Garmor, an Orlando advanced materials startup focused on developing low-cost, low-weight and high-strength materials based on technology developed at the University of Central Florida, has secured a $300K seed funding agreement from the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research’s Seed Capital Accelerator Program. Garmor, founded by CEO Anastasia Canavan, has developed a cost-effective method of producing high-quality graphene, a carbon-based material similar to carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. Although graphene was discovered nearly ten years ago, attempts to commercialize the mass production of graphene have not yet achieved affordable price points for many applications. By leveraging a new manufacturing methodology, Garmor plans to initially market its graphene for use in high-volume industries. One particular industry of interest is the reinforced materials markets where graphene adds substantial material improvements. Examples where this technology will be leveraged includes thermoplastics, thermoset plastics, resins and fiberglass composites. The enhanced strength, reduced cost and ultra-lightweight features of Garmor’s graphene in graphene-reinforced materials also facilitate its use in a wide number of transportation and construction applications. “Through sponsored research at UCF, Garmor demonstrated and proved that when used as an additive its graphene improves several material properties of composite materials. This funding, combined with our private investment, enables us to focus on volume manufacturing and customized product development,” said Canavan. “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of seed funding for companies like Garmor that are commercializing university technologies.” “Garmor is a great example of a Florida-based company leveraging advancements in technology, in this case the discovery of graphene, to enable corporations across multiple industries to deploy better products more cost-effectively”, said Jamie Grooms, Institute CEO. “Florida universities and research institutions are making new discoveries every day, improving every aspect of how we live, work and play.” Read more here.

Zentila, a Winter Garden strategic meetings management company, has closed a $2.1M Series A round led by VoCap Ventures of Vero Beach with participation from the Florida Opportunity Fund (managed by Arsenal Venture Partners) and venVelo, both of Winter Park. Zentila, founded in 2011 by CEO Mike Mason, a 25-year veteran of the hospitality industry, provides the first online booking engine for planning and booking meetings and conventions at hotels. It enables corporate event planners to solicit pricing bids and book corporate meetings and conferences.  This financing follows Zentila’s recently announced partnership with Northstar Travel Media, the world’s leading business-to-business media company serving the travel and meetings industries, to offer its dynamic sourcing and booking platform on Northstar’s meetings and conventions online facility search. “Communicating travel information has been Northstar’s core competency for more than 50 years, and we are constantly looking to enhance our offerings,” said Bernard Schraer, Senior Vice President and Group Publisher of Northstar Media Group. “Zentila is a natural evolution of our services, enabling us to essentially provide a ‘one-stop-shopping’ experience for our meeting planner users.”