Four Milwaukee-area startups including
VasoGnosis Inc.,
RPRD Diagnostics,
COnovate and
Imagen Energy, LLC will receive grants of up to $100,000 to commercialize their innovative technologies.
The grants are issued by the federal Small Business Innovation Research Advance program and matched by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. This year’s SBIR Advance program awarded 11 Wisconsin-based startups $1 million in funding.
Milwaukee-based VasoGnosis, which developed an artificial intelligence-powered diagnostic and surgical planning software for brain aneurysms, will receive a $75,000 Phase I grant.
Shorewood-based COnovate, formerly known as SafeLi, will receive a $100,000 Phase II grant. The startup developed graphene monoxide, a material with a unique chemical structure that enables greater lithium uptake needed for safe, high performing and faster charging batteries.
The SBIR program awarded RPRD Diagnostics with a $75,000 Phase I grant to commercialize its pharmacogenetics solutions, including diagnostic, analysis and support services to clinicians, researchers and drug developers.
Imagen Energy, which produces compact, low-cost and modular power converters, was awarded a $100,000 Phase II grant. Imagen Energy’s converters focus primarily on stationary energy storage and electric vehicle battery chargers.
Wisconsin companies compete annually for $2.5 billion in SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer grants issued by the U.S. government. These programs are designed to turn research and innovation into high-growth companies.
“Supporting innovation is one way to ensure our long-term economic well-being and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Aaron Hagar, WEDC vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation said in a statement. “SBIR Advance leverages highly competitive federal funding and provides Wisconsin’s advanced technology companies the business development resources needed to get to the next level.”
Wisconsin Phase I grant recipients:
- AIQ Solutions, Inc. (Madison) has developed a software technology platform that generates quantitative intelligence to deliver actionable intelligence that enhances the understanding of treatment response for complex diseases.
- Scienss Biotechnology, LLC (Verona) makes recombinant proteins for use as therapeutics in the livestock industry. Their current products are primarily focused on veterinary pharmaceuticals focused on improving reproduction in cattle.
Wisconsin Phase II grant recipients:
- Calimetrix, LLC (Madison) manufactures and sells test objects (“phantoms”) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These phantoms enable users to monitor the accuracy of their MRI measurements in research and development, clinical trials and clinical quality assurance.
- OnLume (Madison) develops technology that is redefining surgery by color-coding tissue to allow surgeons to delineate tissue function and type intraoperatively in real time.
- GoDx (Madison) is developing and commercializing low-cost, rapid diagnostics for infectious diseases. They have developed a paper strip test that can detect the bugs that cause diarrheal diseases from stool, which will help treat the second leading cause of death in children under age 5.
- Voximetry, LLC (Madison) is an early-stage healthtech software company specializing in commercialization of complex algorithms on high-speed Graphic Processing Units (GPUs). Currently focused on radiation transport science, Voximetry is advancing patient-specific treatment planning in advanced-stage cancer patients.
- Pyran (Madison) uses renewable agricultural resources such as corn cobs and wood chips to make key ingredients for paints and coatings. Their technology enables replacement of petroleum-based ingredients at lower prices.
