(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - The Ohio Third Frontier Commission today approved nearly $6.5 million to support the research and commercialization of medical, military, and scientific technologies.

A total of 15 applicants are receiving grant funding through the Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation and Start-up Fund (TVSF), which supports Ohio companies aiming to license institution-owned technologies and get licensed technology to the marketplace faster.

Awards are focused on technology and tech-enabled products in advanced manufacturing; advanced materials; biomedical and life sciences; energy; sensors; and software and information technology.

"Through this round of awards from our Technology Validation and Startup Fund, we have an opportunity to strengthen essential industries like the medical field and be at the forefront of cutting-edge technology like AI programming," said Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development and chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission. "These grants are an investment into future growth and success that help Ohio remain the Heart of Innovation."

Technology Validation and Start-up Awards

Astute Signals, Inc., located in the city of Shaker Heights (Cuyahoga County), was awarded $200,000 to help develop the journaling apps and application programming interface necessary for integrating the AI sentient algorithm that will use visual and auditory signals to diagnose certain behavioral health conditions. This evidence-based intervention will be primarily for individuals that have anxiety and depression but do not have the means to get traditional psychological services. University Hospitals is the licensing institute.

Bon Secours Mercy Health Foundation, located in the city of Toledo (Lucas County), was awarded $225,000 to fund early-stage technologies that potentially have a significant competitive advantage in the market categories of medical devices, medical diagnostics, healthcare IT, and healthcare solutions/services. Validation projects will consist of prototype development, product development, marketing, and regulatory pathways.

Bowerbags LLC, located in the city of Dayton (Montgomery County), was awarded $200,000 to integrate a U.S. Army-developed load distribution system with technology from the Air Force Research Laboratory to address the physical challenges caused by the weight of equipment worn by soldiers. The technology is expected to reduce the number of injuries in the U.S. military by addressing the weight-load distribution problems caused by inadequate ergonomic gear.

BrandRank.ai, located in the city of Cincinnati (Hamilton County), was awarded $200,000 to create an anti-hallucination filter for verifying the accuracy of information provided by generative AI answer engines. An answer engine is software that provides a detailed, specific answer to a user's question. A "hallucination" is when AI generates inaccurate or misleading information. This project will leverage National Security Agency-developed technology and build a mechanism to test the software by quantitatively scoring large language model outputs against various data sets - such as an employee handbook or a company's return and refund policy. The technology is being licensed by the U.S. National Security Agency.

Case Western Reserve University, located in the city of Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), was awarded $1 million to support the Case Technology Validation and Startup Fund program (CTP). . The main goal is to provide resources to the principal investigators of each project so they will have access to business mentorship and market research funding.

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, located in the city of Cincinnati (Hamilton County), was awarded $250,000 to support their validation fund which advances commercially viable technologies. Each project will have a commercialization coach to advise them on strategic planning and networking. The center's strategy for this grant will revolve around advancing technologies so they can be licensed to Ohio high-tech start-ups.

University of Cincinnati, located in the city of Cincinnati (Hamilton County), was awarded $500,000 to support the UC Venture Lab created to accelerate UC-owned technologies into new ventures. Each project will have an executive-in-residence to provide business mentorship and coaching. The goal of this grant is to bring new technology companies and jobs to Ohio.

Cleveland Clinic Foundation, located in the city of Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), was awarded $1 million to support the development of biomedical and software technologies. The goal of this grant is to boost economic development in Ohio by accelerating the introduction of top-notch technologies into Ohio's innovative ecosystem. The processes of technological development, validation activities, and spinning out are expected to be fast-tracked by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Dayton Photonics Systems LLC, located in the city of Dayton (Montgomery County), was awarded $200,000 to commercialize a laser-based, point-to-point communication system. The B-Link provides a broadband optical link through the air. This new wireless technology can provide reliable broadband coverage between one and five miles in the middle mile network. The U.S. Army is the licensing institute.

DEB Technologies, LLC, located in the city of New Albany (Franklin County), was awarded $200,000 to commercialize the DEB shoe. DEB stands for the device for gait, efficiency, and balance. The shoe contains magnetic technology that reduces the chances of falling and crossing legs for wearers who have compromised leg strength and will be marketed towards those 60 years of age and older. The licensing institute is the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Galvanix Inc., located in the city of Moreland Hills (Cuyahoga County), was awarded $200,000 to commercialize a novel process that creates oxygen, metal, and low-grade heat. The initial priority of this project will be to produce neodymium metal by metallizing neodymium oxide to produce the pure version of the metal. This metal is necessary for magnets used in computer hard drives, electric vehicles, windmills, and other defense applications. The expected end result of this project is to develop a demonstration-scale system that will be the basis of attracting additional early-stage investment capital. The licensing institute is Case Western Reserve University.

Ignyte Assurance Platform, located in the city of Centerville (Montgomery County), was awarded $200,000 to implement advanced AI technology into a cybersecurity platform to protect organizations from new cyber-attacks. Organizations face new privacy and security threats due to the accelerated development of AI, and this cybersecurity solution is intended to be compliant with new AI regulations. This project will help secure company data, enhance the product, create jobs in Ohio, and support customer needs. The U.S. Air Force is the licensing institute.

Northeast Ohio Medical University, located in the city of Rootstown (Portage County), was awarded $100,000 to fund translational research "from the bench to the bedside." The university's overarching goal is to provide emerging medical technology treatments to patients and to organize, pay, commercialize, and exit feasible product-delivery pipelines.

The Ohio State University, located in the city of Columbus (Franklin County), was awarded $1 million to support the Accelerator Awards program and transfer cutting-edge technologies into the market via high-tech start-ups. The Accelerator Awards program is designed to validate novel technologies and potentially gain access to early-stage funding for those technologies.

University Hospitals Health System, Inc, located in the city of Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), was awarded $1 million to support UH Ventures, which is the innovation acceleration segment of the hospital system. The goal is to identify, develop, and deploy disruptive innovations that were created within UH. The fund will de-risk and boost the commercialization of UH-owned intellectual property. Validation activities will consist of market validation, prototype development, bolstering business plans, and identifying new partners.

The next round of the TVSF program opens at 10 a.m. Oct. 25. To learn more and apply, visit the program webpage at Development.Ohio.gov/TVSF.

The Ohio Department of Development empowers communities to succeed by investing in Ohio's people, places, and businesses. Learn more about our work at https://development.ohio.gov/.

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