November 20, 2014
A peek inside a portfolio
Leaders of GRA Venture Fund, LLC companies report on current progress and future potential
By Diana Murphy, Managing Director GRA Venture Fund, LLC
If last week’s presentations from a half-dozen young companies are any indication, Georgia has a very bright future.
The occasion was the second annual meeting of GRA Venture Fund, LLC, a unique public-private fund that invests in the most promising companies to emerge from GRA Ventures, the commercialization arm of the Georgia Research Alliance. More than 100 investors and representatives from industry, government and academia were on hand to hear from the companies, all part of the Fund’s portfolio.
What they heard was both exciting and highly encouraging. Some highlights:
Damballa has brought its robust malware detection platform to customers in 20 countries spanning four continents, reported CEO David Scholtz. The company, which was recently named a Deloitte Technology Fast 500 company, has enjoyed four consecutive record quarters, and that momentum will likely build, given the data security breaches that have made headlines in recent months. Damballa’s eight different engines for detecting cyber invasion point to remarkable growth for the company in the months ahead.
Former BellSouth Chairman and CEO Duane Ackerman introduced StarMobile, a company poised to turn the enterprise mobility market upside down. President and CEO Todd Fryburger told the audience that Global 2000 companies use hundreds of packaged and custom software applications to run their businesses – but fewer than 5 percent of these are optimized for use on mobile devices. Converting to a mobile platform costs as much as $67,000 a month; however, StarMobile can provide the answer at 10 percent of the cost and five times the speed of development.
Energy startup Urjanet, introduced by former Southern Company chairman and CEO David Ratcliffe, now has access to data from 80 percent of North American utilities. So it’s strengthened its ability to provide the knowledge that allows companies to “completely overhaul their energy usage,” said Sanjoy Malik, CEO. The data Urjanet provides is unlike anything available in the market, according to Malik, and it provides the foundation for the kind of detailed analysis that saves companies millions of dollars a year.
Lumense demonstrated its environmental sensor platform, which detects a wide range of contaminants at a particular place in real time. The technology offers a tremendous advantage over current solutions, which either rely on costly and limited equipment or require samples to be sent to a lab for testing. CEO Mike Slawson said front-line customers include food manufacturers. Beginning with Coca-Cola, which invested in Lumense, and is looking for a more cost effective solution to their current detection system. Beyond providing immediate detection of a range of unwelcome substances, Lumense can extend the business into data and applications.
Similarly, Soneter offers sensor technology that trumps anything now in the marketplace, which is why retail outlets are eager to begin selling the product, said President and CEO Jeff Leaders. Soneter’s non-invasive detection meter pinpoints leaks or usage anywhere in a dwelling and sends information via a smartphone app. Its technology can be applied to natural gas pipes too, and the technology goes a long way to promoting conservation and saving money. GRA Venture Fund Chairman Fred Cooper introduced Soneter.
Clearside Biomedical CEO Daniel White reported that the company is well into clinical trials for its microneedle drug delivery system, and early results are promising. Clearside’s technology allows ophthalmologists to deliver medication to a tiny area of the eye near the retina that has been inaccessible, thus providing a dramatic improvement to treating inflammation and retinal swelling that is associated with several eye ailments that will lead to blindness if left untreated. With the continued growth of aged population and the variety of retinal disease associated with age, Clearside’s one-of-a-kind solution is highly attractive.
Two other companies in our portfolio were not able to present to the gathering. Sentrinsic has re-branded as EquipCodes to better position its array of industrial software applications, and Pindrop Security continues to add banks and financial institutions to its customer base for protection against phone fraud.
It was a day of promising news from all our portfolio companies. The GRA Venture Fund is thriving and paving the way for the future economy in Georgia. The GRA Venture Fund’s board and I are excited to see where this journey takes us.
