Press

NEW YORK – In acquiring longtime partner Boston Genomics this week, Genomenon is stepping up its efforts to become the first entity to curate the entire human genome, though it may be the only one to have declared such an intention.

By adding Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Boston Genetics’ team of about 75 genetic scientists — and doubling its total headcount — Genomenon now claims to have an inside track toward its goal, which CEO Mike Klein said is intended to combine artificial intelligence and next-generation sequencing to accelerate diagnosis of rare diseases and inform drug discovery.

“We’ll organize all the disease-gene relationships, we’ll organize all the variant landscapes across every disease, to really provide the insight for precision medicine,” Klein said.

While nobody else has publicly declared a similar intention, Klein has been talking about a “race” to curate the complete human genome, and the firm has been on this mission for several years on the back of its flagship product, the AI-powered Mastermind Genomic Search Engine.

Genomenon’s focus has evolved from building an AI-enabled genomic search engine to curating

Funding supports Phase 2 clinical study of ONL1204 Ophthalmic Solution to evaluate safety and efficacy in patients with macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 8, 2023 – ONL Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for protecting the vision of patients with retinal disease, today announced it has closed on the first tranche of a $15 million Series C Preferred Stock financing round. Proceeds from the financing will primarily support the advancement of ONL1204 Ophthalmic Solution into a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).

“With the support of our current and new investors, coupled with the opening of our IND for ONL1204 last month, we are grateful for the opportunity to advance our lead asset into a later stage Phase 2 clinical study,” said David Esposito, chief executive officer of ONL Therapeutics. “We expect to initiate this new U.S.-based Phase 2 study in acute retinal detachment next quarter and to continue to generate data throughout the year from our two ongoing chronic

A Zeeland furniture startup that seeks to play into the growing home office trend has secured $1.5 million in capital from investors around Michigan.

Quint Workspaces LLC, formed in 2020 by office furniture industry veteran Don Goeman, plans to use the early-stage funding to support new product development, expand delivery services to major markets, and enhance e-commerce capabilities.

“This round of funding moves Quint fully into launch and accessibility mode allowing us to quickly deliver affordable, high quality products to our new and existing customers,” said Goeman, the founder and CEO of Quint Workspaces who intends to open a new office and production facility in West Michigan later this year.

“The value of our products and manufacturing approach is already being validated by our customers, and our business model is proving to be scalable and ready to expand throughout the country,” he said.

Goeman previously worked for 40 years at the former Herman Miller Inc., now MillerKnoll Inc. He served as executive vice president of research, design and development from 2005 to 2019 before forming Quint Workspaces

DETROIT, June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/— Autobooks, the payment and accounting platform used by more than 800 financial institutions, announced today it has raised $50 million in a Series C round led by Macquarie Capital Principal Finance. The round also includes participation from new and existing investors including: Baird Capital, Commerce Ventures, Draper Triangle, Mission OG, and TD Bank (NYSE: TD).  Larry Handen, Senior Managing Director at Macquarie Capital will join Autobooks board.

“Our investment in Autobooks is a chance to help small businesses across the U.S. by backing an exceptional team building an extraordinary product,” said Larry Handen.

Autobooks has become the leading embedded receivables platform for small business, enabling digital invoices, payment acceptance and automated accounting directly within internet and mobile banking.  The company has built turn-key integrations with the industry’s leading digital banking providers to deliver essential back-office services to over one third of the U.S. market, with zero-code deployments.  Companies such as Alkami [

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2022 Ann Arbor, MI

Financing led by Beringea and Spring Mountain Capital to fuel continued growth in pharmaceutical and clinical diagnostic markets

Genomenon®Inc., an AI-driven genomics company, today announced the completion of a $20 million Series B financing round. The funds will expand the company’s commercial operations and the development of its genomic data hub, which serves genetic testing labs, hospitals, pharmaceutical and biopharma companies. Genomenon leverages AI (Artificial Intelligence) to organize the world’s genomic knowledge and put it at the fingertips of doctors and clinicians to diagnose patients with rare and genetic disease and cancer, and researchers to help create precision medicine targeted at molecular drivers of disease.

The Series B financing round was led by 

Genomenon announced Tuesday that it was awarded a $1.7 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health to help it organize and connect patient DNA to global genomic research in the areas of rare genetic diseases and cancer.

The grant is the latest in a steady stream of company advances highlighted by the addition of a chief financial officer in January and several collaborative agreements in the past year.

