Only in Michigan can you take some pretty dismal-sounding numbers and make them sound like a good thing. That’s what’s happening now at the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium taking place in Ypsilanti, MI—the 29th annual meet-up of Michigan entrepreneurs and potential funders. The theme here, broadly speaking, is that, yes, Michigan may be near the … Continue reading “Capital Climate Is Mean In Michigan, VCs Say at Symposium, But We’re Used to Dealing With Bad Weather”
Author: Howard Lovy
Howard Lovy is a veteran journalist who has focused primarily on technology, science and innovation during the past decade.
In 2001, he helped launch Small Times Magazine, a nanotech publication based in Ann Arbor, MI, where he built the freelance team and worked closely with writers to set the tone and style for an emerging sector that had never before been covered from a business perspective. Lovy's work at Small Times, and on one of the first nanotechnology-themed blogs, helped him earn a reputation for making complex subjects understandable, interesting, and even entertaining for a broad audience. It also earned him the 2004 Prize in Communication from the Foresight Institute, a nanotech think tank.
In his freelance work, Lovy covers nanotechnology in addition to technological innovation in Michigan with an emphasis on efforts to survive and retool in the state's post-automotive age. Lovy's work has appeared in many publications, including Wired News, Salon.com, the Wall Street Journal, The Detroit News, The Scientist, the Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Report, Michigan Messenger, and the Ann Arbor Chronicle.
Michigan Automotive Robotics Cluster Initiative Begins to Take Shape
The robotics industry in Southeast Michigan is attempting to turn the automotive slump into an opportunity to branch off into…well, automotive. But where once the automotive market for robotics meant industrial-strength assembly-line work, the opportunity lies now in robotic systems that can be embedded in military and civilian vehicles. Such a shift entails a change … Continue reading “Michigan Automotive Robotics Cluster Initiative Begins to Take Shape”
Renaissance VC Invests in DFJ Mercury
Renaissance Venture Capital Fund, with offices in Ann Arbor, MI, and Detroit, has invested $3 million in Houston VC firm DFJ Mercury, which says it will actively seek opportunities in Michigan. Renaissance CEO Chris Rizik says DFJ Mercury is a good fit for Michigan because of its focus on advanced materials, bioscience, and information technology, … Continue reading “Renaissance VC Invests in DFJ Mercury”
Sloan Returns To Michigan, Launches Aria Equities To Change Entrepreneurial Culture
Jeff Sloan knows why the Detroit area has a less-than-ideal atmosphere for venture capital. It’s just not ready for it. The culture needs to change, he says. And that’s why the longtime Michigander, gone for about five years, has recently returned to the state to launch the early-stage venture development firm Aria Equities. Aria partners … Continue reading “Sloan Returns To Michigan, Launches Aria Equities To Change Entrepreneurial Culture”
Automation Alley Funds Hybrid Power Trains, Religious Social Networking, and Clean Diesel
Automation Alley, a technology business association based in Troy, MI, has invested $300,000 in Southeast Michigan technology companies, the group announced Thursday. Automation Alley invests a maximum of $250,000 in seed money per company to help them accelerate the growth of their technology-based businesses. Companies receiving funds this time around are: Cargo Solutions Group: $250,000 … Continue reading “Automation Alley Funds Hybrid Power Trains, Religious Social Networking, and Clean Diesel”
Dendritic Nanotechnologies Focuses Dendrimer Development On Industry Rather Than Pharma
Over the last decade, Mt. Pleasant, MI-based Dendritic Nanotechnologies (DNT) has helped make Michigan into a world center of research on the versatile, tendriled molecules known as dendrimers. But while the molecules have a range of important applications, from killing microbes to reducing the unwanted side effects of drugs and pesticides, the company has ceded … Continue reading “Dendritic Nanotechnologies Focuses Dendrimer Development On Industry Rather Than Pharma”
It Seems Everybody Has Advice For Michigan; What Do You Think?
At Xconomy, we queried our network of innovation leaders across the country for their list of the most important things that we here in Michigan can do to reinvigorate our economy, and we’ve been publishing the results in our “Xconomist Forum” section. Recently, somebody asked me whether I thought all this advice for Michigan from … Continue reading “It Seems Everybody Has Advice For Michigan; What Do You Think?”
