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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Research Park

    EnterpriseWorks

    EnterpriseWorks News

    Inprentus selected for NASA project

    Inprentus, a recent EnterpriseWorks gradute, has announced this week that it has been selected to participate in a project by NASA. Inprentus was founded in 2012 by University of Illinois physics professor Peter Abbamonte. It was created to manufacture diffraction gratings, an advanced prism used in laboratories around the world after Abbamonte recognized the need for such prisms for research. Inprentus is able to manufacture diffraction gratings with 2,500 grooves per millimeter that separate electromagnetic waves allowing researchers to better understand what a material is made of and how that material will react in different scenarios. Ron van OS, Inprentus CEO said diffraction gratings can “actually look in real time how plastic will behave under stress.” The company has grown to 15 employees and now operate in a “state of the art” facility in Champaign. The company is pairing with NASA to create a diffraction grading that could someday make its way to space. “We’re actually making a grating for them to go up in space and to take a picture of the corona of the sun” said van Os. Read the full story on the News-Gazette. 

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    EnterpriseWorks News

    EnterpriseWorks Startups Changing the World of Agricultural Technology

    Illinois Farmer Today highlights an array of EnterpriseWorks startups that are creating innovative solutions in agriculture.  The talent pipeline leads to finishing projects more efficiently, which makes Research Park an ideal location to harness the agricultural tech industry. Tech has been driven by Silicon Valley, but it makes sense to have a base here where there is a strong relationship with the agricultural community, says Laura Freichs. Soil Diagnostics focuses on crops, and helps growers manage their their soil through cutting edge, low cost, high resolution monitoring services for soil nutrients and soil-dwelling pathogens to enable growers to maximize their profitability while reducing their input costs. Transitioning to livestock management, Aptimmune Biologics Inc. focuses on bringing effective prophylaxis against Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virusinto the market. Another successful agtech startup is Ag-Sensus, who enable growers to retrieve their own near-real-time, high resolution images of their crops through an easy-to-operate personal remote sensing system. Earthsense utilizes robots to provide advice for farmers, ranchers, and other land managers by detecting issues up close. Intelinair delivers actionable insights using aerial imagery analysis and deep learning methodologies & algorithms focused on the agriculture industry. Graduate companies of the EnterpriseWorks Incubator also continue to thrive, such as agriculture-tech company Agrible. “They are our best success story. They have grown the fastest,” says Laura Frerichs. Research Park also hosts an annual Ag Tech Summit, where hundreds of participants from startups and large agricultural companies alike all gather in Champaign to exchange ideas. For more on EnterpriseWorks ag tech startups, read the full article on Illinois Farmer Today.    

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    EnterpriseWorks News

    Serionix Expands Commerical Use for Colorfil Air Filters

    EnterpriseWorks tenant Serionix shared their story with Crain’s Chicago Business this week. Serionix was formed by material sciences trio James Langer, Weihua Zheng, and James Economy. Beginning with creating filters for Samsung and Intel, the startup has now expanded their technology’s audience to astronauts and the typical cat owner. The article acknowledges that Serionix has received a $750,000 contract from NASA, $500,00 from Champaign venture-capital firm Serra Ventures, and a total of $3,000,000 in grants.

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    EnterpriseWorks Events News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize Established

    Champaign, IL (February 23, 2017) — The first annual Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize will be presented at today’s Agriculture Technology Innovation Summit. The award, generously funded by University of Illinois alumni and their families, rewards University of Illinois entrepreneurs focusing on agricultural innovations. The Edwin Moore Agriculture Innovation Fund was established in 2016 with a generous gift to EnterpriseWorks, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s technology incubator. Its goal is to encourage startup companies engaged in development of new innovative technologies that may lead to increased productivity and/or efficiency in farming, or to create new agricultural opportunities, including new processes, new crops, and new food production systems. “The Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize informs us that the science of farming, while one of the oldest in the world, continues to provide new opportunities and challenges in our society,” said Laura Frerichs, director of the University of Illinois Research Park and EnterpriseWorks. “We are grateful to the Moore Family for its support of the University of Illinois entrepreneurial ecosystem, and look forward to seeing how this resource will inspire future innovators and innovations.” The first of two $5,000 prizes to be awarded annually will be presented at today’s Agriculture Technology Innovation Summit to Soil Diagnostics. The second prize is at stake as part of the Cozad New Venture Competition, the university’s signature competition for student startups, and will be awarded in April. The award honors the legacy of Edwin E. Moore (1924), who graduated from the University of Illinois College of Agriculture and began farming in Will County. Throughout his agricultural career, he and wife, Iva, used innovative farming practices for both crop production and livestock management. Two of their four children became farmers, Edwin and Thomas (1953, College of Agriculture), and continued use of innovative farm practices. Subsequent generations of Edwin Moore’s family have continued to pursue farming and ag related careers capturing the same innovative spirit.

