Purdue-Affiliated Startup Wavelogix Receives $3 Million Investment
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Wavelogix, a startup built on technology developed at Purdue University’s College of Engineering, has received a $3 million Series A investment from Rhapsody Venture Partners. The venture capital firm, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializes in investments in hard-tech companies.
Luna Lu, Purdue’s Reilly Professor in the Lyles School of Civil Engineering and founder of Wavelogix, invented the Rebel concrete strength sensors. “Rhapsody’s investment in Wavelogix shows that our sensors bring immense value to the industry,” Lu said. “Its funding will allow us to scale manufacturing and enable nationwide deployment of the technology.”
Jason Whaley, a general partner and co-founder of Rhapsody Venture Partners, brings extensive experience as an entrepreneur and startup investor in the hard-tech sector. Prior to Rhapsody, Whaley co-founded and served as CEO of Manus Biosynthesis, an industrial biotechnology company.
“Wavelogix’s solution is transformative for concrete construction,” Whaley stated. “Short-term, it will allow accelerated project timelines and eliminate costly quality control errors. Beyond this, Wavelogix will enable data-driven decision-making and optimization of concrete mix designs, which will reduce carbon footprints, eliminate waste and lead to more durable structures.”
Lu disclosed the sensor system to the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization, which then secured the patent for the intellectual property and licensed it to Wavelogix.
Why Monitoring Concrete Matters
Concrete pavement, though comprising less than 2% of U.S. roads, accounts for approximately 20% of the U.S. interstate system, according to data from the Federal Highway Administration. Lu’s research has focused on improving concrete pavement because it is the most challenging road material to repair. Furthermore, concrete interstate pavement must reliably support a large proportion of the nation’s traffic.
“Traffic jams caused by infrastructure repairs have wasted 4 billion hours and 3 billion gallons of gas on a yearly basis. This is primarily due to insufficient knowledge and understanding of concrete’s strength levels,” Lu explained. “For instance, we don’t know when concrete will reach the right strength needed to accommodate traffic loads just after construction. The concrete may go through premature failure, leading to frequent repairing.”
Developing the Rebel Concrete Strength Sensors
Traditional methods used by the construction industry, which have been in place for over a century, require testing large concrete samples either in a lab or on-site. Engineers use the collected data to estimate the strength level a particular concrete mix will reach after being poured and left to cure. However, discrepancies can arise between lab conditions and the conditions on outdoor construction sites.
The Rebel concrete strength sensors eliminate the need for relying on samples to estimate when the concrete is ready for usage. Instead, the sensors allow engineers to directly monitor the fresh concrete and accurately measure its properties. The sensor communicates with engineers via a smartphone app, providing precise information about when the pavement is strong enough to handle heavy traffic.
Construction workers can easily install Rebel sensors by simply placing them on the ground of the concrete formwork before pouring concrete. The sensor cable then plugs into a reusable handheld device, which automatically begins data logging. The app delivers real-time data about the concrete’s strength as long as the data is needed.
Industry Recognition and Awards
Wavelogix’s sensor system has already garnered national recognition. In April 2024, Wavelogix was awarded a gold honor from the Edison Awards for critical human infrastructure. The sensor was also included in Time’s Best Inventions of 2023 and recognized by Fast Company magazine as one of its Next Big Things in Tech for 2022. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure selected the technology as one of its “Gamechangers” for the year. Also in 2022, Wavelogix received a $255,996 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Science Foundation to further develop the technology.
About Wavelogix
Wavelogix is a Purdue University spinout that has developed a proprietary Internet of Things sensing and data analytics platform for infrastructure quality testing. The company’s award-winning technology provides real-time data on the strength of concrete, enabling construction engineers to make data-driven decisions regarding material selection, scheduling, budgets, and resource allocation.
About Rhapsody Venture Partners
Rhapsody Venture Partners is a venture firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializing in funding early-stage applied science and engineering companies. They collaborate closely with entrepreneurs to secure anchor customers to reduce time to market and accelerate growth.
About Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization
The Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. This office supports Purdue University’s economic development initiatives by commercializing, licensing, and protecting Purdue intellectual property. In fiscal year 2023, the office finalized 150 deals with 203 technologies signed, received 400 disclosures, and issued 218 U.S. patents. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation. They received the 2019 Innovation & Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. In 2020, the IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creations and among the top 20 for patents.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is recognized as a leading public research institution, consistently ranked among the top 10 public universities in the U.S. With a focus on discovery and dissemination of knowledge, Purdue is committed to affordability and accessibility for a student body of over 105,000 across its various campuses and online programs.