“The SBIR grant accelerates the development of our artificial intelligence (AI) engine to curate the genetic drivers for each disease,” Mike Klein, CEO of Genomenon, told BioSpace. “This enables Genomenon to put actionable genomic data at the fingertips of clinicians who are diagnosing and treating patients with genetic diseases and cancer, and into the hands of researchers developing precision medicine.”

The most important use of dental caries detectors is to detect the early stages of dental caries, or more commonly called dental decay. Dental decay is characterized by dark brown or black spots on the teeth and is a condition that can cause immense pain for the patient as well as a lot of money for the dental care practitioner or dental clinic.  The problem with detecting dental caries is that it takes a long time before any visible signs of dental decay are found on the teeth, and the only way to be sure that the condition is not going to worsen is through the use of dental caries detectors.

The growing incidence and prevalence of dental caries are augmenting the growth of the dental caries detectors market. As per the report published by World Health Organization, globally, it is estimated that 2.3 billion people suffer from caries of permanent teeth and more than 530 million children suffer from caries of primary teeth. Rising awareness regarding oral hygiene coupled with the advancement in the dental caries detectors is also supporting the growth of the dental caries detectors market. In October 2017, Ortek Therapeutics, Inc. announced that the Ortek ECD™

This is an article about portfolio company, Bloomscape.

The last 18 months were very difficult for businesses since the majority of them shut down due to the pandemic. However, some tech startups have been thriving and will continue to expand given their capabilities to bring disruption in the way we live and work, in every sector.

This article describes five of the most successful tech startups to follow in 2021.

View source version on finsmes.com: https://www.finsmes.com/2021/07/5-successful-tech-startups-to-watch-in-2021.html

This is an article about portfolio company, Bloomscape.

Bloomscape’s Plant Mom gave us some tips on how to best take care of plants, and how to make sure you’re treating each one appropriately.

I am the worst at taking care of plants. All of my plants are dead and/or slowly creeping towards death. The biggest problem is this: I have no idea what every plant in my home is, let alone the amount of sunlight it needs or how often it needs to be watered. At one point, I knew all of it, but now, I’m just guessing (and not doing a great job of it).

View source version on thedailybeast.com: https://www.thedailybeast.com/best-way-to-care-for-plants-according-to-bloomscape-plant-expert

June 29, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

BERKELEY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Access Softek, an omnichannel digital banking provider, recently launched new payment features in its Commercial Banking solution via SSO integrations with Autobooks and 

This is an article about portfolio company, Bloomscape.

3 ON YOUR SIDE (3TV/CBS 5) - A little green goes a long way. At least that’s what scientists say about the power of plants and your mental health. Spending just 20 to 30 minutes a day in a green space is all you need to reap the mood-boosting benefits plants can provide. And now it’s easier than ever to shop online and have plants delivered to your doorstep. Consumer Reports just checked out a few online retailers to help you pick the right plants for your green space.

View source version on azfamily.com: https://www.azfamily.com/news/investigations/3_on_your_side/consumer-reports-buying-plants-online/article_4e684cac-d60a-11eb-9da0-4fbb7ff94123.html

This is an article about portfolio company, Refraction AI.

A Michigan-based company expanded in Austin and local restaurants can now send their food deliveries out in a semi-autonomous machine. There are food-delivery robots in Austin.

AUSTIN, Texas — New semi-autonomous robots are taking over some streets of Austin to make food deliveries as the Capital City deals with rapid growth and congestion.

Refraction AI, a Michigan-based company, recently expanded in Austin, bringing 10 delivery machines to South Congress, Travis Heights and some parts of Downtown Austin.

View source version on kvue.com: https://www.kvue.com/article/money/economy/boomtown-2040

Fintech partner enables small business banking customers with smarter digital payment acceptance.

DETROIT, June 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Autobooks, a product suite for small business banking, today announced that Liberty Bank, one of the largest mutual banks in the country, has chosen the Detroit-based fintech’s small business platform to embed in its digital banking platform.

A new report from CI&T reveals that while small business banking clients have high trust in their financial institutions, they also have high expectations for technology capabilities and awareness of external options for platforms that aim to make their lives easier.

The Liberty Bank team recognizes their digital offerings must keep pace with third-party payment processors like Stripe, Square and other challenger fintechs. Autobooks has a proven track record of helping banks and cre

The company is looking to ramp up production to meet demand from commercial constellations and from the U.S. government

This is an article about portfolio company, Orbion.

WASHINGTON — Orbion Space Technology, a Michigan-based supplier of electric propulsion for small satellites, announced June 24 it has raised $20 million in Series B funding.

