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Insignum AgTech Wins Pitch Contest

Insignum AgTech is among the five winners announced in Elevate Ventures’ second annual In-Prize pitch contest. Each winner scores the potential for up to $1 million in funding for each of the winners.

Insignum won based on their gene editing technology which enables plants to change color when stressed. A changed color can alert farmers to early signs of problems like disease or insect attacks.

Insignum’s solution not only alerts farmers to problems earlier, it removes the guesswork. With this type of reliable detection, farmers treat their crops exactly when, precisely where, and only if necessary.

Per contest rules, each of the five IN-Prize winners has the chance to land up to a $1 million investment, which includes up to $500,000 in co-investment from Elevate Ventures. A company that secures $500,000 from other investors, for instance, will be eligible for a $500,000 investment from Elevate Ventures.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Reflect Orbital Plans to Light Up Our Lives

Reflect Orbital has captured the attention of many after announcing plans to deliver sunlight after dark. The plan? To use satellites equipped with ultra-reflective mylar mirrors to bounce sunlight back to Earth using GPS to locate the position of its customers on Earth.

CEO Ben Nowack said that the overall goal of Reflect Orbital to deploy 57 small satellites, each carrying 33-square-foot mirrors. The company conducted test runs, reflecting sunlight onto solar panels from a distance of nearly 800 feet, generating about 500 watts of energy per square meter.

The startup has pitched the idea as a potential solution to revolutionize the solar energy industry with continuous power generation even during nighttime hours.

The company website mentions that the application for their sunlight services will shut down this October with limited availability. Each deployment of sunlight will last approximately four minutes covering an area with a diameter of about three miles.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Chilly Dip Ice Spas Secures Finalist Spot in Casper Start-Up Challenge

Chilly Dip Ice Spas has been named a finalist in the 2024 Casper Start-Up Challenge.

Chilly Dip was founded by three friends, including Casper-resident Josh Kalinowski. Kalinowski played minor league baseball for years and has become intimately familiar with using ice baths to deal with the aches, pains, and injuries of the sport.

The startup has designed their own ice bath that fights the challenges most present. An ice bath tub is usually too small, too inconvenient, too uncomfortable and way too expensive. The Chilly Dip, as its name implies, is a versatile “tub” that can be used at home, on the go, at gyms or sporting events, in a backyard or garage or, really, anywhere one could think of.

“We want to have a product that represents the heart of Wyoming,” Kalinowski stated at the Casper Start-Up Challenge. “We’ve got great people in our state and we’ve got great manufacturing here. We’ve got people here that build wonderful, durable, long-lasting products that they can stand behind. And I believe, with the Chilly Dip, that we’ve created something that represents the state of Wyoming in all the best ways. This is going to bring jobs to the state. It’s going to bring opportunities. It’s going to bring notoriety to the state, specifically to Casper.”

The company has already designed three versions to maximize accessibility. The OG Chilly Dip is mostly stationary and can be hosted in a garage, backyard or gym, but the Chilly Dip MD and Lil’ Dip are inflatable and portable and perfect for on-the-go CWI therapy.

The Chilly Dip is one of five finalists in the Casper Start-Up Challenge, which, according to the Advance Casper website, exists to help “new, independent businesses in the seed, start-up, or early growth stages in Natrona County.” The top three winners of the Casper Start-Up challenge will receive seed money, in addition to marketing, networking and mentorship assistance throughout the challenge and beyond.

Kalinowski and his team will present the small business plan for the Chilly Dip during the 2024 Casper Start-Up Challenge Pitch Night, happening on Sept. 5 at Frontier Brewing Company. The Pitch Night starts at 5:30 p.m. and the public is welcome to attend and hear Kalinowski, as well as the other finalists, pitch their start-ups to a select, diverse panel of judges.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Whisper Aero Scores NASA Contract

Tennessee’s space startup, Whisper Aero, has announced a new NASA contract to design an extremely quiet fan.

Crewed spacecraft – from station modules to transportation vehicles – are surprisingly loud. Hooked up with life support systems, electronic fans, radios and more, the spacecraft is ringing with noise at all hours. NASA has some concerns about this constant noise and the effect of its exposure on their astronauts.

Whisper Aero’s quiet fan will aim to reduce this overall noise exposure and make space a safer environment for astronauts. The company scored the contract after making a name for themselves with a proprietary ultra-quiet electric propulsor.

At the end of the six-month effort, the startup is aiming to have prototype parts to show to NASA; if the agency deems this Phase 1 project successful, Whisper would likely move on to test a design prototype next year.

After a successful first phase, Phase 2 will compare the acoustic and aerodynamic estimates from this project to the standard NASA Spacecraft Cabin Ventilation Fan. NASA has developed a fan that achieves 66 decibels (dB) at two feet. Whisper Aero is aiming to meet or exceed 61 dB – while also being 75% more efficient.

Given the environment the fan will be in – which is outerspace – a direct translation of their already quiet propulsion technology will not be possible. Whisper Aero will need to address a few challenges that space introduces. For instance – the fan may need to run for much, much longer than their existing propulsor.

Noise is “a challenge that often is forgotten until it’s too late, and then you can’t change it,” Whisper Aero COO Ian Villasaid. “You can’t fix it. We’ve seen this time and time again on aircraft. It’s almost refreshing to see this in spacecraft, in that they’re actually trying to do something about it at NASA.”

