News

A detailed arteriogram of the brain, showing the major arteries and their branches with contrast dye flowing through, highlighting possible aneurysms.
Neuralenz Secures $500k NINDS STTR Award 1280 731 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Neuralenz Secures $500k NINDS STTR Award

In September, the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded Neuralenz a $500k Phase I STTR grant for developing a new, non-invasive measurement of cerebral blood flow that could enable doctors to rapidly detect neurological damage and treat it more accurately.

Image of soldier with radio
I-Corps Alum EchoICs Wins $275K NSF STTR Phase I Award  1280 853 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

I-Corps Alum EchoICs Wins $275K NSF STTR Phase I Award 

EchoICs, an I-Corps regional course alum and 2022 National I-Corps Team participant, received a $275,000 STTR Phase I Award from the National Science Foundation in August. Founded by Dr. Alyssa Apsel, Director of Computer Engineering at Cornell University, and postdoctoral student Thomas Tapen, EchoICs developed a new flexible spectrum radio for more efficient military communications and commercial cellular usage.

NASA I-Corps wildfire technology management cohort
Wildfire Technology Researchers Participate in a NASA I-Corps Pilot Taught by the IN Hub 1920 1440 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Wildfire Technology Researchers Participate in a NASA I-Corps Pilot Taught by the IN Hub

NASA recently collaborated with the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps) to run a specialized NSF I-Corps regional course for wildfire technology management innovators, an initiative that complements the agency’s wildfire management efforts. 

BIO cohort photo 2024
Biotechnology Researchers Immerse in Customer Discovery at BIO 1000 562 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Biotechnology Researchers Immerse in Customer Discovery at BIO

For the third year, the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps) led a hybrid I-Corps regional course that included a funded customer discovery trip to the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest biotech industry event. 

ARPA-E Summit 2024.
IN I-Corps Course Brings Clean Energy Researchers to ARPA-E Summit 2024  500 333 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

IN I-Corps Course Brings Clean Energy Researchers to ARPA-E Summit 2024 

In May, researchers developing innovative clean-technology solutions conducted customer discovery interviews at the 2024 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in Dallas, Texas, as members of a ‘hybrid’ National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps regional course hosted by the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub.

two people look with masks look at through a microscope
Soctera wins $1M SBIR Award for Semiconductor Innovation  6381 3589 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Soctera wins $1M SBIR Award for Semiconductor Innovation 

The SBIR award supports the commercialization of Soctera’s power amplifier which will help boost signal range and incentivizes broadband coverage in more rural areas through reduced costs.

Verde Technologies Receives Liftoff Contest Award to Develop Flexible Solar Energy Modules  2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Verde Technologies Receives Liftoff Contest Award to Develop Flexible Solar Energy Modules 

Verde Technologies, a 2021 I-Corps alumni company from the University of Vermont, is developing a lightweight and flexible way to capture solar energy using perovskite. 

DNA
Sostos Hits Milestones for Cancer Treatment AI Technology 2560 1440 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Sostos Hits Milestones for Cancer Treatment AI Technology

Sostos, an I-Corps alumni startup developing a cutting-edge AI technology for cancer treatment optimization, recently secured two SBIR Phase I grants — a $275K award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a $400K award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Image of Carbon to Stone co-founder Greeshma Gadikota
Carbon To Stone Receives $600K+ to Advance Innovative Carbon Management Technology  1280 853 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Carbon To Stone Receives $600K+ to Advance Innovative Carbon Management Technology 

I-Corps alumni startup Carbon To Stone is an emerging leader in the carbon capture and utilization industry. A recent influx of funding will help the company advance its mission to transform CO2 and residual materials into valuable resources. 

2024 SPIE I-Corps regional course cohort
Optics and Photonics Innovators Explore Commercialization at SPIE Photonics West 2560 1920 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Optics and Photonics Innovators Explore Commercialization at SPIE Photonics West

This January, a regional I-Corps cohort comprised of optics and photonics researchers traveled to San Francisco to explore the market potential of their innovations at SPIE Photonics West, a convention that brings together researchers, engineers, and industry leaders to learn about the latest updates in light-based technologies. 

