Startups Win Funding in Elevate Nexus Pitch Competitions
(photo courtesy of The IDEA Center at the University of Notre Dame)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based Elevate Ventures has awarded a total of $680,000 in funding to 16 Hoosier startups. The winners were chosen from 58 finalists who competed in February in the second regional Elevate Nexus Pitch Competitions, which were held at Innovation Park at the University of Notre Dame, Flagship Enterprise Center at Anderson University, and Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington.
Each startup had 10 minutes to pitch to a judging panel in northern, central or southern Indiana. The regional competition was established to support early-stage Indiana startups taking advantage of resources from higher education institutions in the state.
Regional winners and affiliated higher-education institutions include:
Northern Indiana, pre-seed ($20,000 investment)
- Allervent; Upland; Taylor University
- Rabbit Tractors; Cedar Lake; Purdue University
- Lumen Bio; South Bend; University of Notre Dame
Seed ($80,000 investment)
- Blaire Biomedical; Angola; Trine University
- CODEinCLASS; South Bend; University of Notre Dame
Central Indiana, pre-seed ($20,000 investment)
- Gen3Bio; West Lafayette; Purdue University
- Multiscale Integrated Technology Solutions; Indianapolis; Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
- Probari; Indianapolis; Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
- TBB Quality Solutions d/b/a Documentor; Indianapolis
Seed ($80,000 investment)
- BestQuote; Zionsville; Purdue University
- Spirrow Therapeutics; West Lafayette; Purdue University
Southern Indiana, pre-seed ($20,000 investment)
- Endless Eyewear; Evansville; Purdue University
- My Gaming Career d/b/a Gamerized; Jasper; Ivy Tech Community College
- Nature Greens; Indianapolis; University of Southern Indiana
Seed ($80,000 investment)
- The Learning Alliance; Bloomington; Indiana University-Bloomington
- Sintact Medical Systems; Bloomington; Purdue University
In addition to funding, each company is considered an Elevate Ventures’ portfolio business and is allowed access to Elevate’s network of advisors and resources. Each company also has the opportunity to pitch during the virtual statewide competition in May where an additional $320,000 will be awarded.