Startup tech companies awarded $900K to continue growth in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WBKO) - Seven Kentucky companies will receive nearly $900,000 in state matching grants to support high-paying jobs and further grow the state’s technology industry, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday.

The $899,070 in grants are part of the commonwealth’s nationally recognized Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Matching Funds Program.

The funds, in part, will match $8.71 million in federal grants the businesses will collectively receive.

“Innovative companies are growing at an impressive rate in Kentucky, and we must ensure that continues by investing in the resources, people and companies that are tackling the problems of tomorrow,” said Beshear. “Our SBIR-STTR Matching Funds Program provides Kentucky companies with an incredible opportunity to turn their game-changing ideas into cutting-edge products, while also creating quality jobs in some of our country’s most high-paying fields. To continue the economic momentum we are currently experiencing, we must invest in our future. Congratulations to this latest round of awardees. I am extremely excited to see your future success in the commonwealth.”

Monique Quarterman, deputy executive director of KY Innovation’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Innovation, is encouraged by the SBIR-STTR program and what it can bring to companies in the commonwealth.

“The federal SBIR/STTR grant program pumps over $3 billion per year into U.S.-based small businesses,” said Quarterman. “These are non-dilutive capital sources that grow Kentucky businesses and enable them to produce higher wages and innovative solutions that save our nation and world. KY Innovation is thrilled to support more Kentuckians to learn about and leverage this key, accessible resource in America’s research profile.”

Recipient companies are:

3P Biotechnologies Inc. (Louisville) 3P Biotechnologies’ main technology development is a method of using exosomes derived from cow milk to deliver drug treatments for inflammatory diseases. The company’s technology development creates a way to isolate clinical-grade exosomes from the milk in large volumes, impacting both industry use and academic research.
Aviation Safety Resources Inc. (Nicholasville) Aviation Safety Resources has developed the ASR eXtreme Rapid Deployment system for electric Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft and other Advanced Air Mobility vehicles that can take off and land vertically with no runway.
CreoSalus Inc. (Louisville) Creo Salus has developed a Porous Brain Infusion Catheter for improved drug delivery, utilized for small and large dosages and short to long durations of medical treatments.
Gen Nine Inc. (Covington) Gen Nine is developing a new platform designed to support the independence and safety of seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders and other dementias of aging.
Invictus Informatics LLC (Louisville) Invictus Informatics is developing a solution to manage genetic data for agricultural animals that would provide a web-based data management system capable of inexpensively storing, managing and analyzing data.
ORB Technologies LLC (Lexington) ORB Technologies is developing a panelized construction system for passive and zero-carbon buildings.
Pascal Tags Inc. (Louisville) Pascal Tags is continuously developing and optimizing the chip-less inventory tag industry. Their unique technology uses a resonator to enable a magnetic field to be created when in the environment of radiofrequency waves. The tags are made to be a way to get radiofrequency identification functionality with a cost-effective tag. The tags can be directly printed and embedded into a product, acting as a universal serial number for the life of a product.