After three days of competition, Adranos Energetics, a team of students from Purdue University, took home first place honors in the 25th New Venture Championship (NVC).
This year's NVC took place April 7-9 in Portland, Oregon. Sixteen teams from around the world competed during a period of two days for four finalist positions, which were announced on Friday, April 8. The winning team was revealed on Saturday, April 9 after another day of competition.
| First place: | Adranos Energetics, Purdue University |
|---|---|
| Second place: | TougHer, University of Oregon |
| Finalist runners up: | Taniix, Thammasat University VivImmune, University of Arkansas |
Adranos Energetics placed first and will receive $25,000 to launch their venture. They are a company focused on the development of propellants, explosives, and other energetic materials. Adranos is developing a cost-effective solid rocket propellant called ALITEC that is more efficient, powerful, and better for the environment than traditional solid rocket propellants. ALITEC will enable missiles and space launch vehicles to a greater range and enhanced payload capacity at a reduced cost. In addition, ALITEC will enable defense and space exploration companies to reduce their harmful emissions.
Second place was awarded to TOUGHER from the University of Oregon. They will receive $10,000 towards their venture, a new brand of women's workwear for the field, backyard, and shop. TOUGHER aims to make finding apparel that fits women in hard labor activities a less daunting task. Their customers are women in skilled trades, like construction or agriculture, and devoted DIYers who want apparel that not only fits but is also flattering to wear. They are putting an end to workwear that looks like a feed sack doused in pink. TOUGHER apparel empowers women to perform at their best.
Finalist runners up were Taniix from Thailand's Thammasat University and VivImmune, Inc from the University of Arkansas. Taniix is a disruptive new technology of plant growth regulator, proven to increase ROI for farmers by up to 90 percent through optimizing production yield. In certain crops Taniix can increase crops up to three times and improve the grade quality of produce up to 30 percent. VivImmune is a biotechnology company focused on transforming bladder cancer therapy. Their lead molecule, VI-003, is part of a new class of cancer treatments called immunotherapies, designed to be injected directly into a tumor and remain there, activating the immune system only where needed. VivImmune envisions that by 2021, VI-003 will have completed a Phase I clinical trial and be ready to sublicense to a leading biopharmaceutical company.
In addition to the grand prizes, the New Venture Championship awarded $1,500 to Vivlmmune and Hygia Sanitation from Thailand's Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University for placing first in the Elevator Pitch round and Trade Show, respectively. DV Tech of the University of Louisville was awarded the Palo Alto Software Best One Page Pitch, and TOUGHER received the award for the Best Written Plan.
Teams that did not qualify for the final round participated in the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network Lightning Round. Four teams won their Lightning Round Track and $1,500 each. These winners include DV Tech , Lumenostics of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Helm8 of the University of Texas at Austin, and MDAR of Northwestern University. The remaining teams were awarded $750 each as Lightning Round runners-up.
Our most sincere thanks to all of this year's judges and competitors for their contribution to the success of the New Venture Championship.
Competitors
The following teams competed in the 2016 New Venture Championship.
Lumenostics
Georgia Institute of Technology
Lumenostics has developed a revolutionary wearable technology to diagnose lymphedema, a disfiguring disease that affects one in five cancer survivors. Lymphedema causes the arms and legs to swell up to eight times their normal size and is permanent unless therapies are begun early. Unfortunately, the gold standard of diagnoses is a tape measure. Lumenostics’ powerfully simple solution is to provide patients with the ability to screen themselves for lymphedema at home using our device and analytics platform. Our target market is 900,000 cancer survivors per year along with 10,000,000 current lymphedema sufferers, representing a $1.5B opportunity.
Astraeus Technologies, Inc.
Harvard University
Lung cancer is currently the leading cause of terminal cancer. 9 million Americans are eligible for annual screening, but only 1.6 million are screened each year due to current screening protocols limiting the number of eligible patients. Our solution, the L-CARD™, detects gases unique to the breath of lung cancer patients with the aid of a smartphone. This noninvasive sensor costs less than $1 to produce, can be shipped inside an envelope, provides diagnostic information instantly, and does not generate any harmful radiation. The L-CARD was developed for clinics and hospitals as a lung cancer screening test.
MDAR Technologies
Northwestern University
MDAR has developed a next-generation 3D scanner that enables machines to see accurately in full outdoor sunlight at video rates—a first for 3D scanners. On the road, our technology enables self-driving cars to see faster and more accurately in snow, fog, and dust, which is a key step for achieving mass-scale adoption of fully-autonomous vehicles. In the factory, our technology gives equipment the ability to see as we do, unlocking new industrial automation applications.
Plantalytics
Portland State University
Plantalytics is a precision agriculture company focused on the wine industry. A growing number of vineyards are moving away from heavy pesticide use to environmentally friendly practices; these vineyards are much more susceptible to crop-killing diseases and require accurate disease prediction. By combining a dense, distributed network of environmental sensors with real-time data analytics, we give vineyard managers detailed, actionable information about their vineyards and help them identify potential disease hotspots, reduce synthetic pesticide use, and improve grape quality.
