Monthly Archives: July 2013

Entigral Announces Series A Financing Led by Piedmont Angel Network

July 31, 2013 ‒ Raleigh, NC ‒ Entigral Systems is pleased to announce the closing of the first tranche of its $1.2 million Series A Preferred Stock financing. The Company closed on over $500,000 in July from four new investor groups. The financing was led by the Piedmont Angel Network Three (PAN3), based in Greensboro, NC, and included participation from three other angel groups, IMAF-Cape Fear, IMAF-RTP and Triangle Angel Partners (TAP). The second tranche of the financing is scheduled to close in 2014.

Joining the Company’s Board of Directors from PAN, the lead investor group, will be Tom Storrs. Mr. Storrs is an executive at Takata Corporation, based out of their Greensboro, NC office.

“The funds will be used for corporate expansion, specifically to hire software developers, marketing and sales staff and to execute on new marketing and sales programs,” said Booth Kalmbach, Entigral’s President and CEO. “Entigral is growing rapidly and we are pleased that these four investors are providing capital for our expansion.”

“This is the first outside capital that we have raised for Entigral,” added Allen Bennett, Entigral’s Chairman and Founder. “Entigral’s family of solutions for tracking assets in manufacturing and industrial environments is addressing key pain points in the market today. All of the market and Company dynamics have come together at the right time. This new funding will allow us to grow fast.”

New board member, Mr. Storrs, said “We are excited about our new investment in Entigral. The company has a terrific product family and existing blue-chip customers nationwide. The new capital will allow the company to expand its sales and marketing programs and to continue its growth.”

About Entigral Systems

Founded in 2003, Entigral Systems (http://www.entigral.com) is an enterprise software company that develops and sells TraxWare® ‒ an industry-leading sensor automation platform. TraxWare enables a new generation of sensor-based asset tracking applications, primarily using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sensors, for Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). These tracking applications include capital and fixed asset tracking, work in-process management, warehouse and supply chain management, and inventory replenishment.

Source: http://www.entigral.com/News/entigral-announces-series-a-financing/

Protochips Wins R&D 100 and Tibbets Awards

Protochips was selected to receive a R&D 100 award, known as the Oscar® of Innovation for scientists and engineers, for its Poseidon 500 in situ electrochemisty system. The award will be presented in Orlando on November 7th.

“Studying materials at the atomic scale directly within liquid environments will vastly improve a researcher’s ability to develop and manufacture the next generation of batteries, fuel cells and catalysts” explains David Nackashi, Protochips’ CEO. “For the first time in a commercial product, scientists can observe and characterize electrochemical reactions at atomic resolution, in liquid environments, and in real-time.”

The Poseidon 500 shrinks the typical electrochemical lab to the size of a microchip that fits inside an electron microscope. Researchers can exploit the high-resolution and analytical capabilities of modern electron microscopes to reveal fundamental physical properties of materials and optimize electrochemical systems such as batteries, fuel cells, chemical production and anti-corrosive surface coatings.

Collaborative researchers such as Dr. David Muller of Cornell University have already used Poseidon to make discoveries that will help increase the lifetime of fuel cells and increase the efficiency of lithium batteries. “I’m excited by the commercial impact this can have on energy storage and chemical products,” notes Michael Zapata III, the company’s Executive Board Chairman. “We are very happy about their recognition.”

The company also received a Tibbetts award in Washington, DC on May 16th. Presented by the United States Small Business Association, the award recognizes companies with exemplary returns from SBIR and SBA projects. The award acknowledges companies that have exceeded the expectations of the program and is based on several factors including the economic impact of the technological innovation, overall business achievement, and demonstration of effective collaborations.

Protochips is honored to be recognized with a Tibbetts award. The award is an indication of the success Protochips has achieved in developing and commercializing the Aduro technology. Aduro has risen from a novel technique for heating within an electron microscope to the market leader for in situ heating. With the success of the Aduro and Poseidon systems, Protochips has grown to over twenty employees, demonstrating the success of the SBIR program.

Protochips (www.protochips.com), located in Raleigh, NC, is a company providing revolutionary products and technologies for the in situ electron microscopy market for more than nine years. Through With their innovative E-chip™ consumable technology, Protochips is fundamentally changing the way in situ microscopy is performed. The E-chip platform is the engine that drives Protochips Aduro™ and Poseidon™ in situ solution, providing temperature and electrical in situ capabilities for Aduro and liquid in situ capabilities for Poseidon.