Washington Recent News – Swanson Reed | Specialist R&D Tax Advisors

Carbon Robotics Secures $70M in Series D Funding

Carbon Autonomous Robotics Systems (DBA Carbon Robotics) has secured $70 million in Series D funding. The round was led by BOND with participation from NVentures, Anthos Capital, Fuse Venture Capital, Ignition Partners, Revolution, Sozo Ventures, and Voyager Capital.

As a leader in AI-powered farming, Carbon Robotics plans to use the funding to scale their LaserWeeder™, introduce new software and hardware products, and expand state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities in Eastern Washington. It will also support the company’s growth in new markets and continue its geographic expansion into Eastern and Southern Europe, as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

LaserWeeder™ was designed to bring laser weeding capabilities to the average farmer. Laser weeding kills a weed at the meristem before they compete for the resources that the crops rely on. Carbon Robotics’ solution uses computer vision, AI, Deep Learning, and robotics to see, think, and act.

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.

Last Energy Closes $40M Series B Funding Round

Last Energy, Inc., a nuclear energy startup, has secured $40 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Gigafund, a venture capital heavyweight.

The Washington-based startup plans to use the funding to continue on the path to deploying their modular microreactors. At present, the plan is to deploy the first of their technology in Europe as soon as 2026.

The company has been focused on building a scalable energy solution capable of 20 MWe output. With this type of power, the solution could perform for industrial facilities and grid applications alike. The solution is further supported by over 100 global supply chain partners, ensuring minimal risk of any supply chain shortage or limitation.

The microreactor design ensures each unit can be combined with others to power the chosen site as needed. The startup claims that its microreactor is designed to be fabricated, transported, and built within 24 months, and is the right size to serve industrial clients. Under its business model, Last Energy aims to build, own, and operate its power plant at the customer’s site, avoiding the yearslong wait times to plug a new generation project into the power grid.

“We came to the conclusion that using the existing, off-the-shelf technology was the way to scale,” CEO Bret Kugelmass said in a 2022 interview with Canary Media. “We don’t innovate at all when it comes to the nuclear process or components — we do systems integration and business-model innovation.”

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.

Redefining Email Security: Sublime’s $20M Series A Funding Round

Sublime Security, Inc., the AI-powered, programmable email security platform, has announced a successful $20 million Series A funding round led by Index Ventures, along with participation from previous investors Decibel Partners and Slow Ventures. This funding marks a pivotal moment for Sublime as it aims to further enhance its platform and improve the customer experience amid the rapidly evolving threat landscape in cybersecurity.

Email remains a top security concern for businesses, with the most recent FBI Internet Crime Report revealing that Business Email Compromise (BEC) alone accounted for over $2.9 billion in losses. Against this backdrop, Sublime aims to empower security teams with the ability to detect and prevent a wide range of email attacks, including BEC, malware/ransomware, credential phishing, and more.

Traditionally, email security solutions have offered black box, one-size-fits-all approaches, leaving security teams struggling with false positives and missed attacks. Sublime’s AI-powered detection engine brings transparency and control to email security, allowing organizations to tailor security controls to their specific needs and benefit from community-driven protections as the threat landscape evolves.

Josh Kamdjou, Founder and CEO of Sublime Security, brings a wealth of experience from his background in offensive cyber initiatives, where he identified email phishing as a prevalent vulnerability. Co-founder and COO Ian Thiel complements this expertise with his experience in leading growth at notable tech companies. Together, they launched Sublime in 2019, and the platform has already gained traction among leading security teams at companies like Spotify, Ramp, Vanta, and Brex.

The recent funding round not only validates Sublime’s innovative approach to email security but also underscores the urgent need for effective solutions in today’s cybersecurity landscape. With Attack Score, Sublime introduces its latest feature, leveraging transparent, explainable machine learning to prioritize email threats and aid security analysts in quickly understanding and addressing detected threats.

Sublime’s commitment to empowering security teams with better visibility and control over their email environments positions it as a key player in combating advanced email attacks. As businesses face increasingly sophisticated threats, Sublime’s platform offers a beacon of hope, enabling organizations to mitigate risks and prevent email-borne incidents effectively.

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.

