InnoVenture Iowa is now accepting applications for its third annual InnoVenture Challenge, a pitch competition that awards $100,000 to one early-stage Iowa startup. The application window closes at 5 p.m. Sept. 30. Judges will select 10 semi-finalists from the pool of applicants, which will then be narrowed to three finalists who pitch to a panel of […]
The Iowa Economic Development Authority Board recently approved awards to five Iowa startups from Iowa’s State Small Business and Credit Initiative Innovation Fund. Awards approved by the IEDA board on Friday were: Genvax Technologies, an animal vaccine company based in Ames, has developed proprietary next-generation RNA and nanoparticle vaccines. Its first product will be a […]
IEDA awards $6.2M to 5 startups, one Entrepreneurial Investment Award grant The Iowa Economic Development Authority awards funding to startups in the form of low-interest loans through its Innovation Continuum, which includes five funds that are designed to offer companies non-dilutive funding at every stage of business growth. The funds are: Proof of Commercial Relevance (POCR), […]
A new national survey from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices released Thursday showed a lack of affordable and accessible child care is a significant barrier to small-business growth. A majority of small-business owners surveyed from 47 U.S. states, including Iowa, reported that there are insufficient affordable child care programs in their communities. The new survey of […]
IEDA also approves five awards to startups A Meta subsidiary’s plan for an $800 million data center project in Davenport will receive a $161 million local property tax exemption through the state’s High Quality Jobs program. The Iowa Economic Development Authority board voted Friday to approve the tax exemption request of 60% over 20 years […]
Fund will support software startups in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota The Idea Fund of La Crosse, a venture capital firm based in La Crosse, Wis., has raised $31.5 million for a second venture capital fund targeting pre- and early-stage revenue startups in the three-state region of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. According to Pitchbook, a resource for data, […]
The Iowa Economic Development Authority awards funding to startups in the form of low-interest loans through its Innovation Continuum, which includes five funds that are designed to offer companies nondilutive funding at every stage of business growth. The funds are: Proof of Commercial Relevance (POCR), Demonstration Fund and the Innovation Acceleration Fund, which offers Launch, Propel […]
The Iowa Communications Network (ICN), a statewide fiber optic network that provides telecommunications services to education, government, health care and public safety entities, has partnered with Zoom to deliver cloud communications services to authorized users across Iowa. According to a news release, Zoom’s cloud-based communication platform will provide ICN’s fiber optic network with solutions for voice and communication […]
Submitted by Heidi Sease Nebel, partner and patent attorney, McKee, Voorhees and Sease The concept of “march-in” rights, the federal government “marching in” to take back its intellectual property (IP) ownership of drugs made from federally funded research, and then presumably licensing the same to all comers, has an initial appeal. More players must mean lower […]
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development is awarding Rural Business Development grants to four organizations across Iowa as part of a more than $29 million round of grants announced Feb. 20. The organizations that received business development grants are:
