Michigan’s highest-in-the-nation 42 percent tax credit for filmmakers is often called the “film incentive,” but if you ask the folks at PixoFactor Entertainment in Royal Oak, MI, the bigger beneficiaries are those who work on videogame and animation productions. Plus, they argue, those jobs are longer-lasting and more local than movie production. That’s why Sean … Continue reading “Wii Game, Graphic Novel Help PixoFactor Digitize and Monetize Michigan’s Film Incentive”
Author: Howard Lovy
U-M President Co-Chairs Obama Panel
President Obama has selected University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman to co-chair his new National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which will help develop policies to foster entrepreneurship, create jobs, and drive economic growth. U.S. Commerce Secretary and former Washington governor Gary Locke announced the members of the 26-person council at a U.S. … Continue reading “U-M President Co-Chairs Obama Panel”
As the World Converges on the Phone, Mobile Monday Michigan is Calling All Developers, Marketers
Linda Daichendt was a marketer for Wireless Toyz from the beginning of 2007 until the end of 2008. That’s when some serious downsizing happened at the Southfield, MI-based mobile phone chain retailer. Daichendt lost her job, but she did not lose her instincts as a mobile marketer. “So, I became extremely interested in this whole … Continue reading “As the World Converges on the Phone, Mobile Monday Michigan is Calling All Developers, Marketers”
Baseball, Apple Apps, and Chevrolet
Want to see the USA in your Chevrolet? First, you need to find the Chevy that’s right for you. To make it easier for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users, Chevrolet has released a “showroom” app that features the entire line of Chevrolet cars, trucks, and crossovers, allowing users to pick colors and search for … Continue reading “Baseball, Apple Apps, and Chevrolet”
Michigan’s Ambiq Micro Gets Ready to Scatter Lots of Tiny, Low-Power Products…Everywhere
Scott Hanson is only 27 years old, but he has spent the past six of those years obsessively working on one project—developing low-power circuit technology that can stay on for years, even decades. That was his project when he started working on his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 2004. Today, all that work … Continue reading “Michigan’s Ambiq Micro Gets Ready to Scatter Lots of Tiny, Low-Power Products…Everywhere”
MSU Nano Spinout Gets $1M
XG Sciences, a Michigan State University spinout that makes graphene nanoplatelets that can be used as additives in a number of products to give them special properties, received $1 million today in a deal with Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group. XG’s technology involves a fast and inexpensive process of separating layers of graphene into nanometer-size stacks. … Continue reading “MSU Nano Spinout Gets $1M”
Gates, Khosla Invest $23M in Detroit’s EcoMotors to Develop Efficient Engine
Bill Gates is betting $23 million that the internal combustion engine still has a few good years left in it. The Microsoft chairman, along with Menlo Park, CA-based Khosla Ventures, has invested in Troy, MI-based EcoMotors International. What they’re betting on is EcoMotors’ opposed-piston, opposed-cylinder (OPOC) technology for gas and diesel engines. EcoMotors says its … Continue reading “Gates, Khosla Invest $23M in Detroit’s EcoMotors to Develop Efficient Engine”
Ford Makes it Easier to Avoid Texting While Driving With New SYNC Features
With laws in Michigan and other states cracking down on texting while driving, Ford today unveiled some new features to its SYNC platform, an all-in-one navigation, communication, and entertainment center that takes the next step in Ford’s goal of transforming the automobile into one big, safety-conscious, smartphone on wheels.. New features in Ford’s SYNC product … Continue reading “Ford Makes it Easier to Avoid Texting While Driving With New SYNC Features”
Borders’ eBook Store Open For Business; New Apps For Android, Blackberry
Borders today launched an assault on Amazon, while fighting for its own survival. The Ann Arbor, MI-based bookseller continued its aggressive new mission of trying to remain relevant in a highly competitive space by opening its new eBook store and launching two more eReader apps for Blackberry and Android devices. Today’s announcement follows its release … Continue reading “Borders’ eBook Store Open For Business; New Apps For Android, Blackberry”
AutoVenture Forum to Play Matchmaker Between Promising Tech Companies and Big Automakers, Suppliers
David Bodde, a college professor who teaches entrepreneurship to engineers, believes the auto industry is going through “a quiet revolution”—one in which most of the innovation happens not at the big auto companies but at the tiered suppliers. Bodde, an engineering professor at Clemson University in South Carolina, calls it a move “from a very … Continue reading “AutoVenture Forum to Play Matchmaker Between Promising Tech Companies and Big Automakers, Suppliers”