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    EnterpriseWorks News Recognition & Awards

    EnterpriseWorks Receives EDA Grant To Further Entrepreneurship at Illinois Universities

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Bleill, (217) 244-7744, lwbleill@illinois.edu EnterpriseWorks Receives EDA Grant To Further Entrepreneurship at Illinois Universities Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant will support development of higher education entrepreneurial ecosystems across Illinois CHAMPAIGN, IL, February, 1, 2017–The EnterpriseWorks incubator at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, has been awarded an Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant for $549,620 as a five year grant from the United States Economic Development Administration (EDA) to advance incubators and entrepreneurial ecosystems associated with higher education across Illinois. EnterpriseWorks will provide assistance to other higher education incubators and entrepreneurial spaces located across Illinois, including many in economically distressed counties. The grant will support the creation of the Illinois University Incubator Network (IUIN) to link such incubators and facilitate best practice and resource sharing, opportunities for workshops, as well as direct assistance to entrepreneurs.  Along with incubator assistance, the program will support an annual Illinois University Incubator Network conference to bring together industry thought leaders, entrepreneurs, faculty, investors, mentors, policymakers, and academic professionals to discuss the advantages and challenges faced across Illinois. IUIN also will build a mentor network for university incubator companies to capture the depth of knowledge that exists across the state. “To harness and leverage the talent that exists in our entrepreneurial landscape, especially within University environments, will build the state’s economy and opportunities for future economic success,” said Laura Frerichs, director of the University of Illinois Research Park and director of economic development at the University of Illinois. “EnterpriseWorks is looking forward to working with supporting and advancing entrepreneurship across the state of Illinois.” Supporting partners for the IUIN include Bradley University, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Millikin University, Northern Illinois University, Olivet Nazarene University, Southern Illinois University, University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Chicago, and Innovate Springfield. Preliminary work has begun on the project with efforts ramping up over the next several months. The University of Illinois has hired an experienced entrepreneur to lead the center along with the EnterpriseWorks team. Interested participants in the program may contact Marissa Siero at siebel2@illinois.edu. A web portal for the activities of the incubator network will be completed in 2017. In addition to the EAA Grant, EnterpriseWorks has also been awarded an EDA University Center grant to help downstate Illinois entrepreneurs. Read the News-Gazette’s coverage here.

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    EnterpriseWorks News Recognition & Awards

    EnterpriseWorks Awarded University Center Grant For Downstate Illinois Entrepreneurial Development

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 1, 2017Contact:Laura Weisskopf Bleill, lwbleill@illinois.edu; 217-244-7744 EnterpriseWorks Awarded University Center Grant For Downstate Illinois Entrepreneurial Development Will Provide Direct Technical and Business Assistance For Entrepreneurs South of I-80 CHAMPAIGN,  Ill., February 1, 2017 – The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s EnterpriseWorks incubator has been awarded a University Center Grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) to provide direct assistance to downstate Illinois entrepreneurs. The EDA University Center Grant awards EnterpriseWorks $54,000 annually over five years for a total of $270,000. This is the second five-year University Center Grant EnterpriseWorks has been awarded by the EDA. EnterpriseWorks and the University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign are a part of a peer network of centers across the United States focused on utilizing the skills and talents from universities to provide business assistance to further grow the economy. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was one of 24 colleges and universities recently awarded funding from the EDA University Center program, which also includes the University of Illinois at Chicago. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will utilize the grant funding to provide direct technical assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses referred by partnering incubators, SBDC programs, PTAC offices, ITCs, University of Illinois Extension offices, or higher education entrepreneurial programs.  Eligible participants will be located in Illinois communities south of Interstate 80. As part of the University Center program, technical and business assistance will be provided by teams of University of Illinois students who will engage in market research, competitive assessment, design, and technical consultation, among other activities.  This provides University of Illinois students with experiential learning opportunities to apply knowledge they have acquired in the classroom. Preliminary work has begun on the project with efforts ramping up over the next several months. The University of Illinois has hired an experienced entrepreneur to lead the center along with the EnterpriseWorks team. Interested participants in the program may contact Marissa Siero at siebel2@illinois.edu. In addition to the EDA University Center Grant, EnterpriseWorks has also been awarded an EDA Economic Adjustment Assistance grant to help university-based incubators and enterpreneurship in 10 Illinois counties. Read the News-Gazette’s coverage here.

