Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Quaise, a US-based precision geothermal drilling technology spinout of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has obtained $6m in a seed round led by MIT-aligned tough tech fund and incubator The Engine that also included venture firm Collaborative Fund and private investor Vinod Khosla. Quaise has devised a deep drilling method for extracting geothermal energy produced and stored within the interior of Earth. The technique relies on a gyrotron to produce millimetre-scale electromagnetic waves, facilitating drilling at subterranean depths ranging from 10 to 20 kilometres. Paul Woskov, senior research engineer at MIT, is credited with having invented the technology. The funding will support Quaise’s development, recruitment and collaboration plans.
Qkine, a UK-based biomedical protein producer spun out of University of Cambridge, closed a £1.5m ($1.9m) series A round featuring Cambridge Enterprise, the university’s tech transfer office. Parkwalk Advisors, the fund management arm of commercialisation firm IP Group, and Martlet Capital, the corporate venturing arm of aerospace, defence and property group Marshall of Cambridge, both took part in the round alongside O2H Ventures’ Human Health EIS Fund and assorted angel investors. Founded in 2016, Qkine develops and produces bioactive proteins such as recombinant growth factors and cytokines used as the basis for stem cell, organoid and regenerative medicine research. The cash will be used to bolster Qkine’s headcount and scale its operations with the aim of securing international growth of its business.
KaloCyte, a US-based artificial blood cell substitute producer allied to University System of Maryland, has secured $300,000 of capital from university venture vehicle Maryland Momentum Fund, Technical.ly reported yesterday. The funding comes ahead of a planned series A round for KaloCyte later this year. KaloCyte is developing an artificial blood product called ErythoMer intended to facilitate transfusions in situations where refrigerated fresh blood is unavailable. The funding will go toward technical development, following an increase in KaloCyte’s staff from two to five. KaloCyte was founded in St. Louis but has since moved headquarters to University of Maryland, Baltimore’s School of Medicine.
Elyza, a Japan-based developer of artificial intelligence-equipped retail and natural language processing technologies spun out of University of Tokyo’s Matsuo Lab, has been included in accelerator program Plug and Play Japan’s Brand & Retail division of the summer and autumn 2020 Batch. The incubator provides between $25,000 and $500,000 in funding per company, but it is unclear how much Elyza received.
UConn Innovation Fund, the early-stage university venture fund for University of Connecticut, has backed US-based male fertility testing spinout QRfertile with an undisclosed sum. QRfertile has created an at-home testing kit that allows men to ascertain their fertility within 15 minutes, with the results posted in an accompanying app. The spinout was founded by Reza Amin, then a PhD student in University of Connecticut’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.
UConn Innovation Fund also invested an undisclosed sum in US-based occupational math tuition app developer Savkar, spun out of the Department of Mathematics. Savkar has developed a predictive analytics software platform called Stemify that identifies shortcomings in a student’s mathematics skills before generating a personal study plan to help them catch up. A beta version of Stemify has already supplanted UConn’s previous learning remediation software, and Savkar hopes to soon close further contracts with multiple universities and community colleges.
