News

ENTERPRISEWORKS RECIEVES $50,000 AWARD FROM SBA GROWTH ACCELERATOR FUND COMPETITION CHAMPAIGN – EnterpriseWorks, the technology incubator at the University of Illinois Research Park, will receive $50,000 from U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) after being selected as a winner in the second annual Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. The $50,000 award will help EnterpriseWorks continue to fund its successful I-Start program, which accelerates the technology commercialization process for university startups by providing access to fi­nancial and programmatic resources in the ­first year of operation. “The SBA Growth Accelerator Fund award will launch the I-Start program beyond pilot stage, and allow us to help more companies grow here in Champaign-Urbana,” said Research Park director Laura Frerichs. “In particular, we hope to work with more female and underrepresented tech entrepreneurs who are seeking the assistance of our successful incubator.” Eighty recipients were chosen from a pool of 400 applicants. The winners represent 39 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. EnterpriseWorks was one of three Growth Accelerator Fund awardees in the state of Illinois, but the only one outside of Chicago. “The entrepreneurial ecosystem in America is incredibly exciting and very powerful,” said Javier Saade, Associate Administrator for Office of Investment and Innovation.  “Administrator Contreras-Sweet and I welcome this year’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition winners and the important and inclusive work they do in support of innovative and high-growth small businesses.” As part of the award application, EnterpriseWorks submitted a video highlighting how area startup companies have benefitted from the I-Start program. The video is available for viewing online. The SBA announced the winners at the White House Demo Day on Tuesday.

  AGRICULTURE TECH STARTUP BRINGS ACTIONABLE PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS TO GROWERS CHAMPAIGN, IL., July 21, 2015—Agrible, Inc., an agriculture technology start-up focused on predictive analytics, today announced a $4.1 million Series A round of funding. Sierra Ventures is leading this round of investment and is joined by Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM). Founded and grown in the Midwest, Agrible, Inc. produces actionable predictive analytics tools that help growers and agricultural companies increase yields and profitability through field-specific data and forecasts. In February 2015, the company launched Morning Farm Report, the delivery infrastructure for its four products: Rainfall, Field Intel, Tractor Time, and Yield Engine. Agrible is a recent graduate of the EnterpriseWorks incubator in Champaign, having recently moved into larger space in the University of Illinois Research Park. Sierra Ventures is also located in the Research Park; ADM also has a Research Park operation. Morning Farm Report provides highly accurate forecasts and data on fieldwork logistics, yield estimates, rainfall, growing degree days, and more, through annual subscriptions to each product. Morning Farm Report not only reports what has already happened on a field, but also provides growers with forecasts and actionable recommendations to help with decision making. “What Agrible is delivering with Morning Farm Report is cutting-edge predictive analytics technology that hasn’t been seen before,” said Agrible CEO Chris Harbourt. “The majority of our team has a background in agriculture, and it shows. You can feel the energy and expertise of our team in the software we produce and the actionable analytics we provide.” As a part of the investment round, ADM will help to facilitate the distribution of the Morning Farm Report product. This commercial relationship will give Agrible immediate access to thousands of growers representing million acres of farmland throughout the Midwest. In addition, this funding will allow Agrible to expand its team and continue improving Morning Farm Report. Development will also begin on new tools to influence the future of agriculture. “We’re excited to work with Agrible as they grow and continue to build on existing revenue channels,” said Dennis Beard, Partner with Sierra Ventures. “The relationship Agrible has developed with ADM represents a stamp of approval on the uniqueness of their products and vision. We have been excited about ag data opportunities for some time and feel that the Agrible team has the experience, ability, and technical know-how to be very successful.”

June 29, 2015 – Rithmio, the gesture recognition platform for wearables, today announced that it has closed a $3 million seed round of financing co-led by KGC Capital and Intel Capital. Participants included MAS Capital Pvt Ltd., OCA Ventures, Hyde Park Ventures Partners, Hyde Park Angels, Foley Ventures, MKRC Ventures, Serra Ventures, and New Coast Ventures. With this investment, Rithmio will expand its product, R&D, and sales teams to fulfill its vision as the world’s leading gesture recognition platform. “We have the team, technology, and now strategic partnerships to take the motion-sensing market to the next level,” said Adam Tilton, CEO and co-founder of Rithmio. “Over the next year, we’ll work closely with the developer community on the next generation of wearables and other products built on Rithmio’s gesture recognition software.” “Real-time analytics for user-specific physical activities represents a potential game changing technology for fitness, physical therapy, and rehabilitation applications,” said Steven Holmes, vice president of the New Devices Group and general manager of the Smart Device Innovation team at Intel. “Intel is exploring a wide range of potential applications for wearable tech and gesture recognition, and we look forward to working with Rithmio as they push the boundaries of their solution.” In September of 2014, Rithmio raised $650,000 that was used to grow the team. Key hires included Kamil Chmielewski, Director of Software, Jen Quinlan, VP of Marketing, and Christian Nam, Designer. The seven-person team focuses on developing Rithmio’s core algorithms and SDK. Rithmio also opened a Chicago office in November 2014 at Catapult Chicago. This is in addition to its office in Champaign, IL at EnterpriseWorks Incubator, Research Park.    Rithmio was founded in 2013 through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “Great tech innovations and startups have come out of the University of Illinois. Rithmio is no exception,” said Chris Capps, CEO of KGC Capital. “We believe in Adam and Prashant’s vision.” To learn more about Rithmio, visit http://rithmio.com or follow @rithmio.  

EnterpriseWorks startup OceanComm was named one of the oil and gas industry’s most promising technology startups at the Rice Alliance Startup Roundup in Houston earlier this month. The event took place at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) and showcased 50 emerging technology companies each with an innovative technology based business idea that they presented to potential partners and investors in attendance. The participating companies are solving challenges varying from more efficient gas compression to the aging demographics in the industry, and are at a range of stages of development. OceanComm is a University of Illinois startup commercializing the first video-capable wireless underwater modem. It was founded by Andy Singer, a Fox Family Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of the Technology Entrepreneur Center.