Ben Franklin Technology Partners Innovation Works invests in 22 companies
Innovation Works has invested $2.4 million in innovative technology companies in Southwestern PA over the past six months.
Six new companies have been added to the portfolio with first-time investments, five new companies completed the AlphaLab program of investment and business assistance, and nine portfolio companies received follow-on investment from Innovation Works. IW also awarded an additional Innovation Adoption Grant to a small manufacturer for the second phase of development of their energy-saving product.
First-time Portfolio Company Investments
All Facilities Energy Group
Wilkinsburg
BFTP Investment: $200,000
AllFacilities Energy Group (AFEG) provides energy audits, regulatory reporting and vendor contracting to large, medium and small building owners and managers.
American Roadprinting
Pittsburgh
BFTP Investment: $100,000
American Roadprinting has developed a robotic solution to enable a new form of outdoor advertising. The product, Chalkjet, accepts personalized and advertising messages over the web and prints the messages on roadways/surfaces using proprietary inks.
Appalachian Lighting Systems
Ellwood City
BFTP Investment: $300,000
Appalachian Lighting Systems, Inc. (ALSI) specializes in developing and manufacturing high-powered, ultra energy-efficient, light emitting diode (LED) lighting fixtures. Their products include: next generation streetlights; warehouse lighting, sign illumination; parking lot, parking and garage lighting; tunnel lighting; indoor office lighting; and other specialty lighting systems.
Deeplocal
Pittsburgh/East Liberty
BFTP Investment: $170,000
Deeplocal provides an advertising platform that links the digital and physical worlds. This platform has powered location-aware campaigns for international events such as the World Cup and the Tour de France.
Intimate Bridge 2 Conception
Delmont
BFTP Investment: $200,000
Intimate Bridge 2 Conception, Inc. is an early-stage medical device company focused on reproductive health to aid in natural fertility and conception in the privacy of the patient’s home.
Medallion Analytics Software Corporation
Crafton
BFTP Investment: $200,000
Medallion Analytics is a software as a services platform that digitizes the mortgage lending process from application to closing by collecting all data in the process and connecting all players in the mortgage ecosystem.
Songwhale
Pittsburgh
BFTP Investment: $100,000
Songwhale is the leading Mobile Solutions Provider, supplying its partners with emerging technology and services that facilitate sponsorship, advertising, distribution and monetization of digital content to mobile devices.
Reinvestment in Existing Portfolio Companies
Accipiter Systems
Pine
BFTP Re-Investment: $300,000
Total BFTP investment committed to date:: $600,000
Accipiter Systems, Inc. is a leading developer of innovative data networking solutions. The company offers data networking products that deliver higher value to the customer through the use of disruptive technologies. Accipiter Systems is providing differentiating data networking expertise to government agencies, DoD contractors and commercial companies.
ATRP Solutions
Pittsburgh
BFTP Re-Investment: $65,000
Total BFTP investment committed to date: $265,000
ATRP Solutions, Inc. is an innovative materials science company that produces specialty polymers for tomorrow’s commercial products. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) technology is a rapidly emerging platform technology for preparation of next generation plastics. As the world leader in atom transfer radical polymerization technology our mission is to enable businesses in personal care & cosmetics, detergents & surfactants, paints, pigments & coatings and biocompatible materials to capitalize on this technology by providing the highest quality ATRP-based polymers.
BIOSAFE
Pittsburgh
BFTP Re-Investment: $100,000
Total BFTP investment committed to date: $600,000
BIOSAFE’s technology provides products with microbiological protection. Through a patented and EPA registered antimicrobial technology, products that include BIOSAFE are permanently protected bacteria, mold and mildew, algae, and even certain viruses. BIOSAFE works in close partnership with personnel from design and development and end-user marketing to insure simple integration and communication of strong product advantage.