InTouch Health Looks to Hire Michigan Engineers to Develop RoboDocs (of Sorts)
A man is brought into a hospital emergency room in Port Huron, MI, after collapsing while riding his bike. The patient had a stroke, so the first problem facing the ER docs is that there is not a moment to lose, as there is a narrow window of time available to treat a stroke before … Continue reading “InTouch Health Looks to Hire Michigan Engineers to Develop RoboDocs (of Sorts)”
Motown Robots Rock With Bon Jovi
With the downturn in the auto industry, industrial robots that assemble car parts are down on their luck. So, like their flesh-and-blood counterparts, robots are looking to diversify. A few metallic laborers from ABB Robotics North America in Auburn Hills, MI, have found a new gig to help make ends meet…as backup dancers for the … Continue reading “Motown Robots Rock With Bon Jovi”
Introducing the Detroit X Lists: Xconomy’s Guide To Michigan Innovation
Did you know that Detroit has an image problem? Strange, but true. Just recently, “Dateline NBC” did a report on Detroit, “City of Heartbreak and Hope,” that has us, once again, talking about how the world perceives us. It’s become a big debate around these parts. Well, cartoon images aside (NBC has been criticized for … Continue reading “Introducing the Detroit X Lists: Xconomy’s Guide To Michigan Innovation”
Microloans Help 3 Michigan Companies See Another Day
Customers of three Michigan companies might soon see much better now that the Michigan Microloan Fund has given them a combined $121,000 to develop their products. Seeing what you’re killing: RiserCam, based in Saline, MI, makes video equipment for the outdoors industry. Its flagship product is the Roscoby Riser Cam, which is a flash memory … Continue reading “Microloans Help 3 Michigan Companies See Another Day”
GE Vows 1,300 New Michigan Tech Jobs
General Electric says it will add 220 jobs to the 1,100 new technology, software, manufacturing, and sourcing positions it plans to create in Michigan over the next five years. The announcement was made Monday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new GE Aviation facility in Van Buren Township, MI. GE Vice Chairman John Rice called … Continue reading “GE Vows 1,300 New Michigan Tech Jobs”
Detroit Stem Cell Startup Gets $200K
Detroit stem cell startup MitoStem has received a $200,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant from the National Institutes of Health, according to an announcement by TechTown, the incubator that houses the company near the campus of Wayne State University. MitoStem is enrolled in TechTown’s SmartStart business accelerator program. The grant will allow … Continue reading “Detroit Stem Cell Startup Gets $200K”
Michigan’s Seneca Partners Plans to up the Ante with $50M Health Care Venture Fund
Seneca Partners, a venture capital firm with offices in Birmingham, MI, Ann Arbor, MI, and Bannockburn, IL, plans to raise between $50 million and $75 million for another health care venture fund this year, according to a report in VentureWire. Back in 2004, Seneca closed a $14 million fund health care fund and invested in … Continue reading “Michigan’s Seneca Partners Plans to up the Ante with $50M Health Care Venture Fund”
$2M Achieves Liftoff For Detroit Launch Pad
Wayne State University in Detroit and Walsh College in Troy, MI, will get an entrepreneur training program called The Launch Pad off the ground thanks to a $2 million grant from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. Detroit’s New Economy Initiative will partner with New York-based Blackstone to launch the program that it hopes will be come … Continue reading “$2M Achieves Liftoff For Detroit Launch Pad”
Prize-Winning Enertia Team Begins Long Climb To Commercialize Clean, Portable Energy
University of Michigan business student Adam Carver says he is a “mountain climber at heart.” Maybe that’s why he’s going for two degrees at once. Last summer, he conquered the Matterhorn. Yes, the actual Matterhorn in Switzerland. This year, he set out for the foothills of a longer, perhaps even more ambitious journey-to bring to … Continue reading “Prize-Winning Enertia Team Begins Long Climb To Commercialize Clean, Portable Energy”
IRobot Sends One-Man Army to Detroit in Advance of Planned Invasion
Bruce Legge is on a mission to infiltrate the Detroit area’s defense industry and report back to his iRobot overlords in Bedford, MA. For a lone flesh-and-blood vanguard of a future invasion of metallic warriors, Legge’s not doing too badly.
