2 YBI Startups Receive $25K Innovation Fund Grants
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Two startup portfolio companies at the Youngstown Business Incubator have received $25,000 apiece from The Innovation Fund of Northeast Ohio to help offset costs associated with equipment, development, and project validation, the fund announced today.
Enyx Studios, a video game development studio that uses virtual reality to create interactive experiences for gamers, will use the award to acquire hardware and software that will accelerate the company’s development. The money would also enable Enyx to produce a high-quality trailer to promote its product,.
JuggerBot 3D Electric, a technology company that develops 3-D printers for engineering, plans to use the money to build printers for case studies that would be used during the product’s beta-testing phase. The company’s case sites include a Fortune 200 tier-one automotive supplier and a plastics engineering university, according to the funding announcement.
The Innovation Fund, an early-stage financing vehicle founded by the Lorain County Community College Foundation based in Elyria, committed $250,000 during this round of funding to seven regional technology companies.
Six startups in northeastern Ohio were each awarded $25,000 and one company was awarded a $100,000 grant.
The Innovation Fund awards technology-based startups up to $100,000 quarterly to help them validate their technologies and business concepts. The funds are made available through the Ohio Third Frontier and matching support from Innovation Fund partners. These include the YBI, Youngstown State University, University of Akron Research Foundation, Cleveland State University, Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise, Lorain County Community College Foundation, Stark State College, and Northeast Ohio Medical University.
To date, the Innovation Fund has committed $11 million to 165 startups, which have leveraged $211 million in additional funding, according to today’s announcement.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
