Third Frontier Commission Approves $32MM for Central Ohio Ventures
Last Thursday, innovators and industry leaders from across Ohio gathered at TechColumbus for an annual meeting of the Third Frontier Commission. More than $84.9 million of funding was approved for startups and emerging technologies throughout the state, nearly $32 million of which was directed to ventures within the Central Ohio region alone.
Of the companies that received investment from the Third Frontier, four were either TechColumbus portfolio companies or affiliates.
The Ohio State University, a TechColumbus innovation partner, received $21 million as a part of the Technology Commercialization Center Program. This grant will help the university to establish a Neurotechnology Innovations Translator to improve the quality of life for people afflicted by various neurological conditions.
Cardiox and Inmobly, two TechColumbus portfolio companies, were recipients of the Commercialization Acceleration Loan Fund. The purpose of this fund is to assist technology companies with product certification, final customer validation, and other processes to transition emerging technologies to market. Cardiox and Inmobly, who received $1.7 million and $1 million, respectively, were two of five recipients of the award.
NCT Ventures secured $3 million to invest in early-stage ventures through the Pre-Seed Fund Capitalization Program. TechColumbus, along with the Ohio TechAngel Funds and the Ohio State University Center for Entrepreneurship, are also collaborators in the fund.
Three other Central Ohio-based companies received $100,000 of investment through the Technology Validation and Start-Up Fund, including Hilliard-based TeraProbes, Inc., Powell-based Lattice Biotech LLC, and Columbus-based Columbus Technology LLC. In addition, Columbus’ Edison Welding Institute received $4,895,821 as a part of the Industrial Research and Development Center Program.
Award recipients ran the spectrum of emerging high-growth technology, from medicine and pharmacy to water treatment to microchip processing. Some were investment funds; some were early-stage startups and universities.
Each of these companies stimulates innovation, industry, and, most importantly, the local economy.
“As David Goodman, chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission, said, “The investment in our innovators will continue bringing jobs to the state; by maintaining a focus on local job growth, the Third Frontier helps startups, investment firms and resources like TechColumbus to further our collective vision for the local innovation economy.”