Adranos Energetics LLC
Purdue University
Adranos Energetics LLC is a company focused on the development of propellants, explosives, and other energetic materials. Adranos is developing a cost-effective solid rocket propellant called ALITEC that is more efficient, powerful, and better for the environment than traditional solid rocket propellants. ALITEC will enable missiles and space launch vehicles to a greater range and enhanced payload capacity at a reduced cost. In addition, ALITEC will enable defense and space exploration companies to reduce their harmful emissions.
Arovia, Inc.
Rice University
Arovia has created SPUD, the spontaneous pop-up display. SPUD is the first high resolution, 24-inch computer screen of its kind that collapses to the size of a small umbrella, weighs less than a pound and can connect to a phone, tablet or laptop. Arovia has made six fully functional prototypes, owns the IP and the technology is currently patent pending. Arovia has received a $50K grant from the National Science Foundation and has been accepted to University of Houston’s world famous industrial design incubator program to further develop the industrial design of SPUD.
Hygia Sanitation
Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University
Hygia Sanitation is a for-profit enterprise that provides sustainable, on-site sanitation solutions that are both innovative and affordable. Our vision is to improve quality of life by providing proper sanitation for all. Our mission is to ensure that wastewater is treated effectively before it is disposed back into the environment; subsequently reducing public health hazards, destruction of the ecosystem, and economic losses.
Taniix
Thammasat University
Taniix is a disruptive new technology of plant growth regulator. Taniix has been proven to increase ROI for farmers by up to 90% through optimizing production yield. In certain crops Taniix can increase crops up to 3 times and improve the grade quality of produce up to 30%.
PetSnap
UCLA
PetSnap is a freemium SaaS electronic medical records platform and app that allows pet parents to digitize and organize their pet’s records, which is often a mix of paper and digital files. Pet owners can now easily share records with their new sitter, dog walker, or vet, and have access to their files anywhere in case of emergency.
TheraCea
University of Arizona
TheraCea Pharma develops innovative therapeutics for over one billion people suffering from neurological disorders. Currently, the company’s drug pipeline consists of novel compounds with demonstrated effects on brain receptors. TheraCea’s business strategy initially focuses on a therapeutic aimed at treating the most common side effect of Parkinson’s disease (PD)—dyskinesia, or involuntary muscle movement. Future drug development efforts, however, concentrate on the lucrative markets associated with substance abuse and addiction treatment.
VivImmune, Inc
University of Arkansas
VivImmune is a biotechnology company focused on transforming bladder cancer therapy, a disease mired in 40-year-old, low efficacy technology. Our lead molecule, VI-003, is part of a new class of cancer treatments called immunotherapies. VI-003 is designed to be injected directly into a tumor and remain there, activating the immune system only where needed. In mice, VI-003 eliminated more than 90% of bladder tumors and generated immunity to prevent new tumors. We envision that by 2021, VI-003 will have completed a Phase I clinical trial and ready to sublicense to a leading biopharmaceutical company.
DV Tech
University of Louisville
DV Tech is commercializing an innovative process that will disrupt the synthetic rubber manufacturing industry. DV Tech will use its patent pending technology to return vulcanized rubber to its virgin form. Our product, re-SBR™, is a substitute for synthetic rubber in existing manufacturing processes, closing the loop on the rubber life cycle. By offering this recycling solution, DV Tech solves the problem of waste in the synthetic rubber industry, particularly the 243 million tires disposed in the U.S. annually. In partnership with University of Louisville researchers and industry advisors, DV Tech will provide a sustainable and competitively priced solution to the rubber industry.
Certus Therapeutics, Inc.
University of Notre Dame
Certus™ offers a precision nanoparticle drug delivery platform known as Lypos™. We have engineered cancer drug formulations with enhanced tumor-targeting technology that lead to increased drug efficacy and improved patient outcomes. This technology will be highly attractive to pharmaceutical companies that desire a greater chance for FDA approval of new and existing drugs. Using the Lypos™ manufacturing technique, Certus™ will partner with these companies to develop co-owned drug therapies.
TougHer
University of Oregon
Finding apparel that fits women in hard labor activities is still daunting today. TOUGHER is a new brand of women’s workwear for the field, backyard, and shop. Our customers are women in skilled trades, like construction or agriculture, and devoted DIYers who want apparel that not only fits but is also flattering to wear. We are putting an end to workwear that looks like a feed sack doused in pink. Our apparel empowers women to perform at their best.
Helm8
University of Texas at Austin
Helm8, LLC is a protective sporting equipment manufacturing company with a mission to provide cyclists with superior performance helmets. Our product will offer protection from repeated impacts, better ventilation, more comfortability, and will not need to be replaced as often as other biking helmets in the market.