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    EnterpriseWorks Media Mentions News

    Agrible and Granular Acknowledged on THRIVE 50

    Agrible and Granular were recently recognized on THRIVE 50, an annual list created by SVG Partners that ranks the best AgTech companies in the United States. Agrible is a homegrown organization that first started at the EnterpriseWorks incubator. They focus on providing farmers with the tools and science to improve production with cloud-based delivery systems. The company has since moved to a different building, but are still located at Research Park. Agrible received praise in the “Big Data and Analytics” category of the THRIVE 50 list. Granular is a San Francisco based company that opened a second office at Research Park. The organization specializes in agriculture software and analytics to better manage business decisions on large farms. Granular was commended in the “Cloud Services/SAAS” catagory. Both companies will be recognized on February 1st at the THRIVE Innovation Forum. Read the full article here.

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    EnterpriseWorks News

    EnterpriseWorks Startup Cast 21 Closes Funding Round

    Cast 21, an EnterpriseWorks startup that makes waterproof, breathable casts, has closed a funding round of $800,000. IllinoisVENTURES is among the list of investors, who also include Memphis Biomed Venture Partners, Innova Memphis, Bindley Capital Partners, and an undisclosed number of angel investors reported Chicago Inno. Cast 21 was founded by three former University of Illinois students, who have been avid consumers of resources across the University of Illinois entrepreneurial ecosystem including the Cozad New Venture Competition, the iVenture Accelerator, and AWARE. They moved into the EnterpriseWorks incubator in August. Congrats to Ashley, Jason and Justin!

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    EnterpriseWorks Media Mentions News

    Engadget Names Amber Agriculture Top CES Startup

    Amber Agriculture, a University of Illinois student startup with ties to EnterpriseWorks, has been named the top startup of the 2017 Consumer Electronic Show (CES). Amber Agriculture’s agtech product helps farmers manage their stored product, and is part of the connected farm movement. “Plenty of startups promise solutions to problems that are either overblown or don’t really exist, but we can’t say the same about Amber Agriculture. With Amber’s array of sensors, farmers can more easily check the quality of their stored grain and get their wares to the companies that make our food at the right time. Beyond ensuring these farmers get the biggest return on their crop yields, the ability to monitor for the conditions that lead to spoilage could eventually help whole countries deal with food supply issues. Long story short: Amber’s is a savvy approach to a pressing problem most people don’t even know about,” wrote Endgadget editor Chris Velazco. Engadget wrote a longer piece on Amber Agriculture: “What’s more, Amber’s approach falls in line with other big trends at the show. You’ve heard of the smart home. Now the Amber team is trying to help build the smart farm. Amber Agriculture won the 2016 Cozad New Venture Competition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and subsequently participated in the iVenture Accelerator student program over the summer, housed at Research Park. After a short stint at EnteprieseWorks, the team spent the past semester at Hax Accelerator in China. They have received grant money from EnterpriseWorks and plan to resume tenancy there in 2017. Interested in learning more about Amber Agriculture? Visit the link to hear more from co-founder, Lucas Frye.

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    EnterpriseWorks Media Mentions News

    Ocient Named One of 17 Chicago Startups to Watch

    ChicagoInno put together a list of the Top 17 Chicago Startups to watch in 2017 based on the companies’ growth in 2016 and potential for 2017. Ocient, an EnterpriseWorks affiliate member, was featured as number 3 on the list. Ocient develops supercomputer scale data platforms for high velocity analytics and machine learning on the world’s largest data sets. Read the ChicagoInno article here.

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