Five tech startups receive a total of $275,000 in support from Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio – Crain’s Cleveland Business

Five startups have received a total of $275,000, in amounts ranging from $25,000 to $75,000, from Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio in Elyria.

The Innovation Fund an early-stage fund for startups in the technology space that was founded by the Lorain County Community College Foundation and launched in 2007 said in a news release that the money will enable the recipients "to carry out projects that will further their technologies."

The five startups, chosen after a three-month application and selection process, are as follows:

NelDerm of Strongsville received $75,000. It "develops and sells hydrogel dressings for treating various types of wounds, securing IV lines and collaborations with wearable medical technology companies," according to the release. "NelDerm's hydrogel dressings provide a truly hypoallergenic alternative in wound care, based upon careful research and development."

Prophit.ai of Cleveland Heights received $25,000. The company "applies advanced machine-learning technology to help prevent U.S. corporations from overpaying the $30 billion of sales tax that is paid in error each year," the release stated. "Currently, the only option is to have a team of external tax consultants spend months to recover this money through a reverse audit, but they charge up to 35% in contingency fees. With Prophit.ai's subscription software, corporations can prevent these tax overpayments from happening in the first place and break the endless cycle of reverse audits."

RoadPrintz Inc. of Cleveland Heights received $75,000. The Innovation Fund said the company "is bringing modern robotic technology to the dangerous and inefficient field of pavement marking, superseding the historical practice of hand stenciling symbols such as turn arrows, bike logos, etc. Founder Sam Bell is developing a special truck equipped with a robotic arm that won't be scalded by using hot paint that dries in less than a minute. Instead of using stencils, it will use GPS measurements guided by a computer. Their system will dramatically increase safety and improve efficiency of road painting, offering greater precision, speed and flexibility while reducing risk to operators, reducing traffic congestion and supporting greater road safety through enhanced markings."

Strife AI of Olmsted Township received $25,000. The company "is developing a software platform to allow video game developers to leverage the latest machine-learning (ML) techniques," according to the release. "With billions of dollars up for grabs, competition in the gaming industry is extremely fierce. Players have both limited time and money, so game development studios of all sizes are looking for cutting-edge gameplay to entice players to their games. ML is a promising area for unlocking new kinds of player experiences, but many small game development studios lack the expertise needed to add this technology to their games."

Thrivable of Bedford received $75,000. It's "a technology platform that helps health care organizations tap into a comprehensive patient database to do market research activities," the release stated. "Right now, the market research process is slow, expensive and frustrating for companies. Thrivable has created a solution that reduces the time it takes to get insights from months to hours."

The Innovation fund said that since its 2007 launch, it "has committed more than $15 million to 274 Northeast Ohio startups." Go here to see its portfolio companies.

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Five tech startups receive a total of $275,000 in support from Innovation Fund Northeast Ohio - Crain's Cleveland Business