Compliance Assurance Corporation
Pittsburgh
BFTP Re-Investment: $100,000
Total BFTP investment committed to date: $300,000
Compliance Assurance Corporation provides Governance Risk & Compliance (GRC) solutions to the insurance market place. Utilizing our solutions companies mitigate the risks associated with the doing business in the highly regulated insurance industry. Comply On-Demand Enterprise, is a software-as-service platform that provides insurer’s with a more effective, less costly means of maintaining and demonstrating regulatory compliance.
Epiphany Solar Water Systems
New Castle
BFTP Re-Investment: $100,000
Total BFTP investment committed to date: $300,000
Epiphany Solar Water Systems is a product development company specializing in concentrated solar energy technologies. Epiphany’s solar powered, high efficiency, water desalination and purification system uses concentrated solar energy, rather than fossil fuels to purify water from nearly any source. Due to its simple, elegant design, Epiphany’s system is inexpensive to build, easy to maintain, and extremely reliable, making it an ideal solution for the growing water crisis in developing and developed nations alike.
FASTTAC
Wexford
BFTP Re-Investment: $50,000
Total BFTP investment committed to date: $500,000
FASTTAC, in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon University, is the developer of the FAST Document Control and Mobility Systems (DCMS) which provides a cutting edge software solution for construction drawing and document sharing, annotation and communication. FAST DCMS synchronizes information among the project’s team to support capturing, managing, and sharing information, emails and faxes; ultimately improving productivity, cutting costs and reducing document confusion and its intrinsic related risk. FAST DCMS is currently being used by contractors and building teams on projects from coast to coast in the United States.
Health Monitoring System
Pittsburgh
BFTP Re-Investment: $100,000
Total BFTP investment committed to date: $300,000
Health Monitoring Systems is a pioneer in community health surveillance. The company maintains online networks to collect data from hospitals and other healthcare providers, and then offers analytics of the aggregated information to detect, pinpoint and understand real-time and emerging health and safety issues. Clients include public health authorities, hospitals and others in the healthcare industry.
Industry Weapon
Dormont
BFTP Re-Investment: $37,500
Total BFTP investment committed to date: $237,500
Industry Weapon has developed a novel digital signage software application. This application provides users with an inexpensive and easy-to-use interface to design, schedule, and deploy digital signage. Industry Weapon provides the software tools necessary for non-technical personnel to quickly and creatively communicate with their target audience through information displayed on electronic displays placed in public and private areas and utilized to entertain, inform or advise a target audience.
NeuroInterventions
Pittsburgh
BFTP Investment: $100,000
Total BFTP investment committed to date: $200,000
NeuroInterventional Therapeutics, Inc. designs and manufactures advanced catheter systems used to find, trap, and extract blood clots in a wide range of cerebral vessels, thus increasing chances of survival and minimizing disability.
AlphaLab Companies (Fifth Cycle)
Careerimp
Pittsburgh
BFTP Investment: $25,000
Careerimp offers career guidance technology, software-as-a service that selects the most relevant aspects of your resume and generates a custom tailored resume for a job in less than 15 seconds.
Cubespan (known as OfferMint)
Pittsburgh
BFTP Investment: $25,000
Offermint’s self-serve platform allows businesses to create, publish and monetize group buying online offers, interactive coupons and contests.
Devotee
Pittsburgh
BFTP Investment: $25,000
Devotee provides retail businesses with a mobile loyalty program beyond traditional loyalty cards, turning customers into evangelists through social media.
Levlr
Pittsburgh
BFTP Investment: $25,000
Levlr is a platform that enables rapid development of location-aware and other game mechanics into new and existing web, mobile and desktop applications.
NoWait
Pittsburgh
BFTP Investment: $25,000
NoWait is a web and mobile application that allows casual restaurants to send text messages to minimize wait time.
Innovation Adoption Grant
Cannon Boiler Works
New Kensinton
BFTP Investment (Phase II): $50,000
Cannon Boiler Works designs and manufactures energy-recovery equipment for industrial boilers. These units sit on top of or near a boiler, collect the waste heat of the boiler and use that heat to radiate hot water back through the boiler system. Cannon Boiler Works’ equipment saves companies up to 10% from their steam generation fuel bill, saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the process.
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