News

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.

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.

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. 

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).  

I-Corps alumni company Exostellar, a cloud resource optimization and management platform, is on the trajectory to be a star in the tech startup world. Founded by Cornell University computer science professor Hakim Weatherspoon, the company recently announced a successful $15 million Series A round — bringing Exostellar’s valuation to $40 million. 

This August, I-Corps alumni company REEgen won a $275,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the NSF to further refine its technology to more sustainably extract rare-earth elements.

For Cornell researchers developing innovative, problem-solving technologies, the work doesn’t end in the lab. Discoveries that reach the market can improve society and stimulate economic growth, and Cornell’s robust entrepreneurial ecosystem is there to support innovators who want to make an impact with their research. 

I-Corps alumni company AvantGuard (formerly Halomine) recently closed a $2.85 million seed funding round with investments from Blue Ledge Capital, SOSV, LaunchNY, and Red Bear Angels.

Exotanium, an I-Corps alumni startup offering a cloud resource optimization and management platform, announced that it secured $12 million in a Series A funding round.

What if consumers had more control over their energy consumption and utility costs? A new app and subscription-based payment plan piloted by I-Corps alumni is designed to provide electricity users with information about – and incentives to reduce – their usage.

Alexa Schmitz and Sean Medin, co-founders of I-Corps alumni startup REEgen, are using biological engineering to make the extraction and purification of rare earth elements more environmentally friendly.