November 3 - 9, 2023

EDA announced 60 investments during the week of November 3-9, 2023, for $54,600,117, which will leverage an additional $55,000,000 in matching funds from an array of private and public sector sources.  These awardees are part of the FY’23 “Build to Scale” program, which is comprised of  two competitions––the Venture Challenge and the Capital Challenge, which are outlined below.

• $44,557,977 in 40 Venture Challenge projects to support programs that enable high-growth technology entrepreneurship and foster inclusive access to proven entrepreneurship support models. This competition has three tiers:  Ignite (to plan and launch new tech-based economic development strategies); Build (to pilot or adapt new programs); and Scale (to scale a proven program).  Grant recipients are as follows:
  • 20Fathoms (Traverse City, MI) - $2 million
  • 757 ScaleUp Alliance (Norfolk, VA) - $1.2 million
  • Arch Grants (St. Louis, MO) - $750,000
  • Arizona Regional Economic Development Foundation (Sierra Vista, AZ) - $298,504
  • Biomedical Research Foundation (Shreveport, LA) - $1.3 million
  • Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (Brownsville, TX) - $1.2 million
  • Cleveland State University (Cleveland, OH) - $1.8 million
  • Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) - $2 million
  • Elevate Rapid City (Rapid City, SD) - $100,494
  • Georgetown University (Washington, DC) - $750,000
  • Guilford College (Greensboro, NC) – $218,583
  • Jumpstart (Cleveland, OH) – $2 million
  • LifeX Holdings (Pittsburgh, PA) - $2 million
  • Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA) - $600,000
  • Mansfield BioIncubator (Mansfield, MA) – $1.25 million
  • Michigan Tech Enterprise Corporation (Houghton, MI) – $750,000
  • Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory (Westminster, MD) - $274,498
  • North American Intelligent Manufacturing Initiative (Los Alamos, NM) - $300,000
  • Northeastern University (Portland, ME) - $2 million
  • Northeastern Vermont Development Association (St. Johnsbury, VT) - $749,947
  • Pacific American Foundation (Kailua, HI) - $300,000
  • Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust (San Juan, PR) - $648,104
  • Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation (Rock Hill, SC) - $50,000
  • Rocky Mountain Innovation Initiative (Fort Collins, CO) - $2 million
  • San Jose State University Research Foundation (San Jose, CA) - $300,000
  • South Coast Development Council (Coos Bay, OR) - $300,000
  • Southern Research (Birmingham, AL) - $748,469
  • Spelman College (Atlanta, GA) – $749,896
  • The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven (New Haven, CT) – $2 million
  • The Idea Village (New Orleans, LA) – $2 million
  • University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR) – $1.2 million
  • University of Missouri at Kansas City (Kansas City, MO) – $2 million
  • University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha, NE) – $637,710
  • University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) – $749,037
  • University of Oklahoma (Norman, OK) – $1.9 million
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI) – $1.2 million
  • University Lab Partners (Irvine, CA) – $2 million
  • Urban Partnerships Community Development Corporation (Houston, TX) – $741,925
  • Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (West Lafayette, IN) – $1 million
  • Washington Maritime Blue (Seattle, WA) – $840,810
• $10,042,140 in 20 Capital Challenge projects to increase access to capital in communities where risk capital is in short supply. Operational support is provided for early-stage investment funds, networks, and training programs that focus on both traditional and hybrid equity-based financing. This competition has two tiers: Form (to educate, connect investors and create new funds); and Deploy (to scale and operate equity-based investment funds).  Grant recipients are as follows:
  • Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern Pennsylvania (State College, PA) – $412,598
  • Biomedical Research Foundation (Shreveport, LA) - $655,436
  • Center on Rural Innovation (Hartland, VT) - $260,379
  • Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (Indianapolis, IN) - $400,000
  • City and County of Denver (Denver, CO) - $750,000
  • Clean Energy Trust (Chicago, IL) - $750,000
  • Codefi Foundation on Rural Innovation (Cape Girardeau, MO) - $321,000
  • Community Investment Corporation (Tucson, AZ) - $300,000
  • Delaware Innovation Space (Wilmington, DE) - $750,000
  • Entrepreneurs Center (Dayton, OH) - $400,000
  • Greentown Labs (Houston, TX) - $400,000
  • Gulf of Maine Research Institute (Portland, ME) - $669,433
  • Jackson Hole Center for Global Affairs (Jackson, WY) - $168,500
  • Michigan Technological University (Houghton, MI) - $400,000
  • Tampa Bay Wave (Tampa, FL) - $396,000
  • The Enterprise Institute (Brookings, SD) - $364,577
  • University of California, San Diego (La Jolla, CA) - $750,000
  • University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY) - $749,795
  • University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) - $400,000
  • University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (Edinburg, TX) - $744,422