(From Bangor Daily News) Dermarus, the startup company that developed a cream from lobster waste to fight dry skin has an office in the New England Ocean Cluster. The Cluster is a business incubator located in Portland that hopes to attract similar innovators to grow the ocean “blue economy” in Maine. Read more »
(From sbir.gov) Central Maine Growth Council (CMGC) won $25,000 from the U.S. Small Business Association for their “Visionary” Lab-to-Market plan. CMGC recently received MTI funding as well. Read more »
(From Maine Public) Running Tide Technologies has an innovative approach that’s drawing attention from scientists and investors: grow massive amounts of seaweed, then bury it at the bottom of the sea where it will sequester carbon. MTI was an early supporter of the project. Read more »
(From Times Record) TechPlace is a 95,0000-square-foot technology incubator at Brunswick Landing, created to support entrepreneurs, startups and early-stage companies. TechPlace partners with many organizations including MTI. Read more »
(From Space.com) The world's first commercial booster powered by biofuel was launched from Maine. The Brunswick-based startup, bluShift Aerospace launched its first rocket prototype, called Stardust 1.0, despite freezing temperatures and two false starts. In addition to team members investing their own money into the project, the company received funding from MTI and NASA. Read more »
(From Maine Startups Insider) Farmhand Automation, a Biddeford-based startup developing robotic and AI tools for small-scale farms, has raised $290,000 ahead of its first fully autonomous trials with farmers. This funding is on top of a $75,000 grant the company received in October 2020 from MTI and $200,000 in exploratory capital and grants the company raised in 2019. Read more »
(From Mainebiz) Technology that’s typically used to make patterned paper for the fashion industry could also be a used to mass-produce water purification systems and medical devices. Read more »
(From sbir.gov) Portland-based RockStep Solutions is one of the recipients of the 2020 Tibbetts Awards for exceptional successes achieved through SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. MTI helped them apply for SBIR funding, provided matching funding for their SBIR grants, and nominated the company for the prestigious award. Read more »
(From Bangor Daily News) The Roux Institute aims to help relieve the state’s critical workforce shortage and help businesses retain talented workers. Teaching is initially focused on life science and medicine, engineering and data visualization, all incorporating elements of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Read more »
(From Mainebiz) Portland-based digital health startup KinoTek Inc. has named its first two independent board members - Krystal Williams and Burak Sezen - as it prepares to debut its software product. Observers on the board include Matthew Hoffner of MTI, as well as co-founder/Chief Product Officer David Holomakoff. Read more »