Adeona gets $1M from Seaside 88
Adeona Pharmaceuticals, based in Ann Arbor, MI., has received $1 million in equity financing from Florida-based investor Seaside 88, Adeona announced today. The financing involved the sale of 1,212,121 shares of stock. Adeona is working on a “prescription medical food” called Zinthionein ZC for treatment of Alzeimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. The company also … Continue reading “Adeona gets $1M from Seaside 88”
Michigan Team Scores DFJ, Cisco Award
Ambiq Micro, a startup involving business school students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, has won $250,000 from venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and communications technology company Cisco Systems, according to a news release. Ambiq Micro, which is working on energy-efficient microcontrollers, beat out 15 other finalists in the competition, which required … Continue reading “Michigan Team Scores DFJ, Cisco Award”
OnStar-Google eNav Goes Live
Drivers of GM vehicles can now click on an eNav button on Google Maps results that will allow users to send turn-by-turn directions to the OnStar units in their cars. Xconomy reported the OnStar Google partnership a few weeks ago and now the system is live. In case you don’t get it, GM has a … Continue reading “OnStar-Google eNav Goes Live”
Airport Wind Turbine, Educational Software, Customized News Get Michigan Microloan Funds
Three Michigan companies have received a combined $104,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, managed by the Ann Arbor SPARK business incubator. This latest round means the program has invested a total of more than $1.3 million in 36 companies since it was started last July. Microloans range from $10,000 to $50,000 and are reserved … Continue reading “Airport Wind Turbine, Educational Software, Customized News Get Michigan Microloan Funds”
Tesla Rocks the Nasdaq, But Analysts Skeptical Electric Car Company Can Go The Distance
Tesla, the Palo Alto, CA electric car company, wowed the markets today when it went public, raising $229 million in the IPO and trading at $17 apiece, a buck more than the company’s estimated upper range of $16 a share. Despite the strong start in an otherwise weak IPO market, some analysts are cautious about … Continue reading “Tesla Rocks the Nasdaq, But Analysts Skeptical Electric Car Company Can Go The Distance”
Tesla Investors Hope IPO Heralds a New Era in Electric Automobiles
San Francisco angel investor Bill Lee says he knew what he was getting himself into four years ago when he decided to invest in Tesla, the Palo Alto, CA electric car company that is expected to go public Tuesday. Much of the media coverage today has focused on the fact that Tesla has not turned … Continue reading “Tesla Investors Hope IPO Heralds a New Era in Electric Automobiles”
Biomass Plant For Michigan’s UP
Verso Paper, a paper products company based in Memphis, TN, is building a $43 million renewable energy biomass plant in the Upper Peninsula Michigan town of Quinnesec, the company has announced (PDF). The plant is made possible through tax breaks awarded by the state declaring the area a Forest Products Processing Renaissance Zone. The plant … Continue reading “Biomass Plant For Michigan’s UP”
Consumers Energy To Reach 6.2 Percent Renewable Power After Deal With Four New Michigan Projects
With Michigan law requiring that 10 percent of its energy supply come from renewable sources by 2015, Consumers Energy has announced its supply will reach 6.2 percent after it purchases electricity from four new renewable energy projects. Consumers Energy, which supplies power to more than 6 million of Michigan’s 10 million residents, has reached power … Continue reading “Consumers Energy To Reach 6.2 Percent Renewable Power After Deal With Four New Michigan Projects”
Borders Joins E-Reader Price Wars with Kobo Device, Gift Cards, New Apps, Even A Free Cup of Joe
This isn’t quite the $49 “paperback Kindle” that marketing guru Seth Godin has been urging Amazon to build, but Ann Arbor, MI-based bookseller Borders is firing another shot in the e-reader price wars brought on by the introduction of Apple’s iPad, which scared the bejeezus out of the nascent industry. Borders has announced that it … Continue reading “Borders Joins E-Reader Price Wars with Kobo Device, Gift Cards, New Apps, Even A Free Cup of Joe”
Michigan-Based Site Boocoo.com Thinks It’s Found a Way to Compete with Craigslist and eBay…and Save Your Local Newspaper
Since Monday, if you’ve paid close attention, you might have noticed a goofy-sounding phrase in your Boston Herald or San Diego Union-Tribune: “Boocoo Auctions.” It comes from a Royal Oak, MI, based company called Ranger Data Technologies and is part of an ambitious plan to take lost advertising revenue back from Craigslist and eBay. But, … Continue reading “Michigan-Based Site Boocoo.com Thinks It’s Found a Way to Compete with Craigslist and eBay…and Save Your Local Newspaper”
