IW Seed Fund
Accel Diagnostics
AccelDx is a medical device company developing pScreen™, a disruptive blood testing platform for the diagnosis and management of medical conditions in the Home/Point-of-Care setting. AccelDx’s solution enables physicians/patients to manage diseases in a timely and effective manner, thereby reducing cost and hospitalizations. AccelDx is currently focusing on pScreen-BNP™ for the in home daily monitoring of heart condition to prevent heart failure (HF) related re-hospitalizations: an untapped market opportunity of $1.9B.
ActivAided Orthotics (acquired by Elizur)
ActivAided Orthotics has developed a line of Postural Training Apparel to eliminate back pain by training self-corrective habits. By using the body’s own natural abilities, this wearable device addresses the root cause of back pain by teaching patients how to correct the harmful behaviors in their everyday activities. ActivAided’s first product RecoveryAid was found to decrease back pain in 90% of users, helping them return to their desired active lifestyles
AdSkate
AdSkate transforms digital advertising by applying artificial intelligence (AI) to determine the relevance of content for a brand or campaign, eliminating unrelated or damaging ad delivery.
ALung Technologies, Inc.
ALung has developed the Hemolung™, an extracorporeal artificial lung that will replace or supplement the ventilator in the ICU for acute respiratory failure. The Hemolung will provide 50% of a patient’s respiratory need, allowing the lungs to heal, eliminating the need for intubation, sedation and mechanical ventilation. The Hemolung™ will reduce the incidence of ventilator associated pneumonia and hospital length of stay, resulting in a reduced cost of care for these patients. The Company has completed animal and human trials and expects initiate commercialization in Europe in Q1 2013.
Arieca
Arieca is an advanced materials start-up that is pushing the boundaries of materials functionalities in the most demanding applications. Our proprietary liquid metal embedded elastomer (LMEE) technologies allow for unprecedented performances in applications across semiconductor, aerospace, automotive, and healthcare industries.
Arin Technologies
ARIN Technologies offers a high-value solution to companies that require accurate placement and movement data of products, equipment and people in indoor environments in which GPS is ineffective.
Aurochs Brewing Company
Aurochs Brewing Company provides great tasting, craft beers that are naturally gluten-free. Every one of our beers is crafted with the spirit of the Aurochs, a legendary beast that roamed the wild countryside thousands of years ago. Our use of ancient, untamed grains imparts complex flavors shaped by generations of growth in the wilderness. Much like the Aurochs, our beers are never domesticated, always free.
Bansen Labs
Bansen Labs has created Xogo – a universal adapter that unlocks the world of technology for people with disabilities and provides opportunities for social, vocational, and recreational participation. It allows people with disabilities to use controls that work for them – like switches, joysticks, and more – to connect to the technologies everyone uses – like cable boxes, game consoles, and smart home devices.
BioHybrid Solutions, LLC.
BioHybrid Solutions™?world-renowned scientists are spearheading innovations in protein therapeutics by solving a problem facing the pharmaceutical industry: How can we create longer-lived, more effective medicine?
BlastPoint
BlastPoint creates entirely new markets for data by bringing together unlimited datasets, varied in content and structure, into one complete picture through the perspective of location.
CapSen Robotics
CapSen Robotics achieves state-of-the-art results on one of the most pressing problems in robotics and 3D computer vision—correctly identifying and locating specific objects in clutter. This breakthrough makes it possible to provide a general computer vision solution for manufacturing applications such as bin picking as well as warehouse automation tasks such as order fulfillment or inventory management. There long-term goal is to provide a universal 3D computer vision system that enables the robots of the future to see and understand the physical world.
Cassian Solutions
Cassian offers premier patient engagement tools that transform the manual labor of patient outreach into a seamless and automated process. The company’s hardware and software platform enables data-driven patient interactions efficiently at any scale
Conservation Labs, Inc.
Developer of a smart water meter technology designed to monitor water consumption in the built environment. The company’s non-invasive water meter can be attached to any water pipe and can integrate with an application to transmit data on water consumption, potential leaks and appliance usage, enabling homeowners to monitor the flow of water throughout their home and save money.
Core Power Magnetics
CorePower Magnetics produces metal amorphous nanocrystalline magnetic cores with scalable, in-line manufacturing processes. The patented materials and processes address three key challenges: thermal management, power density and efficiency. Our processes provide the ability to spatially engineer magnetic core properties to optimize performance across these dimensions.
DisSolves, Inc
DisSolves makes edible, dissolvable packaging from natural, vegan ingredients that they use to package individual servings of powdered, food products in easy-to-use pods. Using DisSolves packaging helps food and beverage brands make their powdered products more convenient and sustainable than ever before.
Diversamé
Diversamé creates tools with natural/afro textured, coiled and curly hair textures at the center of design. Hair tools have traditionally been designed with straight hair used as the default. Everyone without that hair type is forced to “make it work.” With Diversamé, those with textured hair can take the “work” out of styling and simply have fabulous hair.
