Southern Indiana Business Report
Newberry-based startup company Ateios is a recipient of assistance from a new round of funding from the Elevate Ventures venture capital fund. Since coming to Indiana, Ateios has used the facilities and expertise of the Battery Innovation Center (BIC) to refine its product development in the customizable battery technology field.
Including Ateios, Twelve Indiana companies are receiving $649,000 as part of the Phase I and Phase II matching awards of the state’s Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer Program.
Elevate Ventures matches 50% up to $50,000 for Phase I and up to $75,000 for Phase II. In total, Elevate says the companies stand to receive $5.4 million in federal rewards that will help propel their various technology development initiatives.
Phase I of the program focuses on assessing the feasibility and potential of research and development projects, while Phase II focuses on further product development and commercialization.
“The Matching Funds program gives Ateios better control over our schedule and allows us to maintain a better relationship with our program managers as we can turn the work around quite quickly, leading to a more fruitful relationship,” said Carlos Munoz. , chief operating officer at Ateios. “Without the funds, we would have to wait 45 days or more to order the necessary supplies, which would result in at least a two-month delay before starting the project.”
Elevate Ventures describes itself as part venture capital fund and part entrepreneurial development partner. This twofold strategy allows the organization to not only provide investment capital to Indiana entrepreneurs and investment opportunities to funders, but it also builds community and university partnerships focused on entrepreneurs and innovation.