FinTech Frontier's annual pitch competition FinTech Frontier has announced the official kickoff of its annual Pitch Competition by inviting early stage startups to showcase their fintech innovations on Oct. 28. The focus will be on data & privacy, supply chain, increasing access, and green fintech. Kroger partners with Instacart  Kroger Co. announced that it has partnered with Instacart to launch [...]

Halo Health acquired Halo Health, which was founded in 2014 by two Cincinnati oncologists, will join symplr, a provider of enterprise health care solutions. The acquisition was backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. and Charlesbank Capital Partners. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. GE Aviation invests in emissions tech  The Federal Aviation Administration [...]

UC prof's work used in renewable energy system Research by a University of Cincinnati microbiologist has been used by AZO CleanTech to develop an eco-friendly, economical and large-scale system for storing renewable energy. Annette Rowe, assistant professor of biology in UC’s College of Arts and Sciences, identified genes in one type of bacteria responsible for taking electrons into its metabolism and [...]

Rumpke uses robots to pull plastics There’s been a considerable increase in demand for recyclable materials such as No. 5 plastics, the kind of plastic used in food storage like margarine and yogurt. Rumpke Waste & Recycling is using AI robots to pull No. 5 plastics off the plant line at its St. Bernard facility. Rumpke will begin installing [...]

A robot for moving furniture In the Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems Lab of the University of Cincinnati, student researchers developed artificial intelligence to train robots to work together to move a couch — or in this case, a long rod that served as a stand-in — around two obstacles and through a narrow door in computer simulations. [...]

Amazon Air Hub opens at CVG Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) has opened the Amazon Air Hub after four years of planning and construction. The hub will be equipped with robotics technology that helps move and sort packages, including robotic arms and mobile drive units that transport packages across the building. Thermal energy technology at the zoo [...]

$160M more for 80 Acres Farms 80 Acres Farms has secured $160 million in a funding round led by General Atlantic and joined by Siemens Financial Services, Inc. The company intends to use the capital for continued expansion and product development. Read the interview we did with 80 Acres Farms just a couple of weeks [...]

Sense Neuro lands $2.4M military contract Sense Neuro Diagnostics is being awarded $2.43 million to advance technology to diagnose and monitor traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a field environment. TBI is a signature wound of recent wars, with roughly 420,000 documented incidents of service members sustaining at least one TBI in the last two decades. The [...]

Machine learning to prevent falls According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 36 million older adults fall each year. A duo of researchers at the University of Cincinnati used machine learning to identify and approve methods for a fall detection system for the elderly. A mobile app for nonprofits DonorDrive, makers of an enterprise digital [...]

P&G helps produce first paper bottle Procter & Gamble continues to show how a top company innovates. Toward its goal of reducing its use of virgin plastics by 50% by 2030, P&G has unveiled its first paper bottle in partnership with Paboco. The bottle is being described as the first of its kind to be produced at scale, both [...]

H Ventures Partners closes on debut fund H Venture Partners closed on its debut venture capital fund. The female-founded, owned, and controlled VC firm raised over $10 million. Founder and managing partner Elizabeth Edwards said in a statement that the fund will look to transform the way people live: “We do that by putting money in the [...]

Physna closes another funding round Just five months after raising $20 million, Physna has raised $56 million in a Series B funding round. The company plans to use the capital to grow Physna Enterprise, its deep-learning platform and Thangs, its free geometric search engine that allows users to search, store, share and collaborate on 2.5 million 3D models. [...]

Improving drone safety Never underestimate the role of kites in innovation (right, Benjamin Franklin?). Engineers at University of Cincinnati (UC) have developed a semi-autonomous drone that is moored to the ground. It can be operated more safely and has a longer battery life. The drone is connected to the ground, making it more stable in [...]

Kurome Therapeutics raises $15M in funding  Kurome Therapeutics closed on a $15 million series A financing round. The round was co-led by Medicxi and Affinity Asset Advisors, with participation from founding investor CincyTech and other existing seed investors. The fund will go toward developing therapies that target adaptive resistance mechanisms in cancer cells. STACK makes an acquisition  [...]

NYC firm invests in local lawtech company  SurePoint Technologies offers a cloud-based platform designed to help law firms improve workflows, gather data-driven insights and maximize profitability. The company announced a strategic investment from New York-based Aquiline Capital Partners, which invests in businesses across financial services, business services and healthcare. Accelerator program for environmental sustainability  Flywheel, Cintrifuse, HCDC, and Green Umbrella are [...]

Stick a needle in my eye Not sure about you, but we’re not totally comfortable with the current way doctors treat some eye diseases: injections through the wall of the eye. Researchers at University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and Ohio State University have received a four-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of [...]

Treatment for liver damage There’s a ton of research going on at Cincinnati Children’s. Researchers may have a potential treatment for obesity-driven liver damage, which is the primary cause for liver transplants in children and adults. The treatment involves blocking a molecular “pathway” of ihTh17 cells to the liver. Preventing obesity Cincinnati Children’s is also researching a [...]

BAAM produces monolithic 3D object Cincinnati Incorporated has used its Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) machine to produce one of the largest monolithic multi-material 3D objects to date. The demonstration proved that large-scale 3D printing can be done effectively with recycled composite materials. Sustainable refrigeration and food insecurity To help address food insecurity in downtown Dayton, Emerson [...]

Kroger to begin testing drone delivery Drone Express and Kroger have partnered to test autonomous drone deliveries within the Greater Cincinnati area. The Drone Express technology will include package delivery to the location of a customer’s smartphone, not just to a home address. UC teams tackle futuristic cars Six teams at UC are seeking to redefine [...]

AKRU gets funding Cincinnati-based startup AKRU, which seeks to increase access to real estate investing through tech, has received funding from Los-Angeles-based Draper Goren Holm, a VC firm that specializes in the fintech and blockchain space. High school students and technology Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced a new pilot internship program called The High School Tech Internship Pilot [...]