The new funding is to scale up production of plasma thrusters for small satellites, the company said. Orbion’s Aurora propulsion system uses the satellite’s electrical power to generate thrust. 

View source version on spacenews.com: https://spacenews.com/satellite-propulsion-supplier-orbion-raises-20-million-in-series-b-funding/

This is an article about portfolio company, Refraction AI.

HB 116 is a such bill that would regulate how ground-based delivery robots would be allowed to operate in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire wouldn’t be the first state to invite delivery robots to our sidewalks. Last week in Austin, Texas, Southside Flying Pizza began employing a small fleet of Refraction AI’s REV-1 delivery robots. These robots operate autonomously and bring pizza to customers around the city. The machines weigh 150 pounds and are described as being “about the same size as a person on a bike.” They can go up to 15 miles per hour and operate in bike lanes rather than on sidewalks.

View source version on granitegeek.com: https://granitegeek.concordmonitor.com/2021/06/23/n-h-considers-regulations-for-sidewalk-delivery-robots/

This is an article about portfolio company, Bloomscape.

Consumer Reports checked out a few online retailers to help you pick the right plants for your green space.

ST. LOUIS — A little green goes a long way. At least that’s what scientists say about the power of plants and your mental health.

Spending just 20 to 30 minutes a day in a green space is all you need to reap the mood-boosting benefits plants can provide. And now it’s easier than ever to shop online and have plants delivered to your doorstep. 

View source version on ksdk.com: https://www.ksdk.com/article/money/consumer/buying-plants-online/63-5e41744f-89d3-47b2-844a-5b82b2e192d3

This is an article about portfolio company, Refraction AI.

I spoke to Refraction AI co-founder/CTO Matthew Johnson-Roberson on the occasion of the Michigan startup’s $4.2 million seed raise. This week we posted a Q&A where he answers a wider range of topics about the delivery robotics company, and this bit jumped out at me:

It still boggles my mind that nobody has tried to copy what we’re doing. There were 10 or 12 sidewalk robot companies in early 2015, 2016 and 2017. Many of them, with a few exceptions, went out of business.

View source version on techcrunch.com: https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/17/robotics-roundup-16/

Partnership with ADHD Online Allows for The Expansion of Services and Business Ventures

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., June 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — ADHD Online, a leading telehealth company for ADHD, today announced a partnership with investment companies Invest Michigan and Michigan Capital Network. The financial investments from the association will expand ADHD Online’s profile to a national level while building the State of Michigan business ecosystem.

Michigan Capital Network’s CEO and Managing Director Paul D’Amato explained, “I believe the ADHD Online co-founders, Zach Booker and Dr. Randall Duthler, are breaking new ground with their telehealth technology. COVID-19 taught us all that we had to reset our thinking and expectations of interacting with others. And in the case of patient care, online interactions not only proved to be useful but now can be considered part of the norm.”

Invest Michigan and Michigan Capital Network, which both fund innovative technologies, are committed to improving the mental health of Michiganders and communities across the United States. ADHD Online uses

This is an article about portfolio company, Refraction AI.

Three-wheeled self-driving robots set to launch in three Austin neighborhoods. Pizza lovers in certain areas of Austin, Texas, can now have their pies delivered via robot. The REV-1 robot is the product of Refraction AI, an Ann Arbor, Mich., autonomous vehicle startup.

View source version on autonews.com: https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/av-startup-refraction-ais-driverless-robots-deliver-pizza-texas

This is an article about portfolio company, Refraction AI.

Refraction AI calls itself the Goldilocks of robotic delivery. The Ann Arbor-based company, which recently raised a $4.2 million seed round and expanded operations to Austin, was founded by two University of Michigan professors who think delivery via full-size autonomous vehicles (AV) is not nearly as close as many promise and sidewalk delivery comes with too many hassles and not enough payoff. Their “just right” solution? Find a middle path, or rather, a bike path.

View source version on techcrunch.com: https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/15/refraction-ais-matthew-johnson-roberson-on-finding-the-middle-path-to-robotic-delivery/

This is an article about portfolio company, Refraction AI.

The testing comes after a city council resolution passed a few years ago asking City staff to explore robotic delivery models.

AUSTIN, Texas — Don’t worry, robots are not invading South Congress Avenue – at least not yet!

On Monday, the Austin Transportation Department said crews were out testing a fleet of 10 personal delivery devices throughout the district and surrounding neighborhoods to assist with “last-mile deliveries.”

