Six teams are preparing their startups to pitch live at the Spring 2017 Commercialization Academy Demo Day on June 29, 2017
ROME, NY – Griffiss Institute and Wasabi Ventures are pleased to announce the six teams of the Spring 2017 AFRL Commercialization Academy Cohort, two of which, are local to the Utica-Rome area. These tech transfer teams are being incubated while building their startups around Department of Defense intellectual property (IP) from the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate (AFRL/RI) in Rome, New York.
During a four-month commercial viability process, these entrepreneurs are receiving an abundance of tools and resources, including an educational platform that teaches the logistics of building a startup. Each IP technology and entrepreneur is going through an intense vetting process to further explore the commercial viability of the technologies. Each entrepreneur will seek to develop and test strategies to build sustainable startups eligible for licensing opportunities. Each entrepreneur has embarked on an acceleration process to build a piece of IP into a sustainable startup.
The AFRL Commercialization Academy is a Griffiss Institute entrepreneurial education program sponsored by the AFRL/RI. The Griffiss Institute welcomed Wasabi Ventures to lead the way in the program in January 2015. The program is designed to be complementary to local startup programs, and to permit participants to leverage all additional non-program resources they may be eligible for.
Personal mentorship and incubation will be provided by Wasabi Ventures’ partners and staff, plus selected expert contributors, leveraging the firm’s resources and network of talent to build each startup. “This cohort we are working with six highly motivated teams, who have much passion and knowledge in their fields. Each of the founders has been excited to utilize AFRL IP to help add value to their startup,” stated Michele Pesula Kuegler, Associate Dean of Wasabi Ventures Academy.
At the end of the program, selected teams will pitch to the local investment community, industry leaders, and other potential partners at a live Demo Day on Thursday, June 29, 2017 at 5:00 pm EDT, at Mohawk Valley Community College’s new campus at 1101 Floyd Avenue, in Rome, New York. A judges’ vote and a live audience vote will be held, with two cash prizes of $15,000 and $5,000, respectively, to be given to the winners of the two best pitches of the day!
Here are the startup teams selected for the Spring 2017 Commercialization Academy Cohort:
Adk Ops – The AppMyProject platform by Adk Ops is a web-based project data collection, sharing and presentation creation platform. It leverages Google Drive, 360 panorama images and a convention based project management paradigm to improve collaboration and facilitate sharing of project tours on social networks. Adk Ops is a start-up technology solutions provider, a division of Adirondack Operations, LLC with offices in the North Country and Utica, New York.
Afterzero – Afterzero is a technology company headquartered in Maryland that seeks to design, develop, and sell consumer electronics and software in the digital entertainment market. Afterzero seeks to develop a digital media player that will simplify the consumer’s in-home digital entertainment experience.
E-Health Now – E-health Now brings high quality care to Chinese cancer patients by connecting them with reputable US oncologists through virtual joint consultation and medical tourism. E-Health Now reduces processing time from 21 days to only three days and cost 84% less than its competitors. The company can do so because it operates as a business-to-business model, is entirely digitized, and has dedicated physician partnerships. Its business partnerships so far give it direct access to six prestigious US hospitals, 4M+ affluent individuals in China, Chinese hospitals, local doctor groups, and health insurance companies. E-Health Now completed its pilot program, is currently in talks to further expand its network, and is developing its full tech platform, with anticipated beta launch in July.
Indago – A mobile document scanning and processing platform that replaces manual data entry. The platform uses a smartphone to scan and process documents, extracting the contents using computer vision and optical character recognition, and uploads the resulting information directly into a business’s backend system.
Intake – Intake is a digital health company developing next-generation diet-tracking technologies. Using advanced biosensors and wireless technologies, Intake has developed a tool that eliminates the need for food diaries and journaling. Instead, our technology enables instant discovery of an entire day’s worth of calorie, fat, protein, carbs, sugar, and calcium intake. Our tracking analytics help curate personalized nutrition guidance to simplify diet-tracking and help you meet your long-term dietary goals.
Mentis – Mentis Technologies is a Cyber Security company focused on preventing viruses and all forms of malware from infecting your computer through internet browsing, while at the same time, protecting your privacy. Mentis has developed Web Isolation Technology (WIT) that is designed to prevent 100% of all malware from getting to your computer while browsing the internet, and it completely conceals your identity from tracking software, such as cookies and ad trackers. This technology has been developed into a tool that works in the background of your browser and provides the protection you need from predatory websites and email phishing attacks.
The 2017 Spring AFRL Commercialization Academy Cohort and Demo Day were made possible by the following generous supporters: National Grid, Oneida County Industrial Development Agency, The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties, NYSTEC, Rome Industrial Development Corporation, Bank of Utica, Mohawk Valley EDGE, Mohawk Valley Community College and the thINCubator.
Tickets to the free Demo Day event are available here: https://commacad2017springdemoday.eventbrite.com/