Michigan Startups to Pitch For Ann Arbor SPARK Incubator Space
Business incubator Ann Arbor SPARK is asking Michigan startups to take their best shots at five open spots in a business pitch competition it plans to host on June 4, the group announced today. The winner will get up to $50,000 in business acceleration services and a one-year incubator lease at SPARK East in Ypsilanti, … Continue reading “Michigan Startups to Pitch For Ann Arbor SPARK Incubator Space”
Total Joins GM, Advanced Technology Ventures In Funding Biofuels Developer Coskata
Paris-based oil company Total has joined General Motors as an investor in Coskata, according to an announcement by the cellulosic biofuels company based in Warrenville, IL. GM invested an undisclosed amount in early 2008 and said in February this year that some of Coskata’s ethanol is being tested at the automaker’s proving grounds in Milford, … Continue reading “Total Joins GM, Advanced Technology Ventures In Funding Biofuels Developer Coskata”
Fuel Cell Developer Adaptive Materials On Finding Engineers and the Company’s Future
Yesterday, we ran Part 1 of my interview with Michelle Crumm, co-founder and chief business officer for fuel cell manufacturer Adaptive Materials of Ann Arbor, MI. We discussed how it took a decade of old-fashioned hard work to get to a point where the company is signing deals to supply the military with the fuel cells needed … Continue reading “Fuel Cell Developer Adaptive Materials On Finding Engineers and the Company’s Future”
Fuel Cell Developer Adaptive Materials Is Michigan Success Story; Maybe Too Successful
Something strange has been happening over at Adaptive Materials, a fuel cell developer based in Ann Arbor, MI. During the past few months, as everybody talks about how to get things moving forward in Southeast Michigan, Adaptive has been, well, actually moving forward. A contract worth a few million from the Department of Defense here, … Continue reading “Fuel Cell Developer Adaptive Materials Is Michigan Success Story; Maybe Too Successful”
Beringea Invests $6M For Michigan R&D Center
Beringea, a Farmington Hills, MI, venture capital firm, has invested $6 million in InTouch Health, a telemedicine company based in Santa Barbara, CA, which plans to use the Series D financing round to open an engineering research and development center in Michigan, according to an announcement today. The investment was made through Beringea’s InvestMichigan! Growth … Continue reading “Beringea Invests $6M For Michigan R&D Center”
ALTe’s New Factory Helps Give Michigan a Future Beyond Batteries
ALTe, an Auburn Hills, MI-based developer of electric propulsion systems, knows that if the future of the automobile is truly hybrid and electric, then a great deal more than just the battery is going to have to change. And while state government tax incentive policy, and news media reports, have emphasized automotive batteries, just as … Continue reading “ALTe’s New Factory Helps Give Michigan a Future Beyond Batteries”
TechTown’s New $5M Fund Only a Baby Step for FastTrac Entrepreneurs
Don’t get Randal Charlton wrong. The executive director at the TechTown business incubator in Detroit is thankful for a recent announcement of $5 million coming his way to help graduates of his FastTrac business training program launch their companies. But, he says, look at it this way: The money, granted by the New Economy Initiative, … Continue reading “TechTown’s New $5M Fund Only a Baby Step for FastTrac Entrepreneurs”
Michigan Governor: Create Clean Energy Jobs to Compete for $20M in Stimulus Funds
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is making $20 million in federal stimulus funds available to Michigan manufacturers who want to diversify, retool, and create jobs in clean energy. Granholm announced the Recovery Act funding Wednesday at the Michigan Wind Energy Conference in Detroit. The governor said that Michigan companies can compete for $15 million in grants … Continue reading “Michigan Governor: Create Clean Energy Jobs to Compete for $20M in Stimulus Funds”
Delphi Eager to Leave Bankruptcy Behind, Build Connections to Auto Industry’s Future
Auto parts manufacturer Delphi has a simple description of what it’s been up to during these past four years of bankruptcy reorganization. “We’ve been quiet, but we’ve been busy,” says Jeffrey Owens, president of Delphi’s electronics and safety division. The recent Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress in Detroit was a kind of coming-out … Continue reading “Delphi Eager to Leave Bankruptcy Behind, Build Connections to Auto Industry’s Future”
