Twenty-four innovative small companies across North Carolina will get grants to develop new products, hire more employees, and purchase needed materials, Governor Roy Cooper announced today. A total of $1.1 million from the One North Carolina Small Business Program will go to the selected technology-oriented businesses in 14 communities across the state.
“These innovative companies have the ideas to succeed but need help with seed money to create new technologies and bring them to market,” said Governor Cooper. “These grants can help spur new products and industries, increase the number of high-paying jobs across the state, and improve our quality of life.”
The One NC Small Business Program, one of the first of its kind in the nation, provides state grants to match federal funds awarded through the highly competitive Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which help small companies develop new and innovative technologies that have high potential for commercialization.
This year’s cohort of grantees is the most geographically diverse in the program’s history. Criteria were established for this grant cycle to prioritize new companies and companies outside the state’s most prosperous counties, resulting in an increased number of grants going to companies in the state’s 80 most economically distressed counties.
“The North Carolina Board of Science, Technology & Innovation recognized the growing split between urban and rural parts of the state,” said Michael Cunningham, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Red Hat, Inc. and Board Chair. “In an effort to bridge this divide, the Board was able to provide more grants to rural parts of the state in this cohort of grantees, thus supporting greater innovation statewide.”
Since 2006, the One North Carolina Small Business Program has helped more than 270 companies in 45 cities across North Carolina develop and bring to market hundreds of high-tech products. North Carolina is among a handful of innovative states that have chosen to bolster their economy this way. A 2017 evaluation of the program’s results found it has created or supported more than 900 high paying jobs, attracted more than $500 million in external investment, and generated $125 million in total commercial sales directly from the technology developed with the program’s funding.
“The One NC Small Business Program has been instrumental in driving technological innovation across the state,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland. “The Program provides funding for companies in a wide variety of sectors, including life sciences, chemicals, agriculture, computers, communications, military/defense, pharmaceuticals, energy, materials, and others.”
The program’s grants support companies at a critical stage of their growth, shortening the time needed from takeoff to the point where they become large, successful companies. Many recipients have said the grants were the vital injection of capital they needed to put their companies on a successful trajectory.
The Office of Science, Technology, & Innovation, a division of the North Carolina Department of Commerce, administers the program on behalf of the Board. For additional information, see https://www.nccommerce.com/grants-incentives/technology-funds/one-north-carolina-small-business-program.
One North Carolina Small Business Awards
July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019
- Adamas Nanotechnologies, Inc. of Raleigh: $50,000 to develop multicolor fluorescent nanodiamonds for improved imaging in cancer research and diagnostics. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Altis Biosystems, Inc. of Chapel Hill: $50,000 to develop a stem cell co-culture cassette for advanced compound screening to make drug discovery faster and cheaper. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Arcato Laboratories, Inc. of Greenville: $34,986.50 to develop a local treatment for pain associated with tooth extraction that does not include opiates in the medication. This STTR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Arrevus, Inc. of Raleigh: $50,000 to develop an in vitro assay to aid in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections. This STTR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Energyxchain, LLC of Huntersville: $50,000 to create a blockchain technology platform to track and improve efficiency in the natural gas industry's contract/permissions, operations and settlement transaction processes. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
- Goldfinch Sensor Technologies and Analytics, LLC of Cary: $50,000 to assess and model the feasibility of a new sensor to measure voids that cause weaknesses in systems of energy production. This SBIR project is sponsored by the Department of Energy.
- Haw River Mushrooms, LLC of Graham: $50,000 to develop a replicable farming model ideal for small and mid-sized farms that can efficiently produce gourmet mushrooms, medicinal and culinary herbs, and vermicompost. This SBIR project is sponsored by the Department of Agriculture.
- Ingateygen, LLC of Elizabeth City: $50,000 to develop a commercial prototype for a hypoallergenic peanut to combat peanut allergies and potential food recalls. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
- Intelli-Products, Inc. of Asheville: $50,000 to build and test an automated assembly system to reduce installation costs of solar panel arrays. This SBIR project is sponsored by the Department of Energy.
- Isolere Bio, Inc. of Durham: $50,000 to develop a faster and more cost-effective method for the purification of antibodies during drug development. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Kepley Biosystems, Inc. of Greensboro: $50,000 to validate a renewable approach to horseshoe crab blood harvesting that decreases the mortality rates of crabs and increases their long-term sustainability. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
- Praetego, Inc. of Durham: $50,000 to develop and test new drugs for treating neuropathy caused by diabetes. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Primeneuro, Inc. of Durham: $50,000 to develop software methods and algorithms for improved detection of autism spectrum disorder. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Rescindo Therapeutics, Inc. of Cary: $50,000 to develop a new therapeutic agent for the treatment of Kabuki Syndrome, a pediatric congenital disorder. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Secmation, LLC of Raleigh: $50,000 to develop high-assurance software cryptography to increase the security of communications in small defense satellites. This SBIR project is sponsored by the United States Air Force, Department of Defense.
- Sinnovatek, Inc. of Raleigh: $48,958.50 to develop a low-cost and portable small-scale thermal processing system to help farmers get more of their products to market and reduce food waste. This SBIR project is sponsored by the Department of Agriculture.
- Studio Hagler, LLC of Chapel Hill: $50,000 to develop a bassinet to support the safe implementation of skin-to-skin contact for mothers and newborns. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Treadwell Corporation of Wilmington: $43,260 to develop momentum-enabled treadling methodology and device to improve mobility in patients with peripheral arterial disease. This STTR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- Triangle Biotechnology, Inc. of Chapel Hill: $50,000 to advance a nanodroplet reagent to decrease cost and increase speed and consistency in genetic sequencing. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
- United Protective Technologies, LLC of Locust: $24,784.50 to develop nanocomposite gear coatings to increase fuel efficiency and reduce maintenance in air and ground vehicles. This SBIR project is sponsored by the Special Operations Command, Department of Defense.
- Upstream Biotechnology, Inc. of Sanford: $50,000 to develop broad-spectrum, disease-resistant soybeans to enhance crop yield potential. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
- Vigilant Cyber Systems, Inc. of Mount Airy: $50,000 to develop an electromagnetic, battle damage assessment toolkit to assess the effects of high-power electromagnetic attacks. This SBIR project is sponsored by the United States Air Force, Department of Defense.
- Voxel Innovations, Inc. of Raleigh: $50,000 to develop and test additive components and methods for heat-free, stress-free surface finishing in rocket engine pumps, turbine blade tips, and other turbomachinery. This SBIR project is sponsored by the United States Navy, Department of Defense.
- Zymeron Corporation of Durham: $50,000 to develop a targeted and sustained-release aspirin formulation for preventing colon cancer. This SBIR project is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.