The department said the three-wheeled devices are owned and operated by a private company called Refraction AI. This company launched a similar service in Michigan in 2019.

View source version on kvue.com:

Refraction AI’s REV-1 robots will deliver Southside Flying Pizza orders throughout downtown, Travis Heights, and South Congress

This is an article about portfolio company, Refraction AI.

Delivery robots are coming to Austin. Food delivery service company Refraction AI’s REV-1 robots — small electric-run machines that operate autonomously — are delivering orders from local pizzeria mini-chain Southside Flying Pizza throughout downtown Austin, Travis Heights, and along South Congress Avenue as of today, June 14.

View source version on austin.eater.com: https://austin.eater.com/2021/6/14/22533264/robot-delivery-service-austin-refraction-ai-rev-1-southside-flying-pizza

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (PRWEB) JUNE 01, 2021

West Community Credit Union, based in O’Fallon, Mo., announced today that it is expanding its relationship with HT Mobile Apps (HTMA) to offer the company’s digital solution Hip Pocket™ in addition to Plinqit.

Hip Pocket is a platform that engages mobile and website visitors by using social influence and personalized consultation to help people determine whether they may save money refinancing their mortgage. Hip Pocket can help members save money by comparing their current mortgage rate to individual peer rates. Members may then discuss with West Community Credit Union’s mortgage team options that may improve their financial status. This digital comparison tool not only determines prospective savings but also assists both the member and credit union in developing a meaningful discussion of mortgage goals and financing options.

“Launching Hip Pocket is a logical next step in our relationship with HT Mobile

This is an article about portfolio company, Genomenon.

What was the Michigan Pre-Seed Fund III, an East Lansing fund created to invest in start-up and very early stage companies, doing investing in Genomenon Inc., a 6-year-old Ann Arbor company that had previously raised almost $5 million in equity funding and received nearly $2 million in three grants from the National Institutes of Health?

View source version on crainsdetroit.com: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/crains-michigan-business/unlikely-msu-connected-investments-help-um-spinoff-genomenon-get-past

This is an article about portfolio company, GreenMark Biomedical.

East Lansing-based GreenMark Biomedical Inc. is an entrepreneurial instance of how “it takes a village.”

The corporate, which obtained approval from the Meals and Drug Administration in March for dentists to make use of its oral rinse made with starch nanoparticles to detect tooth decay a lot sooner than beforehand attainable, has raised or gained greater than $6 million in funding from massive grants and all kinds of angel and institutional traders across the state, together with three seed funds financed by the Michigan Financial Growth Corp.

View source version on crainsdetroit.com: https://www.crainsdetroit.com/crains-michigan-business/greenmark-biomedicals-nanoparticle-technology-could-change-game-t

SaaS Providers to Accelerate Autobooks Solution Deployment for Finxact Clients

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Finxact, the leading provider of next gen core systems to the US regional and super-regional banking sector, today announced that Autobooks has joined its Marketplace and that the companies will accelerate the path for banks running the Finxact core to deploy the Autobooks all-in-one small business account receivables product suite.

Small businesses are a critical part of the economy, employing nearly half of the private workforce in the U.S. and accounting for a staggering 99.9% of all businesses in the country as of 2020. Reaching the SMB, family owned, and sole proprietor bank customer segments with business banking tools that allow them to digitally manage their receivables from invoicing to payment acceptance to cash management has become a priority for financial institutions.

A war for merchants1 is being waged online by big

This is an article about portfolio company, SkySpecs.

ANN ARBOR, MI— A historic site that formerly housed the Ann Arbor Music Center is being leased to a local energy data company.

The site at 312 S. Ashley St., was rehabilitated and is set to be ready by the end of the month after a year of renovations. Its new occupant, Ann Arbor-based SkySpecs, is planning to move in some time in July, officials said.

View source version on mlive.com: https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/ann-arbor-historic-site-will-house-locally-based-tech-company.html

This is an article about portfolio company, Genomenon.

NEW YORK – Genomenon said Tuesday that it has partnered with German bioinformatics startup Nostos Genomics to integrate its Mastermind genomic search engine into the Nostos AIon AI-driven variant interpretation platform.

According to Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Genomenon, this integration will allow AIon users to preview lists of published articles related to their searches from within the AIon interface. This, the companies said, will help improve diagnosis of rare genetic diseases.

View source version on genomeweb.com: https://www.genomeweb.com/business-news/genomenon-nostos-genomics-integrate-technologies-improve-rare-disease-dx#.YO9ZmpNKhpQ