Auto Battery Developer Sakti3 Gets $7M in Series B Funds; Company Stays Low Key
When I last met Ann Marie Sastry, she was shivering in the cold, leaky basement of Detroit’s Cobo Hall at January’s auto show, talking about how her company, Ann Arbor, MI-based automotive lithium-ion battery developer Sakti3, was eventually going to power the cars upstairs on the main show’s “Electric Avenue.” Now her company is closer … Continue reading “Auto Battery Developer Sakti3 Gets $7M in Series B Funds; Company Stays Low Key”
Aeroflex/INMET Pledges 47 New Jobs
Aeroflex/INMET, a Scio Township, MI- based affiliate of Aeroflex, announced today that it will use state-approved tax credits to move jobs from its affiliated New Jersey facility to the Michigan site. Aeroflex/INMET says it will create 47 new jobs in the Ann Arbor, MI area over the next five years and spend more than $3 … Continue reading “Aeroflex/INMET Pledges 47 New Jobs”
At Xconomy Detroit, A New Narrative Begins In A City That Is Always Striving
Welcome to Xconomy Detroit, a continuing chronicle of what this city is “becoming.” The word “Detroit” has always been immersed in meaning far beyond the physical borders of this great and tragic city. At one time, there was no need to define what one meant by the phrase “coming out of Detroit.” It was synonymous … Continue reading “At Xconomy Detroit, A New Narrative Begins In A City That Is Always Striving”
Michigan Approves Tax Incentives For Tech Companies
The state of Michigan is continuing its focus on using tax incentives to convince companies to locate here, or stick around, and a few technology companies are among the latest beneficiaries. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority recently approved tax breaks for the following tech companies. Ash Stevens: The Detroit-based life sciences research company will receive … Continue reading “Michigan Approves Tax Incentives For Tech Companies”
Prostate Treatment Developer HistoSonics Gets $11M, U-M Tech Transfer Beams With Pride
Seems everybody is getting what they need out of medical device startup HistoSonics, a University of Michigan spinout that recently collected $11 million in Series A financing. Ken Nisbet, executive director of the U-M Tech Transfer office, got what he calls a “dream come true,” a kind of poster child for everything his office can … Continue reading “Prostate Treatment Developer HistoSonics Gets $11M, U-M Tech Transfer Beams With Pride”
Michigan Microloan Fund Gives $115K
The Michigan Microloan Fund Program has awarded three startup companies a combined total of $115,000, according to an announcement Monday by Ann Arbor SPARK, which manages the fund. Companies receiving the funds are CYJ Enterprises, a Detroit-based startup commercializing an emergency management system for child and adult care providers; Ann Arbor, MI based Ix Innovations, … Continue reading “Michigan Microloan Fund Gives $115K”
Kresge Gives $800K For TechTown Expansion
TechTown, a Detroit business incubator, has received an $800,000 grant from The Kresge Foundation to renovate the former Dalgleish Cadillac dealership on Cass Avenue into TechTwo, which will house more incubator space. The grant gives up to $650,000 for the renovation. The Kresge Foundation, which supports nonprofits in Metro Detroit, gave $1.5 million to TechTown … Continue reading “Kresge Gives $800K For TechTown Expansion”
DeVos Startup Explores Waste-To-Energy
A new company launched in March in the Southwest Michigan community of Portage, MI, promises to take waste heat from factories and turn them into electricity. Pro Renewables was created by Windquest Group, a Grand Rapids, MI-based investment firm, and Pro Services, a Portage-based mechanical contractor. Windquest Group is owned by former Michigan gubernatorial candidate … Continue reading “DeVos Startup Explores Waste-To-Energy”
DOE Shines $141M on Suniva
Suniva, a Norcross, GA, manufacturer of silicon solar cells, announced on April 1 that it will build a new manufacturing plant in Michigan’s Saginaw County after being selected for a $141 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy. The announcement comes after Suniva was lured to Michigan in October 2009 through a $15 million tax … Continue reading “DOE Shines $141M on Suniva”
NextCAT Testing Biodiesel
