Ohio Third Frontier Giving Financial Assistance to New Technology Projects

Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio Third Frontier Commission las week approved more than $3 million in Pre-Seed Fund Initiative and Entrepreneurial Signature Program funds that will be awarded to three Ohio-based projects. The funding ensures that new start-up technology companies continue to have access to early-stage capital to develop new products and technologies, and bring them to market. The awards are contingent upon State Controlling Board approval.

“Investing Ohio Third Frontier resources in innovative start-ups will spur Ohio entrepreneurs to develop the new technologies that lead to the creation of new jobs,” said Governor Ted Strickland.

“Today’s investments are not only assisting three separate companies, they are fostering important collaborations between several businesses, universities, and research institutions which we know is the formula for the success of our state’s economy,” said Eric Fingerhut, Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents and Chairman of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission.

The Ohio Third Frontier Pre-Seed Initiative and Entrepreneurial Signature Program are designed to help fill the need for early-stage capital through the establishment of professionally managed, pre-seed capital investment funds to support promising Ohio start-up technology companies in the beginning stages of formation.

“These Investments are key to assisting company and job creation in the state,” said Lisa Patt-McDaniel, Director of the Ohio Department of Development and member of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission. “Ohio Third Frontier continues to help position our state as a leader in new technology initiatives. In fact, other states look to Ohio as a model for their own technology initiatives.”

The Ohio Third Frontier Commission also today approved more than $8 million in Research and Development Center Attraction Program funds for two Ohio-based entities contingent upon the factors outlined below.

The Ohio Third Frontier Commission awarded the following grants:

FY2010 Ohio Third Frontier Pre-Seed Initiative and

Entrepreneurial Signature Program Awards

Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, located in the City of Cincinnati (Hamilton County), was awarded $2 million for its Southwest Ohio Signature Program: The Next Generation, which will fund CincyTech USA to continue to provide critical core services to entrepreneurs in the Southwest Ohio Region through the Entrepreneurial Signature Program. The funding will enable CincyTech USA to continue to provide a set of targeted services and resources to high-growth technology opportunities, and will focus on further integration of regional services. The initiative will continue to focus on its original three technology signature areas: bioscience, information technology, and advanced manufacturing.

JumpStart, Inc., located in the City of Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), was awarded $300,000 for its Energy and the JumpStart Entrepreneurial Network project, which will help fund the continued operations and investment activities of JumpStart, Inc. Specifically, two Advanced Energy Entrepreneurs in Residence, thereby helping to continue to accelerate and sustain the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Northeast Ohio and further transform the region’s advanced energy economy.

JumpStart, Inc., located in the City of Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), was awarded $865,000 for its JumpStart and Third Frontier Entrepreneurial Network project, which will provide continued entrepreneurial services to technology start-up companies located in the Northeast Ohio region. Collaborators include the Akron Global Business Accelerator (AGBA), Braintree in Mansfield, MAGNET in Cleveland, and the Youngstown Business Incubator.

FY2010 Ohio Third Frontier Research and

Development Center Attraction Program

Kraton Polymers U.S., LLC was approved for a Research and Development Center Attraction Program commitment of $3.13 million for the Kraton Polymer Innovation Center. The commitment is contingent upon Kraton’s investment of $20.87 million to locate the Center at the current Kraton facility in Belpre, Ohio. The company will work in collaboration with the University of Akron, which will own the equipment purchased with these funds. The purpose of the Center is to demonstrate the commercial use and manufacturability of new, innovative styrenic block co-polymers. Kraton is the world leader in the production of styrenic block co-polymers, which have a wide range of market uses as an additive to adhesives and sealants, asphalt, polymers, and footwear. The Center will give Kraton and the University of Akron the ability to develop semi-commercial quantities of new polymeric materials for scale-up testing on film lines, extruders, rotational molding, and other application-specific equipment. These samples will be used by Kraton to further develop materials, applications, and products for their customers and by the University of Akron to scale-up research projects and new materials beyond university laboratories. The Kraton Polymer Innovation Center has an expected lifetime of at least 30 years and will impact the long-term manufacture and synthesis of these materials. Kraton estimates that eight to 15 highly skilled research technicians and up to five scientists will be needed to support and manage the center.

Collaborator: University of Akron

Wright State University was approved for a Research and Development Center Attraction Program commitment of up to $5 million. The commitment is contingent on an anticipated Air Force Research Laboratory award of $30 to $50 million to the University that would establish the Human Performance Consortium Research and Development Center. The Center is proposed to serve as a local one-stop shop for the 711th Human Performance Wing of the Air Force. As a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure, all Air Force human performance research is relocating to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base under the command of the Air Force Research Laboratory. The Center could take advantage of this opportunity and increase the chances of competitively awarded funding being retained in Ohio. The Center would specialize in human systems integration, education and training, human performance enhancement, and medical diagnostics.

Collaborators: Advanced Technical Intelligence Center, Applied Research Associates, daytaOhio, Kettering Health Network, Lion Apparel, Radiance Technologies, Science Applications International Corporation, and SelectTech Services.

To view information about Ohio Third Frontier, please visit www.OhioThirdFrontier.com.

Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to create new technology-based products, companies, industries, and jobs, has commercialized or created more than 630 companies, attracted more than $4.76 billion in private investment to Ohio, and has a nearly 9:1 return on investment since its inception.

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