$100M startup fund | NASA fund tech research
What is fueling Fast Future Country innovation? In this weekly feature, we share a variety of announcements covering funding, acquisitions, exits, grants and everything in between. Got something to celebrate? Click here to share your story.
St. Louis VC firm launches $100M startup fund
ST. LOUIS, MO—Venture capital firm Cultivation Capital has launched a new $100 million investment fund geared toward supporting early-stage companies in technology and other sectors. Called Cultivation Capital Fund IV LP, the fund may increase to up to $125 million.
NASA funds aeronautics and space research
MADISON, WI—The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program funds early-stage studies of technologies that could support future aeronautics and space missions. A new slate of awards will provide a total of $5.1 million to 17 researchers from nine states. One of those studies is called CREW HaT, a new concept developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for a Halbach Torus (HaT) that will produce an enhanced internal magnetic field that can protect astronauts from exposure to radiation in space.
New funding efforts in Iowa
IOWA—New funding and resources for entrepreneurs and startups are coming to the Quad Cities. Startup accelerator NewBoCo will be expanding its services to the area. NewBoCo will be joined by VC studio ISA Ventures and Kiva Iowa, a statewide Hub for Iowa that gives entrepreneurs access to a microlending platform to raise zero interest, zero fee, extended grace period loans from active lenders motivated by social impact.
NIST awards $54M in grants for high-impact projects
NATIONAL—The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded nearly $54 million in grants for 13 high-impact projects for research, development, and testbeds for pandemic response. The list includes Fast Future companies PowerAmerica (Raleigh, NC) — $4,982,299; the ARM Institute (Pittsburgh, PA) — $4,933,561; BioMADE (St. Paul, Minnesota) — $4,729,690; and America Makes (Youngstown, Ohio) — $3,021,989.