Innosphere clients win more than $1M in OEDIT Advanced Industry grants

Thursday December 15, 2016 0 comments Tags: Fort Collins, Innosphere, Mike Freeman, Eximis Surgical, SilLion, PetroDe, VAIREX Air Systems, VisibleHand, RxAssurance, Bob Goodman, OEDIT, Advanced Industries grants

FORT COLLINS -- Six of the 23 latest recipients of Advanced Industry Accelerator Grants from the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) are client companies of Innosphere, the Fort Collins-based tech startup incubator.

The six current and recent graduate companies include Eximis Surgical, SiILion, PetroDE, VAIREX air systems, VisibleHand and RxAssurance.

The companies were collectively awarded more than $1 million in grant funding.

“Innosphere was instrumental in our receiving the grant,” said Kristin Johnson, CEO of Louisville med-device startup Eximis Surgical. “They guided us through the grant application steps and introduced us to key individuals at CSU and UCHealth’s Northern Colorado research department to plan and submit the grant application.”

Eximis Surgical (http://www.eximissurgical.com/) was awarded $150,000 for a proof-of-concept grant with matching funds raised from private investors.

The funding will be used to test the performance of their device, XCor platform, so that it can be used during minimally invasive procedures in a clinical setting.

SiILion (http://www.siilion.com/), a Broomfield-based startup, is commercializing a high energy, non-flammable Li-ion system and received $250,000 for an Early Stage Capital Retention grant; matching funds came from federal grant awards.

This funding will be used to build and test prototypes for aerospace and consumer electronics applications. They will also be using the award to hire a prototype engineer and support an executive-level team member to develop and maintain the company's rapidly growing business network.

PetroDE (https://petrode.com/) was awarded $250,000 through a partnership between OEDIT and the Colorado Energy Office. The grant will be used “to support efforts to develop our brand, continuously evolve our product to meet and exceed our customers' needs, increase sales, and raise Series A capital in Q1-Q2 2017,” said PetroDE’s CEO, Alan Lindsey.

VAIREX air systems (http://vairex.com/), was awarded a $100,000 extension to their first AI Grant Award of $150,000 in 2015. Funds will be used to continue to develop their fuel cell specific motor controllers, conduct customer trials and for other product development and marketing.

“The product we are working on is potentially a real game changer in our industry” and is excited to have the funds they need to bring this product to market,” said Ski Milburn, VAIREX CEO.

VisibleHand (https://visiblehand.com/) is a Denver-based startup that developed a web-based software and analytics platform that empowers care staff to optimize behavioral outcomes for patients in long-term and acute care settings. The company received a $250,000 award and are finishing raising matching funds from investors.

The funding will be used to enhance the analytics to help supervisors better identify which caregivers are doing a good job identifying the behavioral needs of the residents as well as create training materials for caregivers.

RxAssurance (https://rxassurance.com/) is a graduated company from the Innosphere program that developed a mobile software to connect patients'​prescription drug experiences with their care providers to improve adherence, satisfaction, and cost savings. The company was recently awarded $250,000 and is in the process of raising the matching amount required to activate the grant as part of its open $1.5M convertible note.

Interested parties should contact Bob Goodman at [email protected]

“My Innosphere liaison, Alan Curtis, was very helpful in guiding the positioning of the RxAssurance application into the correct industry sector,” said Goodman, RxAssurance CEP.

“We look forward to remaining in touch with Innosphere as a company graduate of their very powerful programs.

“We are very pleased that many of our clients and graduates won Advanced Industry grants so they can continue to hit their business milestones,” said Mike Freeman, Innosphere CEO.