(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is another in a series of seven articles spotlighting the start-ups that comprise Cohort 3 of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s “Innovation Crossroads” program.) “I’m really passionate about making a contribution in healthcare, utilizing nuclear science and technology,” says Leila Safavi, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Purist

Florida Funders and the University of South Florida (USF) have joined forces to launch the “Seed Florida Early Stage Investment Fund” to, as the name implies, support early stage companies. The initiative that has its roots in a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to USF to help

Embroker, which describes itself as “a leading provider of insurance to venture backed start-ups,” has released its first-ever report looking at the venture capital middle market and successful new companies under $1 billion. Data came from an analysis of a sample of the firm’s clients. Highlights from the report include:

I have a long-time friend who is fond of saying: “If you are going to be a bear, be a grizzly.” Well, that saying certainly applies with this idea about leveraging your assets for something big. A group of academic, biotech, biopharma, and healthcare leaders have announced plans for a new

Peter Tsai, a recently retired research faculty member at the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, and Alex Lewis, Co-Founder of Electro-Active Technologies Inc., captured the top honors at yesterday’s “2019 Innovation Awards” luncheon. Hosted by the UT Research Foundation (UTRF), the annual event is a recognition of researchers whose innovations

Another year, another entrepreneur in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory-managed “Innovation Crossroads” program has made the “Forbes 30 Under 30” cohort for 2020. This time, it is Don DeRosa, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Eonix Energy The announcement was made earlier this week. The start-up develops liquid electrolytes that increase the

Johnson City will again host one of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s “POWER Initiative Application Workshops.” The next one is set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. January 28 at the Carnegie Hotel across from East Tennessee State University. POWER stands for Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization, a

Founders First Capital Partners, a small team of San Diego-based investors, has secured a $100 million commitment to form three investment funds that will loan money to regional start-ups led by underrepresented founders. The new money comes from a San Francisco-based hedge fund called Community Investment Management, which has committed $100

Tennesseans would not normally think that Cedar Rapids, IA would be a hot spot for healthcare innovation, but maybe it is. St. Luke’s Hospital has opened its new “Generate @ St. Luke’s Innovation Lab” which the hospital believes will transform its healthcare. Described as the first of its kind in

There’s always something that causes an entrepreneur to latch onto a specific opportunity. In Samantha Lane’s case, it was what she describes as a “life-changing” experience in July 2014. We did not know her at the time, but one can imagine that the former Chicagoland resident who moved to Tennessee