- Tucson-based UAVenture Capital announced its third and fourth investments in for Fund II, which includes CarboShield and MediCarbone
UAVenture Capital, a Tucson-based venture capital fund that is focused on the commercialization of discovery products, technology, and services emerging from the University of Arizona, announced its third and fourth investments in for Fund II, which is its eighth and ninth investment since launching the fund.
The UAVenture Capital invested in CarboShield — which has built a low-cost way to strengthen thousands of aging steel, concrete, and wooden bridges around the world. And CarboShield is currently handling a number of worldwide infrastructure repair projects by utilizing carbon fiber prefabricated forms (10 times stronger than steel). This patented process negates the current repair processes by allowing the original structure to remain intact. Unlike the carbon fiber wrapping currently in use — which takes significant time and manpower — CarboShield’s product is rapidly installed is virtually permanent and can be simply installed with no environmental impact.
Plus UAVenture Capital also invested in MediCarbone. MediCarbone is the patent holder of a flexible carbon fiber fabric inserted inside and around a fractured bone. This fabric is filled with an inert polymer to inflate the fabric, which then works as a permanent cast that cannot be rebroken. This technology could replace a traditional cast and can be used on the broken bones of humans or animals when a traditional cast is not viable.
The invested funds from UAVenture Capital will be used for supporting further development of the technologies in both companies. CarboShield already has several potential customers and projects worldwide and it is planning to install its product in approximately three months. And MediCarbone’s product will require U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for human trials. However, MediCarbone is planning to begin testing in animals in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Hamid Saadatmanesh, a professor of engineering in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Mechanics, had invented both technologies. And Saadatmanesh is recognized around the world as an expert in carbon fiber applications.
“Hamid is a brilliant engineer who has used his entrepreneurial skills and imagination to solve significant worldwide issues through the creative use of carbon fiber. We see huge opportunities for both infrastructure repair and medical utilization of his inventions,” said Fletcher McCusker, the CEO and founder of UAVenture Capital.
Doug Hockstad, an assistant vice president of Tech Launch Arizona (unit that commercializes technologies and innovations originating from the UA), pointed out how MediCarbone’s product is innovative.
“We are excited about Dr. Saadatmanesh’s innovation for bone repair because of the difference the medical application can make and the lack of anything similar in the marketplace,” commented Hockstad. “This kind of creative application of carbon fiber technology is yet one more example of how Arizona is engaged in moving the fourth industrial revolution forward.”
Under the leadership of President Robert C. Robbins, the UA is one of the leading institutions due to its initiatives to enhance on-campus innovation, invention, research and commercialization. The UA is also recognized as a global leader in research as the university brings more than $684 million in research investment each year and ranks in the top 25 research institutions among all public universities.
“As the eighth and ninth investment in UA technology by UAVenture Capital, these ventures are exciting applications of Dr. Saadatmanesh’s research, and amazing examples of the kind of research the UA can produce with positive global impact,” explained Robert C. Robbins, the president of the University of Arizona. “The ability to accelerate UA discoveries into the marketplace is integral to our role as a global land-grant university, and fundamentally important in our new strategic plan. We are pleased that UAVenture Capital continues to engage with our faculty to help create an ecosystem of research, innovation, invention, and commercialization, and I am delighted every time we learn of world-changing inventions by our faculty, students and staff, and the opportunities they create here at the University of Arizona.”
