Exploration Park, Miami, and Tampa, Fla. (May 20, 2022) – Space Florida and the Florida Venture Forum, Florida’s largest statewide support organization for investors and entrepreneurs, are pleased to announce the award winners at the 2022 EmergingTech Showcase, held May 20 in Lake Nona. A panel of judges evaluated each eligible company’s presentation and supporting materials. Third place winner Brick Street Farms will take home $10,000 of Space Florida’s Accelerating Innovation (AI) Award. Second place winner Helicon will receive $20,000. First runner-up Kalogon will receive $30,000. Grand Prize Winner Hardee Nutritional, will receive $40,000.
Hardee Nutritional, Lake Delton, Wisconsin, will grow and extract value-added ingredients from two types of algae in Hardee County FL, specifically: Haematococcus pluvialis (aka Hp), a source of natural astaxanthin and its co-product defatted algal meal; and Spirulina, known for its complete protein content and as a source of natural blue food colourings. These algae/products have been validated in the marketplace and represent more-than $1 billion in annual global sales. Helicon, Orlando, Florida, makes the most advanced propellant in the world. They are working with more than 70 percent of the rocket industry today to increase rocket performance by 20-40 percent. The DoD has endorsed them and has place to scale up production 100X this year.
Kalogon, Melbourne, Florida, has tested and proven their market-ready solution to pressure injuries – Smart Seating. Their smart cushions dynamically adjust the pressure distribution of the user and intelligently change their algorithms to suit the needs of the patient. Their product allows for easy software customization to offload locations of concern and has been designed to prevent pressure injuries and help heal existing injuries. This allows their users to sit for longer, without pain, and reduce the risk of developing life-threatening injuries.
The Florida Venture Forum is Florida’s largest statewide support organization for investors and entrepreneurs, helping fast-growth companies connect with sources of capital from across the country. Since 1984 more than 1500 companies have presented at Forum events and have gone on to raise upwards of $11B in equity capital, producing billions more in economic value to Florida. The Forum’s 250+ members represent a “who’s who” of venture capital and private equity dealmakers, including equity and debt investors at all stages, as well as major law, accounting, and investment banking firms, and large corporates active in the innovation ecosystem. The Forum provides programs and programming statewide throughout the year in addition to hosting major annual conferences like the Florida Venture Capital Conference, the Statewide Collegiate Startup Competition, the Early Stage Capital Conference, and industry-focused events including aerospace and healthcare. For more information, visit: http://www.flventure.org.
Courtesy Space Florida, Florida Venture Forum Press Release 5/20/2022