EKTO VR
EKTO VR is a technology company in Pittsburgh, PA that designs and builds robotic wearables to enable the next generation of fully immersive VR experiences. The company’s flagship product, EKTO ONE, is the world’s first robotic VR movement solution, empowering users to walk naturally through digital content while staying safe, comfortable, and engaged.
Emergence Dental
Emergence Dental is a research and development-stage medical device company taking a dental-first approach to emerging new regenerative products from metallic magnesium alloys, that safely resorb when implanted in the body.
ESTAT Actuation
ESTAT is making robots safer and less expensive. We enable customers to create the next generation of mobile and human-interactive robots with our game-changing electroadhesive clutch hardware.
Finish Robotics
Finish Robotics’ mission is to solve the labor crisis on the construction job site through job-specific mobile robots
Forest Devices
Stroke is the #1 cause of disability in the world with every 40 seconds someone in the US suffering a stroke. Stroke is devastating as it is a loss of oxygen to the brain, meaning delays in treatment dramatically worsen outcomes. Forest Devices has developed a device that offers faster, earlier identification of stroke in any environment. Currently in clinical trials, this is the team that is going to fundamentally change how the world views stroke.
HiberSense
HiberSense reduces building owners’ HVAC energy costs by 40% while improving occupant comfort through an easily-installed, room-by-room climate control system. HiberSense’s Micro-Zone Climate Control™ solution includes a distributed network of intelligent sensors, proprietary software, and wireless dampers to learn and predict occupant patterns and preferences, automatically redirecting heating and cooling airflow. HiberSense is well-positioned with strong early customer traction in commercial office spaces, residential units and institutional buildings.
Identified Technologies
Industrial leaders use Identified Technologies fully-managed commercial drone solution to improve project tracking and team productivity. Our integrated software and services take care of everything from FAA compliance and flight planning, to advanced analytics. You push the start button on the drone and we take care of the rest. We help companies in construction and earth moving reduce costs and win more business with job site data and analytics. We empower ENR 400 companies, including PJ Dick, EQT, Vulcan and Casella, with the ability to track progress on highways, well pads, mines and landfills in near real-time. Mapping 100 acres in 10 minutes dramatically increases team productivity. We provide 2D data, 3D volumetrics, orthomosaics, as built versus as planned comparisons, as well as progress and cost forecasting and change detection. Our mission is to provide a new level of transparency and insights for the most difficult project management challenges.
Interphase Materials
Interphase Materials is a chemical additives and advanced materials company that provides solutions to improve efficiency of heat transfer in cooling systems. A spinout of the University of Pittsburgh Bioengineering department, their customers include some of the largest power plants and water treatment facilities in the world, as well as the US Navy.
Komodo Analytics
Komodo is a cloud-based credit rating platform that is changing the landscape of the $4T muni bond market with FICO-like credit reports for every issuer. Fragmented data sources on tens of thousands of issuers causes analysts and portfolio managers to waste countless hours manually tracking and updating spreadsheets, missing investment opportunities. Komodo lets investment professionals build and customize their own automated credit system so they can stop manually tinkering with spreadsheets and get back to focusing on return-generating activities.
LeanFM Technologies
LeanFM Technologies is pioneering a truly unique AI-ML platform that excels in fault detection and diagnosis of building HVAC systems. This intelligent solution for smart buildings identifies the root cause analysis at the component level of the software and hardware faults. The actionable dashboard reports for building managers and HVAC technicians can link with maintenance management systems and when followed, corrective actions will save energy, reduce mechanical fatigue and failure, maintain critical air quality, and improve occupant comfort.
Lumis Corp
Lumis is a cutting-edge technology company that aims to disrupt the traditional clinical and healthcare training experience by making it more immersive, accessible, and efficient. Our augmented reality and data-driven InSight Platform provides training across the healthcare education spectrum to ensure that the same quality of training can be received by anyone, at any time, and anywhere.
Maven Machines, Inc.
Maven Machines, a Pittsburgh-based B2B SaaS company, is reinventing transportation management with mission critical enterprise software solutions that optimize efficiency, safety, and profitability. Maven’s cloud-based software platform and mobile app leverage the power of IoT technology, real-time visibility, data analytics, and machine learning to meet the unique needs of its customers. Over 300 companies, including top trucking and transportation fleets with 1,000+ vehicles, are using Maven’s products to significantly improve operations.
MindTrace
MindTrace is developing technology that allows neurosurgeons to remove brain tumors and seizure-generating tissue, while ensuring each patient leaves the hospital the same person they were when they arrived, preserving personality and skills.
Module
Module designs adaptable housing that changes as your needs do. Through a patent-pending wall system and design platform, residents can turn a one bedroom starter unit into a three bedroom house. It’s just the right amount of space at the right time.
Ocugenix
Ocugenix is developing therapies for angio-fibrotic diseases of the eye such as wet macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. These diseases are caused by an aberrant wound response in the back of the eye. Ocugenix’s compound triggers the process of wound resolution to cause the regression of the excessive fibrosis and vasculature recruited to heal the wound. The ability to cause regression of the pathological vessels and fibrosis in AMD and DR offers the patient the best hope of restoring lost sight.