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

The Rounds Secured $24M in Series B Funding

Kentucky Patent of the Month - December 2021

The Rounds, an inventory management platform focused on recurring grocery deliveries, has secured $24 million in Series B funding in a round led by Moderne Ventures with support from FJ Labs.

The Rounds plans to use the funding to scale their AI-powered service. The company’s business model revolves around sourcing products directly from producers in bulk, refilling them in reusable packaging, and delivering them weekly through its bespoke two-way last-mile logistics network.

The company’s AI models predict the everyday items you may need refilled in your home. Recently, the company introduced AI-enabled features that allow members to customise their ‘Refill Day’ and manage product refills either on a one-time or recurring basis with the ‘Psychic Home Manager’ feature.

The Rounds has also broadened its product range with over a hundred new stock-keeping units, including fresh produce and local goods

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Farmblox Expands from Maple Syrup to Vineyards

Shortly after raising $2.5 million, Farmblox Inc. has announced plans to expand their operations from maple syrup to vineyards and orchards. The agricultural monitoring startup develops AI-based solutions to monitor crops.

The company was founded in January of 2023, with rapid growth bringing them to 55 live farm customers. Farmblox says its platform has grown tenfold in the last year as customers adopt the technology at the forefront of addressing critical challenges posing significant threats to the global food supply.

Farmblox’s technology enables remote monitoring in all weather conditions, gathering data into a simple dashboard. With data at your fingertips, farmers can identify operational issues in moments.

The seed funding will enable expansion of both their operations and their technology. The company plans to offer data on soil moisture, soil CO2, soil temperature, leak detection, tank and silo levels, ambient temperatures, freeze risk, water usage, irrigation pressure, pump conditions, and weather conditions.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Pathalys Pharma Secures $105M in Series B

Pathalys Pharma, a startup based in North Carolina, has raised $105 million in Series B funding. The round was led by TCGX and joined by other notable investors including, JP Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Marshall Wace, KB Investment, JPS Growth Investment Limited Partnership, and included support from Pathalys’ founding investors, Catalys Pacific and DaVita Venture Group.

Pathalys is building biotech focused on fighting kidney disease through their top candidate – upacicalcet. This candidate is a potentially improved calcimimetic for the treatment of SHPT (secondary hyperparathyroidism). A calcimimetic imitates the effects of calcium on tissues, making them excellent tools for treating problems linked to calcium homeostasis or skeletal integrity.

Upacicalcet is a novel calcimimetic which would be delivered intravenously after hemodialysis. If it operates properly, it would reduce levels of PTH and improve the tolerability profile for patients. The candidate has moved into Phase 3 Studies, with two identical 375-person trials.

The biotech stated that the additional funding will be utilized to complete those studies, start the process of getting ready to submit an application for FDA approval, and “accelerate preapproval commercialisation preparations.”

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Impossible Sensing Begins Field Testing of Soil Sensor

State of the art R&D center opens in Iowa

Impossible Sensing, a St.Louis startup, has officially launched field tests for their second-generation prototype sensor. The testing will take place at Reckamp Farms in Wright City, west of St. Louis.

Impossible Sensing is a space technology company focused on exploring every and all environments – from deep space to deep ocean. To achieve this, they create proprietary sensing technologies that gather data which could be used to mitigate climate change.

“This is the first time this goes to the real world,” said Pablo Sobron, who founded Impossible Sensing. “We tested it in the lab, in the backyard in the city, and now it’s coming to a farm.”

The tests on Thursday consisted of digging a hole a few inches deep and then firing a high-powered laser that can measure the specific soil conditions at around 30 different sites.

It’s different from how farmers typically test their soil by collecting samples every few acres, Sobron said. The level of granularity from his instrument can reveal variations in nutrient levels and soil conditions in the same field and could prove the catalyst to unlocking some of the loftiest goals of precision agriculture, he said.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Slingshot AI Secures $30M in Seed Funding

Slingshot AI has reportedly raised $30 million in a seed funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The round also saw participation from Felicis Ventures, BoxGroup, Gokul Rajaram, Jerry Murdock, Bryan Baum, Sumeet Gajri, Arjun Sethi, Mike Stoppelman, Liu Jiang, Cory Levy, and David Cahn.

The AI mental health startup, based in both New York and London, plans to use the seed funding to expand operations and increase development efforts.

Slingshot AI was founded to build solutions for mental healthcare using AI. To achieve this, they are building AI models to delve into human psychology and learn more about human nature. Their goal is to help people change their minds and take on any challenge that arises.

At present, the startup partners with organizations around the globe to bring their technology to real use. These applications have included AI-assisted crisis text response and AI counseling. In parallel, these applications build real datasets to further power the startup’s models.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

BeMe Health Secures $12.5M for Teen Mental Health

BeMe Health, a Miami startup, has secured $12.5 million in anticipation of a Series A funding round. The funding comes from growth capital investor Hesperia Capital.

The startup is a teen-focused digital mental health provider focused on fighting the growing mental health epidemic.

“BeMe takes a different approach to the mental health issues faced during this formative stage of life and is laying the groundwork for healthier futures,” Michael Papile, co-founder of Hesperia Capital, said in a news release.

The company plans to use the funding to improve its technology and begin marketing. The technology suite includes age-specific support content and interactive tools to help maintain mental wellness.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.