AgCorps
AgTech Innovators Evaluate Market Potential for Agriculture Research at AFBF Convention 2560 1920 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

AgTech Innovators Evaluate Market Potential for Agriculture Research at AFBF Convention

In January, the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps) led its annual “Ag-Corps” regional course, focused on entrepreneurship training for STEM researchers developing agriculture technology solutions.

Photo: Safe Pro AI technology
I-Corps Alumni Make Humanitarian Impact in Ukraine 963 583 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

I-Corps Alumni Make Humanitarian Impact in Ukraine

Safe Pro AI, co-founded by Binghamton University alumni Jasper Baur and Gabriel Steinberg, is a Safe Pro Group company leveraging AI and machine learning to detect, label, and map mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). 

Clairways Raises $1.5 Million, Creates 3 Jobs in New Hampshire 848 432 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Clairways Raises $1.5 Million, Creates 3 Jobs in New Hampshire

Clairways leverages AI to provide a comprehensive, long-term picture of respiratory health for clinical trials and eventually for pulmonary care.

3D animated heart coming off of medical screen.
Vermont MedTech Startup Raises $33M in Funding, Employs 36 in Vermont 2560 1706 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Vermont MedTech Startup Raises $33M in Funding, Employs 36 in Vermont

Core Map Inc., an I-Corps alumni company out of the University of Vermont, is revolutionizing the visualization and mapping of Atrial fibrillation (AF) and enabling new treatment options that will improve patient outcomes.

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Buffalo AI Startup Secures $1 Million STTR Phase II Grant 2560 2097 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Buffalo AI Startup Secures $1 Million STTR Phase II Grant

QAS.AI, an I-Corps alumni startup from Buffalo, is at the forefront of developing AI-powered software designed to detect complications during brain surgery—such as impaired blood flow—and predict the success of chosen treatments in real time.

Lygenesis Raises $37 Million, Creates 6 Local Jobs 2560 1709 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Lygenesis Raises $37 Million, Creates 6 Local Jobs

Lygenesis, a biotech startup based in Pittsburgh, has raised over $37M to create cell therapies
for life-threatening diseases.

Burlington Solar Startup Raises Over $17M 2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Burlington Solar Startup Raises Over $17M

Verde Technologies, an I-Corps alumni startup from the University of Vermont, was recently selected by the DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), to partner on an $11.25 million cost-shared award for developing tandem solar modules at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

ECM Therapeutics Raises $26 Million, Employs 7 2560 1752 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

ECM Therapeutics Raises $26 Million, Employs 7

ECM Therapeutics, developers of tissue repair gel Hydrogel and biotherapeutic agent Matrix- bound Nanovesicles, has raised $26M and hired a team of 7 at its Pittsburgh headquarters.

Cornell Clean Tech Startup Creates Local Jobs, Opens Manufacturing Facility 1500 1125 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Cornell Clean Tech Startup Creates Local Jobs, Opens Manufacturing Facility

Heat Inverse’s passive cooling films have the potential to reduce emissions from the electric grid, refrigeration industry, data centers, dairy operations, and more. The I-Corps alumni startup has secured $1,275,000 in Small Business Innovation Research grants from the NSF, along with support from the Launch NY Seed Fund.

Person showing wire and metal colliding.
Rochester Photonics Startup Raises $450,000, Wins SBIR Awards 1920 1080 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Rochester Photonics Startup Raises $450,000, Wins SBIR Awards

Photonect Interconnect Solutions, a photonics company that is revolutionizing optical connections with innovative laser-based technology, won an NSF SBIR Phase 1, NASA STTR Phase 1, DoD SBIR Phase 1 and is part of the Activate Fellowship Program.

