Florida State University-affiliated startup companies took to the stage “Shark Tank”-style at the third annual Discovery Challenge event, pitching their cutting-edge businesses and walking away with a combined $85,000 in new funding.
Discovery Challenge was a high-energy event with five startups pitching their ideas to judges and a packed audience about how they planned to take FSU-supported technologies to the next level of development and commercialization. The event, held Tuesday at the Augustus B. Turnbull III Conference Center, was part of FSU’s annual Discovery Days, a weeklong celebration of research, creativity and innovation.
“These companies are going to impact the world and the people in it,” Vice President for Research Stacey Patterson said. “With our third annual Discovery Days, everyone at FSU is starting to see the promise of discovery, innovation and creativity that’s coming out of this type of work, how it impacts people, how it impacts Floridians —which is what being an R1 institution is really all about.”
Presenters each had six minutes to pitch their project followed by eight minutes for questions from the judges. This year’s judges were Kathy Chiu (DeepWork Capital), Micheal Kramer (K3 Investments and Super-Holdings Investments) and FSU alumna Christina Larkin (Mobius Care).
The five presentations featured a range of topics: preventing premature births and resulting complications; developing smart sensors with wide applications for infrastructure and lifestyle; a solution to help chronic wounds heal more effectively; screening for radioactive materials in food and in other applications; and smart controls, analytics and other tools for the energy industry.
Joshua Degraff with Feel With Me Tech took home the first prize of $50,000 as well as the audience choice award of $10,000. Rich Meeker with Nhu Energy was awarded the second prize of $25,000.
Joshua Degraff: Feel With Me Tech
Degraff won first place and crowd favorite for his company’s development of smart sensors that can provide data-driven insights in various fields, including infrastructure and health care.
The low-cost sensors can provide plug-and-play insights into the structural health of the objects they are operating on or with, allowing for proactive and preventive maintenance. Potential applications include smart cities and telehealth.
“Events like Discovery Challenge are really important because it gives researchers an opportunity to show people what we’ve been doing and how our research could push society forward and improve the quality of life for so many people,” Degraff said. “When I explain this research and technology in terms of things that everyone can relate to, it’s a lot easier for people to grasp the impact.”
Rick Meeker: Nhu Energy
Meeker took home second prize for his company Nhu Energy’s development of digital operating technology for resilient clean energy and storage to address aging power grids, rising costs of electricity and power outages.
The technology supports clean, resilient and economical clean-energy microgrids and has applications for many use-cases including hospitals, artificial intelligence data centers and other high-value mission-critical sectors.
Turner Seay: Oxemose Pharmaceuticals
Oxemose Pharmaceuticals, founded by FSU College of Medicine Professor Zucai Suo, is improving the treatment options available for the more than 6.5 million Americans affected by chronic wounds, like those from diabetes or extended age. Seay pitched medical technology that uses exosomes derived from stem cells to deliver drug treatments where patients need it most, and it has been shown to heal chronic wounds 50% faster than current treatment models.
Zhonghui Chen: Roentgen Matters
Chen pitched his company Roentgen Matter’s solution to helping ensure the food entering American homes is free of harmful contaminants. The company’s large area radiation detector could be used to develop screening methods to identify issues with radioactivity in food, and it could also be adapted for other industries, such as shipping and medicine.
Marcel Botha: Prena
Botha’s company Prena is focused on reducing the number of infant deaths related to preterm complications by putting prenatal contractions to rest. Prena’s eye mask offers a solution mothers can wear at night that delivers light therapy targeting the mother’s melatonin levels, which at higher levels can induce contractions.
Discovery Challenge was supported by FSU’s IGNITE initiative, a program designed to grow new technology ventures through business development expertise, an expansive community network, top-of-the-line facilities and access to funding sources.
FSU Discovery Days events continue through Saturday, Oct. 25. For the full calendar of events, visit discoverydays.fsu.edu.