software can be used to influence decisions reguarding time and budget on construction sites. The founders of Reconstruct are both affiliated with the Univeristy of Illinois. CSO, Derek Hoiem is a Professor of Computer Science and CTO, Mani Golparvar is a professor of Civil Engineering and Computer Science. Reconstruct has experianced great success including a mention in Crunchbase’s 50 Hot Tech Compaines in 2019 and a feature on CNET for the Chicago Underground Mapping Project. The infusion of capital is led by the Nemetschek Group, a leader in construction and infrastructure services. Nemetshek Executive Board Member Jon Elliot gave the following statement to the BusinessWire “[Reconstruct is] tackling some of the industry’s biggest challenges and we are excited to fuel the company’s growth through this investment and by connecting them with our open partner ecosystems of Bluebeam and other Nemetschek brands”. Chamapign-based Serra Ventures is among the list of investors. “[The funding] will facilitate rapid acquisition of new customers in the enormous market segments of commercial development, tenant improvements, and industrial engineering,” said Reconstruct’s CEO, Zak MacRunnels. Reconstruct has experienced continual success with a growth rate of 300% over the past 2 years. The company provides software to a wide range of customers including Pfizer and McDonalds. Read more here.

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Community EnterpriseWorks Graduates News Research Park

Innovations @ Research Park Podcast Episode 5: Insights from a Startup Journey & Empowering Other Entrepreneurs

The University of Illinois Research Park launched a new episode of the Innovations @ Research Park podcast featuring Gerald Wilson, President and CEO of the Research Park startup Autonomic Materials. Wilson joined the show to describe the evolution of the company and offer advice to other entrepreneurs. Autonomic Materials products utilize self-healing technology for improved corrosion resistance. The startup graduated from the EnterpriseWorks Incubator in 2012. Wilson described the resources at EnterpriseWorks as “absolutely critical for getting us to this point”. He noted the seed funding and lab space as exceptionally helpful resources. Wilson remains connected to Research Park through the Entrepreneur-in-Residenece program. He talks about his involvement in the program during the episode. Later in the episode, Wilson describes important lessons that he’s learned during his involvement in startup building. Listen to the full episode to learn more about entrepreneurship and Autonomic Materials. Episode 4 of the podcast can be accessed here. 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? Do you want to provide other feedback? Contact Laura Bleill (lwbleill@illinois.edu). To listen to the podcast, visit iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to download your podcasts.

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EnterpriseWorks Features Media Mentions News Recognition & Awards Research Park

PSYONIC CEO Named to MIT Technology Review’s 35 Under 35

Aadeel Akhtar, CEO of EnterpriseWorks startup PSYONIC, was named to the MIT Technology Review’s list of 35 Innovators Under 35 for 2021. The MIT Technology Review recognized Akhtar as a humanitarian for his innovative approach to designing prosthetics. PSYONIC’s premiere product, the Ability Hand, was released in 2019. The Ability Hand was the first commercially available prosthetic hand to include multitouch sensory feedback. The device utilizes electrical currents to stimulate nerves allowing users to “feel”  what the prosthetic touches. Akhtar launched PSYONIC in 2015 and the company moved into EnterpriseWorks in 2018. PSYONIC has experienced great success since the company launch. Their accomplishments include, winning the Illinois Innovation Prize in 2016, a mention in the Forbes list of 30 under 30, and first place at the 8VC Social Innovation Cup in 2019. Each year the MIT Technology Review publishes a list of 35 Innovators Under 35; more than 500 people are nominated to be included annually. The work of the nominated individuals is then evaluated by a prestigious panel of judges who select the final list. MIT Technology Review acknowledged Akhtar’s commitment to both functionality and affordability. PSYONIC products are inexpensive enough to be covered by Medicare which makes them available to 75 percent of individuals in the US who need them. The prosthetics are also built to withstand the stresses of everyday life without cracking. Akhtar received his PhD in Neuroscience and MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois. Read more about Akhtar and PSYONIC in 35 Innovators Under 35 here: https://bit.ly/3xkF8bm

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EnterpriseWorks Graduates Investments News Research Park

EnterpriseWorks Graduate Runtime Verification Raises $5.3 Million to Advance Blockchain Security

EnterpriseWorks graduate Runtime Verification, a startup that uses runtime verification-based techniques to conduct security audits on virtual machines and smart contracts, has raised $5.3 million in funding to advance blockchain security. These funds raised will be used to accelerate the development of tooling intended to enhance the safety, reliability, and correctness of computing systems for blockchain and embedded systems, as well as to expand Runtime Verification’s global presence. “I am very pleased that our investors have embraced our unique language-parametric approach, built over more than 20 years within the K Framework. The generality of our approach allows our tools to be easily configured to work with different programming languages and different blockchains,” said the company’s founder Grigore Rosu. “The fact that five blockchains joined our investment round through their funds, based on research from their development teams who witnessed our technology, is a testament to the universality and strength of our K-powered technology.” Runtime Verification expects to grow its team significantly over the course of the next year, with plans to release new security tools and products. Read more here.

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