TEDCO’s tech transfer fund has served 15 firms this year

Animal health IT and recipe hunting are among efforts each to receive $100,000 grants this year from TEDCO’s Technology Commercialization fund. On Tuesday, officials announced the program has distributed $1.5 million so far this year.
That’s 15 different companies supported by the initiative this year.
“Early-stage companies in Maryland benefit immensely from the investment of capital the Technology Commercialize Fund is able to provide,” Rob Rosenbaum, president and executive director of TEDCO, said in a release. “The portfolio of this core TEDCO program includes some of the most dynamic emerging companies in the State, and we’re proud to support the 15 newest start-up additions.”
This year’s class includes:

• Kitchology, located in Germantown, which is working on a mobile app to help consumers modify recipes to serve nutritional goals, budget, time and even what’s on hand in the fridge.
• Urbana-based Vitus Animal Health is behind a cloud-based service to help veterinarians interface with systems already in animal hospitals in order to display and store information online.
• Maven Medical, based in Baltimore’s Emerging Technology Centers, has software aimed at helping clinicians make more cost-effective decisions.

See the full list
The fund from the state-backed agency supports companies developing technology in concert with universities or federal labs. Eligible grant recipients must be located at an affiliated incubator or participate in certain state programs. The companies must have less than 16 employees, be less than five years removed from direct university ties and have less than $500,000 in venture investments.
In all, the commercialization fund has supported 225 companies with $15 million in funding. Those firms have gone on to receive $678 million in investments and other awards, according to the release.