Esperion Reaches Deal With TransGenRx
Esperion Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company based in Ann Arbor, MI, has announced that TransGenRx, a Baton Rouge, LA, company, will produce protein-based therapeutics to be used in Esperion’s research. Esperion is developing therapies to treat cardio-metabolic disease including therapies based on HDL, the body’s “good” cholesterol, which has been shown to play an important role … Continue reading “Esperion Reaches Deal With TransGenRx”
Major Michigan Business Incubators Get $3M Incentive to Get Their Act Together
Southeast Michigan’s four major business incubators are, at last, discovering how to work together, with $3 million worth of prodding from the New Economy Initiative, a philanthropic organization aimed at transitioning the region to an innovation-based economy. The leaders of Ann Arbor SPARK, Techtown in Detroit, Automation Alley in Troy, MI, and the Macomb-OU INCubator … Continue reading “Major Michigan Business Incubators Get $3M Incentive to Get Their Act Together”
CytoPherx of Ann Arbor Raises $5M For Device To Treat Kidney Failure
CytoPherx, a medical device company based in Ann Arbor, MI, has raised $5 million toward a $7.5 million Series B round, according to VentureWire and a June 11 regulatory filing. CytoPherx is a portfolio company of Apjohn Ventures, based in Kalamazoo, MI, which participated in the round led by Diamond Capital Partners in Los Angeles. … Continue reading “CytoPherx of Ann Arbor Raises $5M For Device To Treat Kidney Failure”
Own a Volt, Get a Jolt With Free Chargers From GM and the Feds
General Motors is planning to give away free high-speed home chargers to juice up its gas-electric hybrid Chevy … I mean, Chevrolet … Volt when it’s released to customers this year. The money to cover the 4,400 freebie 240-volt chargers comes from federal stimulus dollars and is part of the Detroit automaker’s general strategy of … Continue reading “Own a Volt, Get a Jolt With Free Chargers From GM and the Feds”
NanoBio, Grand River Granted Tax Credits
Two Ann Arbor, MI, companies have been given tax credits from the state of Michigan in exchange for commitments to expand and hire more workers over the next five years. Biopharmaceutical company NanoBio received tax credits valued at $434,378 to be used for a planned $1.4 million expansion and to hire 32 more people on … Continue reading “NanoBio, Grand River Granted Tax Credits”
Michigan State’s InPore Hopes to Churn Out Better Wind Turbines Through Chemistry
Michigan State University spinout InPore Technologies makes a particle that, when mixed with other materials, makes plastic stronger, lighter, cheaper, and more flame-retardant. Yeah. I know. Doesn’t sound all that sexy. It really is, but we’ll get to that in a moment. First, the reason the East Lansing, MI-based company recently earned a $100,000 paycheck … Continue reading “Michigan State’s InPore Hopes to Churn Out Better Wind Turbines Through Chemistry”
Esperion, Cleveland Clinic Collaborate
Esperion Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company based in Ann Arbor, MI, has signed an agreement with the Cleveland Clinic to advance research targeting new HDL therapies to treat cardiovascular disease. “When Esperion was first founded, we collaborated with Cleveland Clinic in a research effort that showed for the first time that HDL can reverse atherosclerosis in … Continue reading “Esperion, Cleveland Clinic Collaborate”
Beringea Invests in Detroit Area Internet Player Startup Livio Radio
Jake Sigal unceremoniously bootstrapped his company out of his guest bedroom in my hometown of Ferndale, MI, about 2 1/2 years ago—tinkering around with the idea of a stand-alone Internet radio. Today, Sigal’s company, Livio Radio, is the recipient of an investment from Beringea, one of Michigan’s largest venture capital firms. I spoke with Sigal … Continue reading “Beringea Invests in Detroit Area Internet Player Startup Livio Radio”
Wolverine, Early Stage Funds Invest in SaaS Firm
Wolverine Venture Fund, a $5.2 million student-led fund managed by the University of Michigan’s business school, and Early Stage Partners, a Cleveland based VC firm with an office in Ann Arbor, MI, have invested in Intelligent Clearing Network, a Connecticut-based software-as-a-service firm that validates and clears coupons in real time at point of sale, according … Continue reading “Wolverine, Early Stage Funds Invest in SaaS Firm”
South Korean Company Moves Lithium-Ion Battery Plant To Michigan
TSC Michigan, a subsidiary of South Korea’s Techno Semichem, which develops components for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, cut the ribbon Wednesday for new U.S. headquarters in Northville Township near Detroit. The plant is expected to create 279 new direct jobs over five years and 1,394 indirect ones. It was another case of tax breaks … Continue reading “South Korean Company Moves Lithium-Ion Battery Plant To Michigan”
