Fracture, a Gainesville digital printing startup founded in 2009 by University of Florida graduates Alex Theodore and Abhi Lokesh, has received a $500K commitment in financing from the Tamiami Angel Fund I (TAFI).  Fracture has developed a proprietary UV-based digital photo-to-glass manufacturing process enabling printing photos in vivid color directly onto glass resulting in a product that combines the photograph and frame into one seamless piece. Previously, TAFI committed to $750K in funding, which Fracture initially received $410K.  TAFI is now increasing its second half commitment from $340K to $500K based on Fracture’s performance. Lokesh said the additional funding will immediately be put to use for external initiatives including marketing and brand partnerships.  Read more here.

Feathr, a Gainesville startup developing a smartphone conference app platform, has raised $150K from four angel investor members of the Tampa Bay chapter of TiE, The Indus Entrepreneurs, for a 20% equity stake in the company. Feathr is marketing its app platform to event organizers which allows conference registrants to connect with each other and with speakers, receive updates on schedules and rooms, share a profile and eventually manage several events.   Aidan Augustin and Neal Ormsbee founded Feathr in 2011 as undergraduate engineering students at the University of Florida. Feathr’s seven staff members are current or former UF students between the ages of 21 and 24 who work out of an office in the UF Innovation Hub. Augustin said the funding will pay for the staff to focus full time on Feathr and travel to conferences. Read more here.

NeuroNet Learning, a Gainesville educational software startup focused on improving children’s memory retention using physical activity based on technology developed at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, has secured a seed funding agreement from the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research’s Seed Capital Accelerator Program. Financial terms were not disclosed. NeuroNet Learning, founded in 2010 by CEO Jonathan Rowe, is developing unique brain-based training programs that use movement to facilitate learning, an approach informed by the latest neuroscientific research on attention, memory and perceptual-motor skills. NeuroNet’s programs help children become independent learners by automating the low-level perceptual-motor behaviors that promote fluency in reading decoding, handwriting and math fact retrieval. Read more here.

Bing Energy, a Tallahassee early stage clean energy startup developing nanotechnology to create a more commercially viable fuel cell based on technology licensed from Florida State University, has … Continue reading

Sun BioPharma, a Ponte Verde Beach startup developing a drug compound to treat pancreatic cancer based on technology licensed from The University Florida, has secured a funding agreement from the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research’s Seed Capital Accelerator Program.  Financial terms were not disclosed.  The company, founded in 2011 by CEO Paul Herron, previously raised $549K from private investors and the Florida Institute which have enabled the Company to take initial steps to advance the commercialization of its licensed compound.  “Funds made available to our company through the Seed Capital Accelerator Program, along with its requirement for private matching investment, will enable us to initiate important preclinical development work on our licensed drug candidate”, said Herron.  “Programs like these, which are offered in several other states, are critical to the development and growth of early-stage life science companies like Sun BioPharma.” Read more here.

SharpSpring, a Gainesville startup developing marketing software for small-to-medium businesses (SMB) based on technology licensed from the The University Florida, has secured funding from the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research’s Seed Capital Accelerator Program (SCAP).  Financial terms were not disclosed.  SharpSpring’s SMB platform is designed to be used and managed by as little as one marketing person with almost no learning curve or implementation time, providing immediate return on investment through increased lead generation and sales. CEO Rick Carlson, who founded SharpSpring in 2012, said, “funds made available through the SCAP come at a critical time for our company as we complete initial product development and begin to execute our go-to-market strategy.” Read more here.

Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation, (AGTC), an Alachua clinical stage biotechnology company developing gene therapy products to treat rare retinal diseases, has raised $37.5M in a Series B round of financing. Alta Partners and S.R. One, Limited led the financing, with new investor Osage University Partners joining existing investors InterWest, Intersouth Partners and MedImmune Ventures in the round. The funding will allow AGTC to continue development of its Phase 2 program in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) and initiate full development of potential treatments for two orphan ophthalmology indications, Achromatopsia (ACHM) and X-Linked Rentinoschisis (XLRS). ”Based on encouraging clinical results from AGTC and others, we concluded that a large set of genetically defined diseases could be cured using AGTC’s proprietary vectors and manufacturing technologies”, said Ed Hurwitz, General Partner of Alta Partners.  Much of the company’s technology is licensed from the University of Florida. AGTC was founded in 1999 by Nick Muzyczka and four colleagues from UF and the University of North Carolina based on developments at the UF Powell Gene Therapy Center. The company is now led by CEO Sue Washer. The company started in the UF Sid Martin Biotech Incubator in Alachua and remains in Progress Corporate Park. Read more here.