Purdue Invests $75,000 in Indiana High-Tech Startups

Three Indiana startup companies received $25,000 apiece to develop new tech solutions in emerging fields like machine learning as part of an entrepreneurship accelerator program at Purdue University, a Wednesday announcement said.

According to a news release, investments marked the conclusion of the Purdue Foundry's Boost accelerator program, which involved weeks of consultations between startups and technology industry mentors to prepare companies to pitch ideas to a panel of investors. The university panel chose to award investments to the following companies:

• Pluto Aerospace, a West Lafayette startup developing economical launch vehicle platforms for hypersonic and other suborbital applications;
• ReproHealth Technologies, an Indianapolis tech developer looking for ways to improve the efficacy of bovine reproductive technology;
• Araqev, a West Lafayette company working to advance machine learning used for sustainable additive manufacturing.

Bill Arnold, managing director of the Purdue Foundry, said in a public statement that the long-term value of the Boost program goes beyond the $25,000 investment.

"The work these entrepreneurs put into their companies has made them more investment-ready, and not just for the Boost program,” he said, noting seven companies participated in the program to win tech investments.

ReproHealth Technologies CEO James Donahue said the mentoring offered through Purdue helped prepare companies such as his to be viewed as "investible" by the panel of venture capitalists.

"We learned from experts in all phases of startup development, [entrepreneurs-in-residence] and our fellow Boost program participants. This program is the start of a long and fruitful relationship,” he said in a public statement.