Man working on inside of a jet engine
Rochester Battery Tech Startup Raises $9.5M, Creates 42 Local Jobs 2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Rochester Battery Tech Startup Raises $9.5M, Creates 42 Local Jobs

Located in Rochester, NY, Cellec Technologies creates customized energy storage solutions for aerospace customers that suffer from critical battery failures when operating in extreme environments.

Female doctor explaining something to female patient in a medical facility.
Reia Raises Over $3 Million for Women’s Health Startup 2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Reia Raises Over $3 Million for Women’s Health Startup

Reia is redesigning pelvic organ prolapse treatment options to allow women to reclaim their independence and lifestyle.

Arial shot of facility
Morgantown Clean Tech Startup Raises $5 Million, Creates 13 Local Jobs 2560 1705 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Morgantown Clean Tech Startup Raises $5 Million, Creates 13 Local Jobs

Iconic Air is a Morgantown, WV based startup offering an emission mapping and analytics platform designed to help carbon consuming companies across the United States identify and address leaks.

Man looking with question in laboratory.
Buffalo Biotech Startup Acquired by Merck for up to $208M 2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Buffalo Biotech Startup Acquired by Merck for up to $208M

Abceutics, an I-Corps alumni company based in Buffalo NY, was acquired by Merck, a global leader in biopharmaceuticals, for a potential consideration of up to $208 million.

Man smiling in front of infographic
Syracuse Startup Battling Plastic Pollution Creates 8 Local Jobs, Raises $1.3M 541 451 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Syracuse Startup Battling Plastic Pollution Creates 8 Local Jobs, Raises $1.3M

RETRN Bio, a Syracuse-based startup that upcycles plant waste materials into food packaging plastics, raised $1.3 million in grant funding from sources that included USDA/NIFA, NSF STTR, FuzeHub, V4C Climate Tech, and others.

Two men standing in front of large vehicle labeled: KLAW Industries
Binghamton Startup Wins $21.2M NYDOT Contract to Build Cleaner, Cheaper Roads 1365 2048 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Binghamton Startup Wins $21.2M NYDOT Contract to Build Cleaner, Cheaper Roads

KLAW Industries, a startup based in Binghamton, NY, was selected by the New York State Department of Transportation to partner on a $21.2 million infrastructure project using their innovative material Pantheon™, a carbon-negative replacement for cement in concrete made from waste glass diverted from landfills

Cleaning home table sanitizing kitchen table surface with disinfectant spray bottle washing surfaces with towel and gloves. COVID-19 prevention sanitizing inside.
Cornell Biotech Startup Raises Over $10 Million, Creates 13 Rural Jobs 7952 4503 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Cornell Biotech Startup Raises Over $10 Million, Creates 13 Rural Jobs

AvantGuard, a Cornell University spinout developing antimicrobial solutions, has raised more than $10 million in funding since participating in the I-Corps regional and national programs.

Photo: Pitt School of Medicine student Adi Mittal meets Katalin Kariko, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize for Medicine, at the National Collegiate Inventor's Competition.
Astria Biosciences Wins $275K SBIR Award 936 702 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Astria Biosciences Wins $275K SBIR Award

Astria Biosciences, which spun out of research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, is developing the first simple, whole blood-based test to detect the presence and monitor the progression of cerebral aneurysms.  

Empower Equity Awarded $1.2 Million Contract to Revolutionize Air Force Supply Chain  1536 1034 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Empower Equity Awarded $1.2 Million Contract to Revolutionize Air Force Supply Chain 

I-Corps alumni company Empower Equity (EMPEQ) has been awarded a $1.2 million Direct-to-Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the Air Force’s AFWERX program, which supports technology innovations with air and space applications. 

Car driving on a road.
Charging Ahead: ExoPower Awarded SBIR Phase I Grant  2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Charging Ahead: ExoPower Awarded SBIR Phase I Grant 

ExoPower has received a $251,522 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), marking a significant leap toward revolutionizing the way we power material handling vehicles (MHVs).