News

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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).

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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). 

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).  

Photo: lithium ion battery
From Ideas to Industry: Exploring Market Potential with the Battery Show Hybrid Course 2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

From Ideas to Industry: Exploring Market Potential with the Battery Show Hybrid Course

This fall, researchers developing battery technologies explored the market potential of their innovations in a specialized I-Corps regional course led by the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub. The course began with two weeks of virtual entrepreneurship training, then moved to an in-person format at the Battery Show conference in Detroit, MI.

Exostellar cloud graphic
Shooting for the Stars: Exostellar Raises $15 Million Series A Round 1912 1236 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Shooting for the Stars: Exostellar Raises $15 Million Series A Round

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. 

Photo: GEM Fellows I-Corps Course 2023 cohort.
GEM Fellows Course Aims to Broaden Impact of STEM Innovation 2560 1553 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

GEM Fellows Course Aims to Broaden Impact of STEM Innovation

IN I-Corps hosted a regional course specifically for GEM Fellows as a part of the Inclusion in Innovation Initiative, which aims to increase participation in I-Corps and commercialization activity among STEM researchers across diverse backgrounds.

Photo: Alexa Schmitz, Ph.D. ’18, (right) co-founder and CEO of REEgen, talks with Brooke Pian, lab director at REEgen, at the Center for Life Science Ventures in Weill Hall.
REEgen Awarded $275K SBIR Grant for Rare-Earth Tech 1140 641 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

REEgen Awarded $275K SBIR Grant for Rare-Earth Tech

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.

Cornell computer science professor Hakim Weatherspoon helping students.
Through I-Corps, Cornell Research Impacts Beyond the Lab 1920 1280 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Through I-Corps, Cornell Research Impacts Beyond the Lab

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. 

Scientist working with auto robotical machine for testing blood, modern laboratory medical equipment.
Nanopath Secures $10 Million to Commercialize Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Women 1800 1200 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Nanopath Secures $10 Million to Commercialize Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Women

I-Corps alumni company Nanopath, which spun out of Dartmouth College, recently closed a $10 million Series A funding round. The funding will support development and commercialization of their biosensing platform that transforms how women’s pelvic and gynecologic infections are diagnosed.

Photo: teams in the 2023 BIO Regional Course
BioTech Innovators Engage with Customers at BIO 2560 1722 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

BioTech Innovators Engage with Customers at BIO

This June, a group of researchers developing biotechnology innovations conducted customer discovery interviews at the 2023 BIO International Convention (BIO) in Boston through a tailored I-Corps regional course hosted by the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps).

Photo: Photonect's chip technology
Photonect Interconnect Solutions Wins $274K SBIR Award  996 560 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Photonect Interconnect Solutions Wins $274K SBIR Award 

Photonect Interconnect Solutions, an I-Corps alumni company, recently secured a $274,996 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for its photonic technology. Pioneering the development of laser adhesion techniques for attaching optical fibers to photonic chips, Photonect is poised to revolutionize data center operations.  

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AvantGuard Closes $2.85 Million Seed Funding Round  1000 650 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

AvantGuard Closes $2.85 Million Seed Funding Round 

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.

Photo: ARPA-E Regional Course cohort
Energy Researchers Perform Customer Discovery at ARPA-E Summit 2560 1920 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Energy Researchers Perform Customer Discovery at ARPA-E Summit

The Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps) led a specialized regional course for energy researchers in March 2023 that involved tailored virtual entrepreneurship training, followed by sponsored travel to Washington, D.C. for the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit.  

Hakim Weatherspoon, CEO and co-founder of Exotanium, stands at a conference booth with the Exotanium logo.
Exotanium Secures $12 Million in Series A Funding 1000 650 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Exotanium Secures $12 Million in Series A Funding

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.

A smokestack billows smoke against a blue sky.
With $5M Raise, Iconic Air Launches Carbon Accounting Platform 1000 650 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

With $5M Raise, Iconic Air Launches Carbon Accounting Platform

Iconic Air recently raised $5 million in seed funding and launched its carbon accounting platform, which offers a suite of tools to help companies manage their carbon footprint and achieve net zero emissions.

2023 Ag-Corps participants.
Innovators Explore Product-Market Fit of Tech in Ag-Corps 1000 650 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

Innovators Explore Product-Market Fit of Tech in Ag-Corps

Ag-Corps teams connected with potential customers at the 2023 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention to explore the product-market fit of their ag tech innovations.

Doctoral student Shikhar Prakash, right, and Madhur Srivastava, assistant research professor in chemistry and chemical biology, work at a white board in the Physical Sciences Building.
I-Corps Alumni Give Consumers More Control Over Energy Use 1000 650 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

I-Corps Alumni Give Consumers More Control Over Energy Use

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.

The GEM Fellows cohort poses in front of a large picture window.
GEM Fellows I-Corps Course Celebrates Diversity and Inclusion in Entrepreneurship 2560 1707 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

GEM Fellows I-Corps Course Celebrates Diversity and Inclusion in Entrepreneurship

The National GEM Consortium teamed up with I-Corps to provide an exclusive entrepreneurial course for deep-tech innovators from underrepresented groups.

Alexa Schmitz, co-founder of REEgen.
I-Corps Alum Engineers Bacteria to Make Green Energy Tech Cleaner 1920 1080 I-Corps Hub: Interior Northeast

I-Corps Alum Engineers Bacteria to Make Green Energy Tech Cleaner

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.