Slater Fund and RI Bio Receive Nearly $600,000 to Support Healthcare Tech Startups
Monday, September 21, 2020
Two Rhode Island organizations have received a total of $597,500 in grants from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s 2020 Build to Scale Capital Challenge.
Slater Technology Fund received $300,000 of the federal grant to partner with Brown University on a new initiative to boost healthcare-related technology startups.
RI Bio won a $297,500 grant to launch a program aimed at commercializing and expanding life science startup activity in Rhode Island.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe EDA’s Capital Challenge is designed to increase access to capital in communities where risk capital is in short supply. Funding from the Capital Challenge may be used to provide operational support for the formation, launch, or scale of investment funds that seek to invest capital in scalable startups.
Slater Technology Fund’s Translational Ventures
For Slater, this EDA funding will allow Slater to collaborate with Brown University and other partners to establish Translational Ventures, a regional initiative dedicated to growing the knowledge economy. "The initiative will focus on investing in seed-stage technology companies working in translational research—research specifically designed to improve health outcomes. Translational Ventures will help startups seek out new technologies, facilitate connections with founders and funders, and establish best practices to expand the initiative to other universities in the region," said Slater.
“Entrepreneurs drive translational research out of the labs and into the world. Money powers these teams, and Slater has been innovating alongside them in the area of risk capital,” said Thorne Sparkman, managing director of Slater Technology Fund. “The EDA grant will accelerate our capital formation activities which support the most compelling founders attacking the most important problems. There’s no better foundation for that than research from a top-tier university, so we’re excited to work with our partners at Brown to expand on our mission.”
“We are excited to work with Slater Technology Fund on this important initiative and appreciative of these efforts to grow startups,” said Neil Veloso, executive director of Brown Technology Innovations. “When paired with entrepreneurs and seeded with capital, innovations launched at Brown can form the basis of high-impact startup companies that can benefit both the state’s economy and residents across the region.”
RI Bio Network Program
RI Bio said in announcing the grant that it will use the $297,500 EDA grant to launch the new RI Bio Network Program, which is aimed at commercializing and expanding life science startup activity in Rhode Island. The RI Bio Network Program will represent an expansion of RI Bio’s suite of business and technical assistance available to the life sciences community.
“RI Bio is excited to be among the 52 recipients awarded the EDA Build to Scale funds. Through this significant and timely investment, we can grow the Life Sciences entrepreneurial ecosystem in RI and transform the state into a recognized leader as a Life Sciences innovation hub. The future of RI’s economic prosperity depends on our ability to support an integrated entrepreneurial ecosystem, fueled by vision, partnerships, collaboration and important investments like this,” said Carol Malysz, Executive Director of RI Bio.
“Most importantly, this EDA investment will allow RI Bio and our partners to commercialize and expand life science start-up activity in Rhode Island’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Rhode Island will have the chance to bring medical and scientific excellence to the forefront to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, impacting the health and wellbeing of all Rhode Islanders,” she added.
RI Bio is Rhode Island’s Life Sciences trade organization and state affiliate of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the world’s largest biotech trade organization. As the Life Sciences convener and hub for Rhode Island, RI Bio connects entrepreneurs with universities, government agencies, medical centers, professional associations, trade organizations, service providers and investors, to help bring their developments to market, create jobs, and make an economic impact in Rhode Island.
Related Articles
- URI Biotech Student Uses His Connections to Give Back to Community
- Slater Fund Invests $600K in URI Spinoff Alcinous Pharmaceuticals
- Slater Technology Fund’s Sparkman to Speak at Providence Geeks Event
- “RI Tech and Innovation Report”— Big Win at SXSW by Sproutel, Slater and More