NextCAT, a Detroit-based developer of catalysts for biodiesel production, announced today that it has signed an option agreement to produce technology developed at the National Biofuels Energy Laboratory at Wayne State University. NextCat says its catalyst technology can take biomass not currently in the food stream, such as algae and recycled cooking oil, and convert … Continue reading “NextCAT Testing Biodiesel”
Adaptive Materials Gets $3M
Adaptive Materials, an Ann Arbor, MI-based developer of solid oxide fuel cells, announced on March 29 that it has been awarded $3 million through Michigan’s Centers of Energy Excellence Program. The company said it will use the money to help commercialize its fuel cells in the recreational vehicle market, powering TVs, laptops, microwaves, and other … Continue reading “Adaptive Materials Gets $3M”
A123’s Maria Thompson Retires
Maria Thompson, an Ann Arbor, MI, entrepreneur who helped develop the technology used in Watertown, MA-based A123Systems‘ lithium-ion automotive batteries, has retired. Thompson founded T/J Technologies in Ann Arbor in 1991. She guided the company’s development of nanophosphate technology that eventually attracted A123Systems, which bought T/J Technologies in 2006. After the acquisition, Thompson continued as … Continue reading “A123’s Maria Thompson Retires”
Compact Power to Build Li-ion Plant
Compact Power, a Troy, MI-based subsidiary of South Korean manufacturer LG Chem, will spend $303 million to build a new lithium-ion battery plant in the west Michigan city of Holland. The companies said the plant will break ground this summer and by 2013 will employ more than 400 people. LG Chem already supplies battery cells … Continue reading “Compact Power to Build Li-ion Plant”
Escanaba Firm Puts Green Tech on Buses
Three Michigan cities are trying out new technology to make their buses greener thanks to $538,000 in federal stimulus funds and an Upper Peninsula company. Engineered Machined Products, based in Escanaba, MI, is installing mini-hybrid thermal conversion kits on 19 buses in Bay City, Battle Creek, and Saginaw. The technology, originally developed for the U.S. … Continue reading “Escanaba Firm Puts Green Tech on Buses”
Venture Capital Rebounds in MI
Venture capital activity in Michigan continued a modest rebound in the third quarter of 2009 after steep declines during the credit crunch, according to the “innovation index” compiled by the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Business. The index, a project of UM-Dearborn’s Center for Innovation Research, rose to 86.9 from 80 during the previous quarter, … Continue reading “Venture Capital Rebounds in MI”
Adaptive Materials Gets $4.7M for Fuel Cells
Adaptive Materials, an Ann Arbor, MI-based developer of solid oxide fuel cells, announced today that it has been awarded $4.7 million to develop a 300-watt fuel cell system for the Department of Defense. This grant comes just three months after Adaptive Materials announced it had been awarded $3 million to develop 60-watt fuel cells for … Continue reading “Adaptive Materials Gets $4.7M for Fuel Cells”
Konarka Gets A $20M Power Boost From Konica Minolta For Photovoltaics
Konarka Technologies, a Lowell, MA, developer of flexible, nanotechnology-based “Power Plastic” that converts light to energy, will receive $20 million from Konica Minolta in an R&D and investment agreement announced today. The companies will jointly develop and distribute organic thin-film photovoltaics. Konarka brings to the table its simplified, roll-to-roll manufacturing process, which the firm says … Continue reading “Konarka Gets A $20M Power Boost From Konica Minolta For Photovoltaics”
General Compression Announces $17M Series A Round
General Compression, a Newton, MA-based energy storage company, announced today that it has “it has closed over $17 million in commitments to its Series A round of funding.” The funding, from U.S. Renewables Group and Duke Energy, will be used to build General Compression’s first commercial-scale wind power storage unit this year. The company declined … Continue reading “General Compression Announces $17M Series A Round”
Seahorse Bioscience Bags $5M
Seahorse Bioscience , a biomedical instrument company based in Billerica, MA, announced today that it has closed a $5 million Series D financing round. Participants in the round include return investors Commonwealth Capital Ventures, Rock Maple Ventures, and Life Sciences Partners, and new investors FLIR Systems, Oxford Bioscience Partners, Healthcare Ventures, New Science Ventures, and … Continue reading “Seahorse Bioscience Bags $5M”