University of Dayton Tech Startups Receive $200,000 in State Grants
Several tech startups that are part of the University of Dayton’s (UD) Propel program have been awarded $200,000 grants each from the State of Ohio Technology Validation Startup Fund. The funding is designed to support entrepreneurs in commercializing technologies developed at the university.
Grant Recipients
The following companies were selected for the grants:
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Kalix: This company is developing solutions for affordable, fast, and accurate on-site detection and management of diseases caused by parasites, bacteria, or viruses in animal, dairy, and agricultural farms.
“The way existing testing works, farmers have to send samples to outside labs and the results can take days or even weeks,” said Vamsy Chodavarapu, a UD electrical and computer engineering professor and co-founder of Kalix.
Kalix’s technology uses advanced molecular diagnostics and artificial intelligence to facilitate disease detection and management directly on farms. Kalix was also a winner in UD’s Flyer Pitch Competition, receiving $25,000 in cash and $25,000 in support from the Entrepreneurs’ Center in Dayton.
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Nabu Optical Systems: This company has created a nanomanufacturing platform to establish its technology for the semiconductor industry in southwestern and central Ohio. This platform is designed to serve the needs of small and medium enterprises and startups in various industries.
“Small and medium enterprises and innovative startups in many fields ranging from digital health to the automotive industry often require custom electronic chips for their products, but are poorly served by the manufacturing industry,” said Imad Agha, founder and UD associate professor of physics and electro-optics and photonics.
Nabu’s technology seeks to offer low-cost and high-throughput solutions, reducing time to market for startups. They also receive support from the Entrepreneurs’ Center in Dayton.
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CapV LLC: A 5G microelectronics company developing software-tunable hardware solutions for defense and telecommunication applications.
“CapV was born through a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Wideband Adaptive RF Protection (WARP) Phase 2 program where UD was subcontracted for the key component, a thin film variable capacitor (varactor),” said Guru Subramanyam, a UD professor of electrical and computer engineering and CapV co-founder.
CapV plans to develop an end-to-end fabrication process for varactors and varactor-based hardware solutions that will benefit defense and aerospace systems.
Propel Dayton’s Role
Mathew Willenbrink, UD’s director of technology and entrepreneurial partnerships, noted that the State of Ohio awarded these grants in large part because of the startups’ connection with Propel Dayton.
“Thanks to a generous anonymous gift that helped launch Propel Dayton in 2020 and a subsequent gift from Dave Schoettmer, we are able to build on our region’s legacy of entrepreneurship and create new businesses from locally grown technologies.”
Propel Dayton was launched in response to UD President Eric F. Spina’s initiative to encourage entrepreneurship within the University. Although the program was created primarily to assist UD faculty and staff in commercializing their technologies, Propel Dayton also partners with regional entrepreneurs interested in bringing UD-developed technologies to market.
The university intends for Propel Dayton to leverage its extensive portfolio of technologies and intellectual property developed by the University of Dayton Research Institute and its various research efforts. UD has over $2 billion in sponsored research in fields such as corrosion protection, nanotechnology, and image analysis, leading to promising technologies.
Propel Dayton offers resources to those in the program, including mentorship, business planning assistance, and networking opportunities. The three-phase program starts with exploring commercial opportunities with entrepreneurs, followed by a pre-accelerator phase, and finally, the launch of new companies.
To learn more about Propel Dayton, contact Willenbrink at mwillenbrink1@udayton.edu or visit the Propel Dayton website.