Panacea.Ag
Panacea.Ag applies robotics and cutting-edge technology to help farmers reduce labor, energy and lost crop costs – leading to higher revenues and increased food safety, traceability, and transparency. They work at the intersection of local food production, greenhouse automation, and tracking and compliance, to create sustainable local food ecosystems.
pathVu
pathVu is mapping the world’s sidewalks and pedestrian pathways for improved infrastructure and mobility. pathVu helps cities and civil engineering firms collect the best sidewalk and curb ramp data to prioritize sidewalk improvements. We utilize proprietary technology to generate objective, high-fidelity data up to ten times faster than standard collection methods, saving clients time and money.
pathVu spun out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2014 with a mission to improve accessibility, mobility, and safety of all pedestrians — of any ability. In addition to a focus on the pedestrian infrastructure, pathVu enables pedestrian mobility through navigation tools that inform users of the optimal and accessible paths to travel. pathVu envisions that this data has Smart City applications that will enable future mobility capabilities.
Phlux Technologies
Phlux Technologies is empowering the robots of the future with a new class of high-resolution 3D sensors. We work with robotics, industrial automation, and autonomous vehicle companies to help their systems see better and act smarter.
PieceMaker Technologies
PieceMaker Technologies is a Pittsburgh, PA based company which empowers retail stores to create customized inventory, on-demand. CNBC named their customizable products “Top trending of 2014”. The Factory in a Store is a proprietary system which lets consumers design their own products using a simple and engaging touchscreen kiosk, and then watch them made right in the store with custom manufacturing technology.
Qlicket
Qlicket helps enterprises and midsize businesses reduce turnover by giving frontline employees a voice. Qlicket’s kiosk feedback system bridges the communication gap between high turnover workers and company executives. By collecting employee sentiment more consistently and naturally than typical surveys, company leadership has insights necessary to create a happier and more productive workforce, and a healthier bottom line.
Rapid TPC
Rapid TPC manufactures and delivers high quality thermoplastic composite parts to a wide range of industries and markets, from construction and transportation to athletics and baby products. The lightweight performance materials used by rapid TPC are capable of displacing heavy materials like aluminum or steel at a lower price point than traditional composites. Using proprietary turnkey automation equipment, Rapid TPC significantly reduces the cost of manufacturing composite parts at high volumes as compared to other existing methods today.
RE2
RE2, Inc. is a leading developer of Intelligent Modular Manipulation Systems. RE2’s goal is to advance the state of the art of mobile manipulation and develop technologies that benefit robot users in the defense, public safety, and other markets. RE2 is developing mobile manipulation systems that are stronger, more dexterous, more versatile, more intuitive, smarter, and more affordable. RE2’s development efforts are focused on creating interoperable manipulation systems, intuitive human robot interfaces, and advanced autonomy software for mobile robotics.
Romeo Delivers
Romeo Delivers Inc. designs, manufactures and sells products through e-commerce, brick-and-mortar retailers and partner websites.
SolePower, LLC
SolePower creates self-charging wearables that capture wasted energy from human motion. Electronics can be powered solely by footsteps—creating “unplugged” technology that doesn’t need to be charged.
SolePower smart work boots (“SmartBoots”) collect motion and location data, providing industrial workforces with actionable insights to increase efficiency and reduce accidents. Embedded in the boot is a patented kinetic charger that generates power with every step. The system gathers and provides insights and data to improve worker safety by visualizing location and motion of workers on hazardous sites.
SwifTag
SwifTAG Systems creates ground-breaking laboratory animal management technology. The most cost-effective solutions on the market.
TalkMeUp, Inc.
TalkMeUp is a smart AI coach that transforms you and your team into better communicators, presenters, and managers.
TouchWood Labs
Touchwood Labs is revolutionizing the way we interact with technology. We’ve designed and created patent pending invisible displays that magically come to life through the surfaces of our furniture and surroundings. By merging the capabilities of this hardware platform with mindful design, Touchwood Labs is developing an ecosystem of products to build healthier relationships with technology.
Trusst Lingerie
Trusst Lingerie is an innovative, fashion and tech company that has developed a patent-pending system of support catered towards larger busted women. The company is women-owned and founded, and has a range of experience in industrial design, engineering, material science and fashion. Trusst has developed its first line of products for the DD+ market, and plans to expand in both size and product category as it grows.
VIT Initiative
VIT is creating the Fitbit for the back to keep our workforce safer! Workplace overexertion and strains are some of the biggest reasons for workplace injuries and back injuries alone costs the US $70B a year according to OSHA. We are working with nation-wide companies and one of the largest worker comp insurers in the nation to increase safety and reduce costs.
Wise Telemetry, LLC (formerly Breathwise)
With the Wise Telemetry gas sensor system, gas distributors can monitor real-time supply and usage data at each of their customers’ sites. The system automatically determines and continuously communicates a gas cylinder’s size, fill level, and usage rate without any user input or special programming. This data improves delivery route planning, usage tracking, and future demand prediction.
Zoobean
Zoobean provides web and mobile applications that help public libraries and schools better engage families and build children’s literacy. The core product, Beanstack, provides recommendations matched to each child’s interests and tools for earning incentives, including custom reading challenges.