Michigan Microloan Fund Awards Lifelines Worth $122,000 Combined to Four More Companies
Four Michigan companies have received a combined $122,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, managed by the Ann Arbor SPARK business incubator. The latest funding round brings the total amount invested through the program to more than $1.2 million among 35 companies since July 2009, according to a news release today. Microloans available through the … Continue reading “Michigan Microloan Fund Awards Lifelines Worth $122,000 Combined to Four More Companies”
At Michigan’s Wolverine Venture Fund, Students Learn Via Reality VC
Tom Kinnear says he is a great “theoretical golfer.” It is the implementation that is lacking. In the same way, business students who learn how venture capital works without ever investing real money in real companies may be at a disadvantage, Kinnear says. That’s why, 11 years ago, Kinnear and colleagues at the University of … Continue reading “At Michigan’s Wolverine Venture Fund, Students Learn Via Reality VC”
GM, Ford Announce Plans To Beam Google Maps Directions Directly To Autos
If you drive a General Motors or Ford vehicle and subscribe to proper services, you’ll be able to avoid printing maps and schlepping them to the car before the end of the month. That’s because both auto companies today announced new partnerships with Google that enable users to beam turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps directly … Continue reading “GM, Ford Announce Plans To Beam Google Maps Directions Directly To Autos”
Mobile Sign Language Systems Wins Competition
Mobile Sign Language Systems, a University of Michigan startup developing smart phone software that translates spoken English into real-time video of sign language, has won an Ann Arbor SPARK business pitch competition, beating out four competitors. The company will get incubator space in Ypsilanti, MI, and $50,000 in business acceleration services.
Michigan, Ohio Firms Partner to Launch 2nd VC Fund For Great Lakes Regional Investments
Amid a tough fund-raising climate in the Great Lakes region, a pair of firms in Michigan and Ohio are nevertheless optimistic enough to for a second go-around in a venture capital fund. Ann Arbor, MI-based Plymouth Management is working with Toledo-based Rocket Ventures to establish a $40 million fund called Plymouth Venture Partners Fund II … Continue reading “Michigan, Ohio Firms Partner to Launch 2nd VC Fund For Great Lakes Regional Investments”
Bizdom U Fall Applications Due June 11
Bizdom U, a Detroit nonprofit service that provides business training, mentorship, and other resources, is looking for 20 entrepreneurs for its fall 2010 session. Application deadline is June 11. The free program includes a living stipend, laptops, personal data devices, and materials. Entrepreneurs who complete the program and prepare an approved plan for a viable … Continue reading “Bizdom U Fall Applications Due June 11”
General Motors Launches VC Subsidiary to Develop New Automotive Technologies
General Motors today announced another measure aimed at showing the world that it can learn new tricks. Suffering from some severe image problems as a result of its recent government bailout, GM has launched a new venture capital subsidiary aimed at identifying and developing innovative automotive technologies. Add this development to the soon-to-be released electric … Continue reading “General Motors Launches VC Subsidiary to Develop New Automotive Technologies”
All-Michigan VC Team Helps Bring State-Grown Medical Imaging Technology to Market
There are three reasons Michigan can feel good about a recent $8 million venture capital investment in Detroit-based medical imaging company Delphinus Medical Technologies. It is an investment in a Michigan company; The investment comes from an all-Michigan VC team; It is an investment in Michigan-grown technology developed in one of the state’s premier research … Continue reading “All-Michigan VC Team Helps Bring State-Grown Medical Imaging Technology to Market”
TechTown, Unity Studios Will Partner to Produce Michigan-Based Film Crews
OK. You’re a Hollywood director, and you’ve come to the Detroit area to film your movie and take advantage of Michigan’s highest-in-the-nation 42 percent tax credit. You’ve set up your home base in a local hotel and your star—let’s say, oh, Meryl Streep—she’s costing you $100,000 a day. You need to find a local crew … Continue reading “TechTown, Unity Studios Will Partner to Produce Michigan-Based Film Crews”
Detroit Breast Cancer Imaging Company Delphinus Medical Gets $8M Investment
A decade of hard work is beginning to pay off for breast cancer researchers at Detroit’s Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, whose spinoff company, Delphinus Medical Technologies, announced last night it has attracted $8 million in venture capital to help bring its breast cancer imaging device to market. The lead investor is Arboretum Ventures of … Continue reading “Detroit Breast Cancer Imaging Company Delphinus Medical Gets $8M Investment”
