Media Release
HiberSense Wins $10K in AUTM Venture Challenge
AUSTIN, Texas – February 14, 2019 — HiberSense, Inc., a start-up from the University of
Pittsburgh Innovation Institute, has won the $10,000 top prize in AUTM’s Pitch and Play
business plan competition at the Association’s 2019 Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.
New company creation and development are integral components of academic research
innovation. AUTM celebrates this mission-critical function annually through Pitch and Play – the
AUTM Venture Challenge, where academic-affiliated start-up companies pitch their business
opportunity to a panel of seasoned venture investors in pursuit of a cash prize.
“The Venture Challenge is a great opportunity to showcase the innovative start-ups launched
out of universities each year,” said AUTM Chair Richard Chylla. “In 2017 alone, more than 1,000
start-ups were formed based on university technologies. Mentoring, honing business plans and
investment are all critical ingredients to move these nascent companies forward. We get to
watch this happen in real time at the Challenge. This has become one of my favorite sessions at
the Annual Meeting.”
This year’s winner, HiberSense, Inc., has developed a Connected Climate Control for Every
Room solution that empowers homeowners with a smart HVAC control system. Their patent
pending, easy retrofit system uses wireless sensors, machine learning and battery-operated,
wireless vents to heat or cool every space. This ensures maximum room-by-room comfort and
HVAC energy savings of up to 40 percent. https://hibersense.com/
Three other finalists were selected from 68 applicants, and made their pitch to venture
capitalists at the Challenge:
ExpressCells, a biotech start-up from Temple University, has developed a process that
inserts multiple genes into living cells and delivers them in as few as 30 days, compared
to 4-6 months using current technologies. These cells are research tools that can colortag proteins or replicate diseases to save drug developers time and money.
www.xpresscells.com.
Greppo Technologies, a medical device start-up out of the University of Pennsylvania, is
developing a portfolio of actively steerable needle technologies enabling access to
previously unreachable lesions for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The Greppo
technology has the potential to change the way minimally invasive procedures are
performed by allowing access to hard-to-reach, large or multifocal tumors, and as a
result, has the potential to spare surrounding healthy tissue from damage, reduce
procedure time and generate cost savings for both hospitals and patients.www.greppotech.com
About AUTM
AUTM is the non-profit leader in efforts to educate, promote and inspire professionals,
throughout their careers, to support the development of academic research that changes the
world. AUTM’s community is comprised of more than 3,000 members who work in more than
800 universities, research centers, hospitals, businesses and government organizations around
the globe. To learn more, visit www.AUTM.net.
Media Contact:
Leef Smith Barnes
AUTM Chief Marketing Officer
lsmithbarnes@autm.net
703-870-4895