TechPoint, Evansville center win SBA Growth Accelerator Fund awards
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Indianapolis-based TechPoint and the Indiana Center for Emerging Technologies in Evansville are among the 44 Stage Two winners of the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The competition is designed to “foster a thriving, collaborative national innovation support ecosystem to advance research and development,” particularly among STEM-based entrepreneurs.
TechPoint, the growth initiative for Indiana’s tech sector, received $100,000 for its plans to launch and operate the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Network for Indiana-based companies and organizations.
The network aims to bring together stakeholders from a variety of industries to provide those working in the AI space with “the support and network they need to keep Indiana at the forefront of technology.”
“AI will have a transformative impact on the future of our workforce and economic competitiveness for our community,” Melina Kennedy, CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, the parent of TechPoint, said in a news release. “This SBA award enables TechPoint and other CICP initiatives to continue leading AI adoption strategy and innovation ecosystem building work.”
The Indiana Center for Emerging Technologies, a collaboration between Evansville-based Circular Venture Lab and the University of Evansville’s Center for Innovation and Change, received a $50,000 Stage Two award.
The center launched in August and supports high-tech startups and high-skill tech job creation in the Evansville area by researching, evaluating and validating the market potential of emerging technologies.
Executive Director Logan Jenkins said the funding will support the development of curriculum for high school students participating in the center’s IMPACTT program, which focuses on youth entrepreneurship. The curriculum will specifically focus on technology transfer through universities and federal labs.
“Understanding technology transfer and its importance to research and development in the U.S. is a critical skill for young entrepreneurs, early startups, and for corporate innovation teams,” Jenkins told Inside INdiana Business. “These concepts generally are not learned in undergraduate classes, let alone in high school. Our program allows students an early look at the tech transfer process through engagement with universities and federal research labs, including the Department of Energy, NASA, and the Department of Defense.”
Both TechPoint and the Indiana Center for Emerging Technologies also received a $50,000 cash prize in Stage One of the competition earlier this year.
You can view the full list of Stage Two winners who are sharing in $3 million in funding by clicking here.
Stage One of the SBA competition emphasized ecosystem network building, focusing on the enhanced support that can be provided to small businesses and startups through these Growth Accelerator Partnerships.
By fostering connections between entrepreneurs, mentors, partners, philanthropies, corporations, investors, and other shared resources, the SBA GAFC 2024 catalyzes strategic ecosystem partnerships to build community and organizational capacity for the successful launch, growth, and scale of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-based entrepreneurs.