The Download
Do you like cold drinks? How about staying cool inside in the summer? If your answer to those questions is yes, you should know about Tony Atti and Triangle-based Phononic. Phononic is a leader in semiconductor cooling solutions that sustainably displace compressors. Layman’s terms: a major reason that fridges and HVAC units are so big is because the compressors used to power them take up a lot of space. Phononic’s solid-state cooling tech brings the chill without the bulk.
Tony is the subject of the latest edition of The Download from Brooks Malone, where we learn that he’s equally as innovative as a wordsmith—we believe he’s the first person to use “self-coffee” as a verb. Read the full Q&A here.
Helping Hand
It can be bewildering for parents to receive a diagnosis of autism for their child. Durham-based startup PrimeNeuro hopes to ease some of that burden with its Sprout app, which enables parents to log symptoms and maintain and manage connections with their care team. PrimeNeuro is also hard at work at software to analyze MRIs called BrainStory, which will be able to inform a diagnosis for autism as early as six months of age, 18 months earlier than any other clinical test.
PrimeNeuro will be among those startups presenting at CED’s Venture Connect Summit (March 17-19). Read our full story on PrimeNeuro here.
Capital Call
Jud Bowman’s Sift Media has raised $1.5M according to an SEC filing. The Durham startup “sifts” through (get it?) 50 billion mobile ad requests daily, leveraging advanced AI and machine-learning algorithms to hyper-target app install ads for its clients. We previously wrote about Sift here, and Jud and his serial-entrepreneuring was also featured in The Download a few months back.
Hush, Buddy
Many entrepreneurs describe a “lightbulb moment” when they come up with their idea. For three Raleigh entrepreneurs, their solution is a literal lightbulb—of sorts. TechWire profiles the Hush Buddy, which is a noise-reactive nightlight designed to help toddlers get to sleep. The light glows when children are quiet, which hopefully teaches them to stay quiet and settle in for slumber. Hush Buddy recently raised close to $6K in a Kickstarter campaign.
Gray = Gold
K4Connect’s customers are mostly on the opposite end of the age spectrum from Hush Buddy’s, and K4Connect itself is also much further along the startup spectrum with some $27M raised since 2015. CEO Scott Moody tells TBJ that the Raleigh-based K4Connect expects to double in 2020. It already has 27 customers, mostly senior living communities, with 29,000 users. Scott says the company’s average user is an 83-year-old woman, which might be why he uses words like “malarkey.”
Fresh Answer
While Tony Atti and Phononic tackle refrigeration, NC State spinout startup SinnovaTek is working to make shelf-stable food that doesn’t need to be refrigerated at all until after their packages are opened. Originating from the basement of Schaub Hall and launched in 2016, the key to the tech is an innovative use of microwaves, and we don’t mean those bulky machines you use to make popcorn and reheat leftovers. TechWire has the full story.
Rx For Feedback
We’ve mentioned Raleigh-based Feedtrail and its patient-satisfaction app several times since first profiling them last June. Now comes word that Feedtrail’s partnership with L.A.-based health system Cedars-Sinai—and its 900 beds and 10,000 employees—is officially up and running. The deal arose after Feedtrail participated in the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator. Feedtrail’s biggest innovation is that it delivers short, targeted surveys via text to patients within hours of being admitted, enabling staff to respond to feedback in real time.
Them Again?
It’s been too long since we’ve tweaked Austin in these virtual pages, but the Wall Street Journal has motivated us to do just that by naming Austin as the “hottest” labor market in the country. Raleigh checks in at a very respectable No. 6, though it doesn’t get enough credit for being largely devoid of thin-skinned Longhorns fans, who totally freak out if you flash the “Horns Down” sign.
Extra Bit
More event news: 1) RIoT will be holding an info session on the RIoT Accelerator Program in Durham at 1 p.m. on Friday, March 6, at which yours truly will talk about what startups can do to get media coverage. Register here. 2) This Saturday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., the McKimmon Center in Raleigh will host the “Dream Big... Dream STEM” conference for students ages 10-16. 3) The Triangle Innovation Hub is kicking off its new “Meet Me There” event series on Thursday, March 12, at the Loading Dock Raleigh. Register here.
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