Partnerships & Acquisitions

EnterpriseWorks startup Cache Energy has expanded its operations into a warehouse at 301 E. Mercury Drive in north Champaign. The new addition will act as a manufacturing warehouse where Cache will build its long-term energy storage from scratch, including assembling mechanical and electrical components of its limestone-based energy storage. Currently, the company can produce one Ton an hour. Cache also plans to expand to more locations, including potential manufacturing facilities beyond Illinois, although focusing on Champaign-Urbana as its central hub. “The whole purpose of getting this warehouse was expanding our manufacturing and making Champaign-Urbana the hub in the Midwest region where we manufacture and ship around our products,” said Arpit Dwivedi, founder and CEO of Cache Energy. With the expansion, Dwivedi anticipates creating 20 to 25 new jobs in Champaign, seeking passionate individuals willing to contribute to a project with global impact.

EnterpriseWorks startup graduate Network Perception was acquired by Dragos Inc., the global leader in cybersecurity for operational technology (OT) environments, the companies announced on October 1, 2024. “The acquisition of Network Perception represents a significant milestone toward our shared mission to secure the world’s industrial and critical infrastructure,” said Robert M. Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of Dragos. “Network Perception’s compliance capabilities expand Dragos’s already strong foundation for helping organizations meet regulations.” Network Perception was founded in 2014 by Robin Berthier, then a postdoc at the University of Illinois. The cybersecurity software company delivers a pioneering solution that enables cybersecurity managers to gain a comprehensive view of their network security and determine if its configuration aligns with regulatory standards.  Network Perception is the maker of NP-View, an award-winning network visualization platform for OT networks. “Joining forces with Dragos allows us to combine our strengths and deliver even greater value to the OT community,” said Berthier, Network Perception’s CEO. “We are excited to combine our teams, which include some of the brightest minds in industrial cybersecurity, to accelerate innovation and help customers defend against threats and meet regulatory requirements today and tomorrow.” While both companies have a strong presence in the North American Electric sector, the acquisition allows Dragos to bring Network Perception’s capabilities to Dragos customers in oil & gas, manufacturing, and other industries globally, the company said in the news release. Learn more about this milestone on the Dragos website.

VedaBio, a biotechnology company leading a paradigm-shift in molecular detection, launched on October 17, 2023, with initial funding of over $40 million. This company has roots at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and Research Park: VedaBio was formerly known as LabSimply and operated out of EnterpriseWorks from 2021 to 2022. CEO and Co-Founder Anrup Ganguli, PhD, developed multiple research platforms during his time at university in the lab of Professor Rashid Bashir, PhD, Professor of Bioengineering and current Dean of the Grainger College of Engineering. VedaBio is revolutionizing molecular biology with its breakthrough platform for near-instant molecular detection of multiplexed analytes, delivering best-in-class accuracy without the need for target amplification. Their CRISPR Cascade™ platform is poised to emerge as a new gold standard tool to empower decision-making across multiple industries. In the official press release, Ganguli explains that the CRISPR Cascade reaction provides “a platform that delivers near-instant molecular detection of highly multiplexed analytes with best-in-class accuracy, all without the need for target amplification.” He has high hopes for VedaBio, believing “it is poised to emerge as a future gold standard for molecular detection, empowering major advances across multiple applications including research and industrial tools, diagnostics and therapeutics.”  To learn more about VedaBio, read the official press release on the VedaBio website.