ProfoundBio’s $112M Series B Funding Signals a New Era in Cancer Therapeutics

ProfoundBio US Co., a biotech company focused on novel targeted cancer therapies, has successfully raised an impressive $112 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round. The funding, led by Ally Bridge Group, boasts participation from distinguished healthcare investors such as Nextech Invest, T. Rowe Price, Janus Henderson Investors, RA Capital Management, and OrbiMed, among others. This substantial financial backing reflects the confidence of both new and existing investors in ProfoundBio’s innovative antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics.

ProfoundBio specializes in developing ADCs, a cutting-edge class of drugs that combine the precision of monoclonal antibodies with the potency of cytotoxic drugs. The funds from this Series B round will play a crucial role in advancing ProfoundBio’s clinical-stage ADC pipeline, particularly in accelerating the pivotal trial of rinatabart sesutecan (Rina-S), designed for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Erin Lavelle, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer of ProfoundBio expressed gratitude for the support from premier life science investors, emphasizing the pivotal step it represents in enabling significant milestones. Lavelle notes, “It’s a pivotal step in enabling significant milestones and delivering key data readouts this year and through 2025.”

The distinguished funding round has not only garnered financial support but has also enriched ProfoundBio’s board of directors with strategic appointments. Andrew Lam from Ally Bridge Group, Eric Dobmeier, and Enoch Kariuki, both accomplished individuals in biotechnology and investment, are set to join the board, further fortifying ProfoundBio’s leadership.

ProfoundBio’s robust pipeline includes several promising ADC programs:

Rina-S: A folate receptor-alpha (FRα) targeted ADC, currently in Phase 2 trials for ovarian and endometrial cancers. Pivotal studies in ovarian cancer are planned for later this year.
PRO1160: A CD70 targeted ADC, in Phase 1 trials with initial results expected in 2024.
PRO1107: A protein tyrosine kinase 7 (PTK7) targeted ADC, in Phase 1 trials with initial results anticipated in 2025.
PRO1286: A bispecific ADC, expected to enter clinical trials in 2024.

Baiteng Zhao, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of ProfoundBio, emphasized the significance of the Series B financing as a crucial milestone in their mission to redefine cancer treatment. The support enables ProfoundBio to advance its clinical trials and offer new differentiated approaches to patients battling cancer.

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.

Alpenglow Biosciences Awarded $1.6M Grant for AI-Enabled 3D Imaging

Alpenglow Biosciences, a visionary biotechnology company, has secured a remarkable $1.6 million grant to advance its pioneering work in artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled smart microscopy and 3D spatial biology. With a focus on enhancing cancer diagnostics, Alpenglow is set to revolutionize the field of pathology by harnessing the power of AI and 3D imaging.

Building on its patented multi-resolution 3Di platform for 3D spatial biology, Alpenglow Biosciences will collaborate with CorePlus, a leading pathology laboratory based in Puerto Rico. Together, they aim to propel pathology from 2D and qualitative analysis into the realm of 3D and quantitative precision.

Dr. Nicholas Reder, MD, MPH, and CEO of Alpenglow Biosciences, expressed enthusiasm about the company’s latest award, stating, “We are excited to continue to lead the field of 3D spatial biology and develop smart microscopy solutions to address cancer with this latest award.” The grant will enable the development of a smart microscopy platform, utilizing Alpenglow’s multi-resolution open-top light sheet microscope.

The key innovation lies in Alpenglow’s ability to process massive microscopy datasets at remarkable speed, using their proprietary AI. This advancement aims to swiftly identify regions of interest within large datasets, leading to higher-resolution imaging and more comprehensive quantitative analysis. The incorporation of NVIDIA Holoscan and NVIDIA IGX is expected to further elevate Alpenglow’s imaging technology, facilitating AI-powered edge computing on its 3Di platform.

Alpenglow’s vision extends beyond traditional pathology, tackling challenges in drug development and patient care. The company’s 3D spatial biology platform offers the potential to digitize entire tissue specimens non-destructively, leading to more accurate analysis and insights. By embracing AI and machine learning, Alpenglow seeks to quantify biomarkers and enhance diagnostic accuracy.