Ford Invests $135M In Green Cars
Ford says it is “moving to create” a “center of excellence” for electric and hybrid vehicles with its announcement today that it is investing $135 million to design, engineer, and produce key green vehicle components. The company is adding 170 jobs to its Rawsonville, MI, plant to assemble battery packs and more than 50 engineers … Continue reading “Ford Invests $135M In Green Cars”
Five Companies Picked To Slug it Out for Ann Arbor SPARK Incubator Space
Five companies ranging in focus from fueling to family planning will have a chance to compete for $50,000 in business acceleration services and a one-year incubator lease at SPARK East in Ypsilanti, MI, on June 4. Business incubator Ann Arbor SPARK, which first announced the competition at the end of April, listed the finalists today. … Continue reading “Five Companies Picked To Slug it Out for Ann Arbor SPARK Incubator Space”
Detroit Companies Form Wind Center
A computer-simulation company and an engineering company, both in the Detroit area, are pooling together their wind energy expertise and calling themselves the North American Wind Energy Innovation and Development Center, according to an announcement today at a conference in Dallas. Engineering and testing company Ricardo, with an office in Van Buren Township, MI, and … Continue reading “Detroit Companies Form Wind Center”
Delphi, OnStar Work With Google and Others to Connect Your Smart Phone to Your Car
With everybody spending more time with their smart phones, and more time in their cars, it is only inevitable that Detroit-area automotive companies and suppliers would want to find a better way to join those two worlds. Delphi, the Troy, MI-based auto parts supplier, and OnStar, General Motors’ in-vehicle communications subsidiary, are both working with … Continue reading “Delphi, OnStar Work With Google and Others to Connect Your Smart Phone to Your Car”
Dow Doles Out $3M to Clean Filtration
Dow Venture Capital, the VC arm of Dow Chemical, headquartered in Midland, MI, has contributed $3 million to a $3.5 million Series B Round for Clean Filtration Technologies, based in Redwood City, CA, Dow announced Wednesday. Dow announced its “first closing” of $1.5 million for the company in February, with another $1.5 million anticipated. Wednesday’s … Continue reading “Dow Doles Out $3M to Clean Filtration”
Without a Thriving Detroit, Michigan Cannot Catch that Train to Prosperity
When I attended Wayne State University in Detroit back in the mid-’80s, scattered around downtown Detroit were white pillars that supported… nothing. They looked as though they were part of a kind of ancient Roman ruin—but these pillars were brand new. They were the beginnings of Detroit’s People Mover, a raised monorail that was to … Continue reading “Without a Thriving Detroit, Michigan Cannot Catch that Train to Prosperity”
Automation Alley Gets Defensive
Automation Alley, a Troy, MI-based business association, has opened a defense office at the Macomb-Oakland University INCubator, in Sterling Heights, MI, the group announced today. The office will provide assistance local companies that are looking to work with the military. One project includes creating an industrial capabilities database to identify new military suppliers. Companies interested … Continue reading “Automation Alley Gets Defensive”
Michigan’s EcoMotors Set to Get $18M to Develop Efficient Gas, Diesel Engines
Reports of the impending death of the internal combustion engine may have been greatly exaggerated if Troy, MI-based EcoMotors International has anything to say about it. A large Chinese auto supplier and a partner in Michigan have signed a letter of intent to throw $18 million at EcoMotors in return for prototypes of what the … Continue reading “Michigan’s EcoMotors Set to Get $18M to Develop Efficient Gas, Diesel Engines”
Detroit’s NextCAT Hopes to Light a Fire Under Idled Biodiesel Producers with New Catalysts
A funny thing happened on the way to the green economy. Real-life market forces have a way of foiling the best-laid plans of mice, men, and government incentives. When petroleum diesel was 4 bucks a gallon a couple of years ago, biodiesel seemed like such a deal. But then, says Derrin Leppek, of Detroit-based biodiesel … Continue reading “Detroit’s NextCAT Hopes to Light a Fire Under Idled Biodiesel Producers with New Catalysts”
Electric Cycles and Software For The Soul: A Tale of Two Startups—and Whether They Plan to Stay in Michigan
Peter Scott, president of Current Motor, an electric scooter and motorcycle company based in Ann Arbor, MI, had just finished his 10-minute pitch on the opening day of this week’s Michigan Growth Capital Symposium, when he was immediately taken aside by Lauren Flanagan of Douglas, MI, who is with Phenomenelle Angels Fund in Madison, WI. … Continue reading “Electric Cycles and Software For The Soul: A Tale of Two Startups—and Whether They Plan to Stay in Michigan”