EDA awards $35 million for 52 Build-to-Scale projects

This week, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the 2020 Build-to-Scale awards. In this round, nearly $35 million was awarded to 52 organizations to support regional strategies advancing entrepreneurship and innovation. Through the end of 2019, funded organizations had worked with more than 6,200 startups, facilitating $1.6 billion in investment and the launch of more than 9,000 products, according to EDA. SSTI has been a proponent of the Build-to-Scale program, which had not received any federal appropriations prior to the creation of SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council.

Please join us in congratulating the member organizations receiving or participating in funded projects this award cycle, including: BioSTL, Emory University, Invest Nebraska, Iowa Innovation Corporation, MassVentures, New Orleans BioInnovation Center, University of South Dakota, University of Utah, and Valleys Innovation Council. The full list of 2020 awardees is available, below.

2020 Venture Challenge

• Baton Rouge Health District, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, $599,385
• Baylor University, Waco, Texas, $1.5 million
• BioSTL, St. Louis, Missouri, $1.5 million
• Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, $1.5 million
• Central Maine Growth Council, Waterville, Maine, $599,969
• Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, $599,998
• Delaware Innovation Space, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware, $1.5 million
• First Flight Venture Center, Inc., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, $1.3 million
• Governors State University, University Park, Illinois, $578,884
• Halcyon House, Washington, D.C., $1.5 million
• Invest Nebraska Corporation, Lincoln, Nebraska, $600,000
• Iowa Innovation Corporation, Des Moines, Iowa, $525,472
• Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation, Los Alamos, New Mexico, $600,000
• Maine Center for Enterprise Development, Portland, Maine, $512,556
• Massachusetts Technology Development Corp, Boston, Massachusetts, $1 million
• mHUB, Chicago, Illinois, $1.3 million
• New Orleans BioInnovation Center, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, $1.5 million
• Patrick Henry Community College, Martinsville, Virginia, $300,474
• RI Bio, Providence, Rhode Island, $297,500
• Starburst Accelerator, LLC, Los Angeles, California, $1.4 million
• Strategic Economic Development Corporation, Salem, Oregon, $469,150
• The Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Network, Blacksburg, Virginia, $982,443
• The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, Texas, $1.3 million
• University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington, Kentucky, $600,000
• University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland, $594,190
• University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota, $600,000
• University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, $600,000
• University of Wisconsin – Platteville, Platteville, Wisconsin, $538,426
• William Marsh Rice University, Houston, Texas, $1.5 million

2020 Capital Challenge

• Access Ventures, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky, $300,000
• BioNexus KC, Kansas City, Missouri, $300,000
• Casper Area Economic Development Alliance, Inc., Casper, Wyoming, $176,350
• Clean Energy Trust, Chicago, Illinois, $299,703
• Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), Brunswick, Maine, $300,000
• CO.LAB, Chattanooga, Tennessee, $299,651
• Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, $300,000
• Element 8 (dba E8), Seattle, Washington, $300,000
• Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, $292,023
• EQUITY2 LLC, Kansas City, Missouri, $289,579
• Greater Colorado Venture Fund GP, LLC, Telluride, Colorado, $285,000
• Opportunity Alabama, Inc., Birmingham, Alabama, $300,000
• Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey, $300,000
• Seed Spot, Phoenix, Arizona, $299,396
• Slater Technology Fund, Inc., Providence, Rhode Island, $300,000
• XLR8X, Honolulu, Hawaii, $300,000

2020 Industry Challenge

• Bering Sea Fishermen's Association, Anchorage, Alaska, $599,053
• Cleveland Water Alliance, Cleveland, Ohio, $600,000
• New England Aquarium Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts, $597,425
• Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, $599,934
• University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, $328,542
• University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, $598,152
• Washington Maritime Blue, Bothell, Washington, $600,000