Partnering with CorePlus, Alpenglow aims to train AI models to recognize crucial tissue structures within 3D prostate biopsy images. This collaboration promises to elevate cancer diagnostics, improve precision, and facilitate the identification of areas that require further investigation.

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.

ARS Pharmaceuticals and Silverback Therapeutics Set to Merge into a Single Entity Focused on EpiPen Alternative

ARS Pharmaceuticals has announced a merger with Silverback Therapeutics. Going forward, the combined company will be called ARS Pharmaceuticals.

The newly combined company will focus their expertise on regulatory approval and commercialization of ARS’s epinephrine nasal spray for severe allergic reactions. The spray, called neffy, is a potential easy-to-use alternative to the EpiPen.

The combined company is expected to have $265 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities upon closing, including $240 million in cash from Silverback. Silverback equity holders will own about 37% of the new company, and ARS’s 63%. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, pending stockholder approval.

Silverback made a name for themselves for their experimental solid tumor therapy following a public offering in late 2020. ARS, which raised $55 million in a Series D round of funding last spring, plans to submit its NDA (new drug application) for neffy to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the third quarter of this year. If the spray is approved, the company aims to launch the product in 2023.

The design of this EpiPen alternative would remove the need for needles, making administration less painful in a moment of panic. Less pain means less hesitation means less lives lost.

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.

PAI Life Sciences Begins Phase 1 Trial for Snail Fever Vaccine

PAI Life Sciences, a Seattle biotech startup, has started a phase 1 trial for their schistosomiasis vaccine. The trial has an expected end date of April 2024. This tropical disease, also called snail fever, is caused by parasitic flatworms that enter human skin when in contact with contaminated water. This infection, if untreated long term, can cause damage to livers and kidneys, infertility, and bladder cancer.

The phase 1 trial will evaluate both safety and immune response in healthy volunteers at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. The study will be conducted as an open-label, dose-escalation trial with a sample size of 45 healthy adults between 18 and 55 years of age. Five treatment groups, each including nine subjects, will receive three intramuscular injections at different doses. One group will receive the vaccine without an adjuvant (which acts to increase immune responses) and four will receive the vaccine with an adjuvant.

Currently, there are drug therapy approaches for treatment of the infection but dependence on these treatment options alone is inadequate. This treatment option has minimal impact on the reduction of disease transmission and, as such, infection rates continue to be high. Beyond this, there is an ever-present risk of the development of drug resistance by the parasite.

If proven effective and safe through clinical trials, this vaccine would build up the arsenal against the disease and contribute to the reduction in infection rates. At present, the vaccine has shown to ameliorate disease, kill adult worms, and reduce fecundity in preclinical animal models. The company is hoping to prove this again in full clinical studies.

The condition “is second only to malaria among parasitic diseases with the greatest devastating economic impact,” said PAI’s vice president Sean Gray.

PAI Life Sciences have focused their expertise on antigens for diagnostics and vaccines. They provide developmental and translational research necessary to bring products from the laboratory to the bedside.

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.

Funding Opportunities for First Responder Technology R&D

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has announced their interest in First Responder R&D opportunities. They are seeking proposals so they can select 10 new technology ideas to receive funding. They are focused on ensuring first responders will have the tools they need to address challenges and keep themselves safe.

Interested partners are encouraged to visit the BAA solicitation on Sam.gov for more information about each of the topics and details on submitting white papers. The deadline for white papers is July 2, 2021.

They are accepting proposals for the following topic areas:

Updated Law Enforcement Duty Uniform
- Developments that offer updated and modernized uniforms with enhanced base layer protection against abrasion, slashing and punctures, burn injuries and absorption of liquids.
Low-profile Police Protective Equipment
- Development of new safety gear -in the form of clothing, accessories, or devices – for use in managing crowds.
Police Protective Helmet
- Design of a multi-purpose, customizable helmet for enhanced protection against concussion and ballistic threats
Less-Lethal Chemical Irritants
- Development of more effective solutions that will support crowd dispersal, mitigation, and arrest capabilities for response to criminal activity in crowd situations, while navigating all medical, legal, and environmental challenges.
Less-Lethal Crowd Control
- Develop new crowd control options sensitive to both law enforcement needs and safety and civil liberties of the public.
Tracking Criminal Actors
- A solution to tracking known criminals that operates efficiently in real time and adheres to civil liberties and privacy laws.
Multi-Spectrum Laser Detection
- Develop a system to equip law enforcement officers with a system to detect multi-spectrum lasers and infrared light.
Multi-Spectrum Laser Eyewear Protection
- Development of multi-spectrum eye protection that is compatible with existing protective gear and does not obstruct visual acuity.
Rapidly-Deployed Physical Barriers
- Development of barriers for quick and secure establishment of perimeters to protect public and first responders without being easily removed or destroyed.
Bomb Response and Defeat Operations Support
- Solutions to ensure bomb technicians have the capabilities needed to preserve life, property, and evidence during render-safe operations. They are further looking to assess existing tools, tactics, techniques, and procedures to ensure bomb squad capabilities meet evolving threats.

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.

Little Caesars Testing Out a Plant-Based Pizza with Impossible Foods

After investing a lot of time and money in Research and Development (R&D), Impossible Foods has created the long-awaited meat-free sausage, and Little Caesars, the pizza chain, will be the first company to jump on the bandwagon and try its hand at plant-based proteins with its “Impossible Supreme” pizza.

Impossible Foods is the same company responsible for the plant-based Impossible Burger.

The new vegan sausage made its exclusive debut on May 20, 2019, as a topping on Little Caesars’ $12 pizza alongside green peppers, caramelized onions and mushrooms. It is currently available in 58 restaurants in four different locations including Naples, FL, Yakima, WA, Myers, FL, and Albuquerque, NM.

Little Caesars said it will test the product for four weeks, and if it’s successful, they’ll decide if they’ll roll it out to more markets around the nation. The pizza company started paying more attention to the plant-based protein trend in 2018 after realizing more meat-eaters were switching from animal-based products to vegetarian alternatives.

So, in an effort to wrap itself in its mission of attracting carnivores and vegetarians alike, Little Caesars partnered with Impossible Foods in October 2018 to create a meal boasting a plant-based protein.

“These kind of flexitarians have been growing in nature,” Ed Gleich, Little Caesars’ Chief Innovation Officer, told CNN Business. “They’re not hardcore ‘vegans or vegetarians,’ but they’re more adventurous in their choices. The Impossible Supreme pizza is designed to appeal to meat eaters, and isn’t vegan (it’s topped with cheese, along with the fake sausage and other items).

”At first, Impossible Foods proposed the plant-based beef they were using on their Burgers. However, Little Caesar told them that most clients order sausage-topped pizzas than beef-topped pizzas, so Impossible Foods went back to the drawing board and come up with a sausage alternative.

“Normally companies want to sell you the product they have,” said Gleich. “Not a product they’ve got to get out and put some R&D time in, and put resources against and develop.”

U.S. Universities Spending More on Research and Development

U.S. universities are spending more and more on R&D these days. In 2015 alone, colleges and universities spent a combined $68.8 billion on research and development with the top 20 colleges accounting for 30% of that.

To discover the universities spending the most in research and development, 24/7 Wall St. assessed R&D expenditure by university for the 2015 fiscal year with data from the National Science Foundation. Of the 1,871 major colleges and universities reviewed, 10 schools spent more than $1 billion on R&D.

Top 10 Universities for R&D Expenditure

Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland
- Annual R&D spend: $2.31 billion
University of Michigan
- Annual R&D spend: $1.37 billion
University of Washington
- Annual R&D spend: $1.18 billion
University of California, San Francisco
- Annual R&D spend: $1.13 billion
University of California, San Diego
- Annual R&D spend: $1.10 billion
University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Annual R&D spend: $1.07 billion
Duke University in Raleigh, North Carolina
- Annual R&D spend: $1.04 billion
Stanford University in Stanford, California
- Annual R&D spend: $1.02 billion
University of California, Los Angeles
- Annual R&D spend: $1.02 billion
Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Annual R&D spend: $1.01 billion

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If your company is conducting R&D through a local university or college, you may be eligible for a higher R&D tax credit rate. Contact a Swanson Reed specialist to find out more information.