Naiad Wins University College Dublin’s 2018 Start-Up of the Year Award
- Naiad now seeking to raise €750k in initial funding
Naiad, an emerging life sciences venture, has won University College Dublin’s (UCD) 2018 Start-Up of the Year Award. Naiad won the Award, and a €32,000 prize fund, after being declared overall winner of the 2018 UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme.
Naiad is developing a novel liquid-based 3D bioprinting technology that helps researchers fabricate highly-reproducible 3D tissue models that better mimic the rich complexity of human tissues.
In replacing ineffective models currently used, Naiad’s technology will help to improve drug toxicity and efficacy trials, thereby reducing the high attrition rates associated with drug discovery.
The founders of Naiad are Assistant Professor Emmanuel G. Reynaud, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science and Professor Brian Rodriguez, UCD School of Physics, both of whom are fellows of the UCD Conway Institute.
Assistant Professor Emmanuel G. Reynaud, co-founder, Naiad, said, “We are delighted to have won the 2018 UCD Start-up of the Year Award which acknowledges the hard work, dedication and progress of the entire team over the last number of years.”
He added, “We are now seeking to raise an initial €750,000 in funding to support and expand our test sites in leading research institutes and to build our team in anticipation of our first commercial release.”
He concluded, “Naiad is the result of collaborative research at UCD which has been funded to date by Enterprise Ireland and I would like to acknowledge their contribution to our success. I would also like to acknowledge the great support of NovaUCD, the VentureLaunch facilitators, and specifically all of the VentureLaunch participants for their invaluable feedback and support.”
To find out more about Naiad's technology watch:
The overall objective of the annual 3-month UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme, which is delivered at NovaUCD, is to support the creation, and to accelerate the launch of sustainable and profitable new ventures based on intellectual property emerging from UCD.
The programme aims is to equip UCD researchers with the knowledge, skills and understanding that is required to work as part of a team successfully leading a new commercial venture with global potential.
Pictured (l-r) Eddie Buckley, Head of AIB Dublin South, Prof. Orla Feely, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, Assistant Professor Emmanuel G. Reynaud and Professor Brian Rodriguez, Naiad co-founders; guest speaker Nicola McClafferty, Investment Director, Draper Esprit and Tom Flanagan, UCD Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation.
Tom Flanagan, Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation, UCD said, “At University College Dublin we are strongly committed to delivering impact from our research and innovation activities which are essential drivers of a dynamic economy.”
“Through our VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme we are supporting the UCD research community to deliver such impact by assisting them to accelerate the establishment of new companies which have global market potential.”
He added, “I would like to congratulate the founders of Naiad on winning this year’s programme and I wish them, and all the programme participants, every commercial success in the years ahead.”
In addition to the 2018 UCD Start-up of the Year Award Naiad was presented with a cheque for €10,000 sponsored by AIB, and a professional services package to the value of €10,000 sponsored by Bryan Maguire Business Consulting and Deloitte. The overall winner will also receive incubation space at NovaUCD to the value of €12,000.
The 2018 UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme evaluation panel, which selected the overall winner following pitches by the six programme finalists, was chaired by Dr Helen McBreen, Investment Director, Atlantic Bridge. The other members of the panel were; Sean Baker, NovaUCD Entrepreneur in Residence, Eddie Buckley, Head of AIB Dublin South and Sarah-Jane Larkin, Director-General, Irish Venture Capital Association.
The 2018 UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme Showcase and Awards event took place as part of Startup Week Dublin.
ENDS
22 November 2018
Editors Notes
For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications Manager, UCD Research and Innovation, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie or t: +353 1 716 3712.
Editors Notes
The annual UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme, which is delivered at NovaUCD, uses the Business Model Canvas approach to start-up development. The programme consists of ten 3-hour workshops, mentoring and a series of one-to-one sessions with external experts in areas such as finance, marketing and customer validation. The programme aims is to equip UCD researchers with the knowledge, skills and understanding that is required to work as part of a team successfully leading a new commercial venture.
The other participants on this year’s programme, in addition to Naiad, are profiled below.
Illumino is developing a novel light therapy and sleep-aid technology in the form of a virtual-window. The founders of Illumino, a start-up emerging from the UCD School of Psychology and the UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy are; Dr Brendan Rooney, Morteza Matkan, and Dr Sadegh Panahiazar.
Kogii is developing a smart bike light designed to reduce cyclist accident rates. Kogii's integrated sensors analyse a cyclist’s dynamic environment and trigger different lighting patterns to maximise visibility and on-bike safety. Data from cyclists are collected and analysed to identify dangerous roads and accident black spots. The founders of Kogii are Callan Eldon and Karl Roe, a PhD student in the UCD School of Computer Science.
Output Sports tests and tracks multiple components of athlete performance with just a single wearable motion sensor. The founders of Output Sports, a start-up emerging from the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science and the Insight Centre for Data Analytics at UCD are; Dr Martin O'Reilly, Dr Darragh Whelan and Julian Eberle.
Pace-Man is an adaptive training and racing platform that helps runners prepare for, predict and pace their race. The founders of Pace-Man, a start-up emerging from the UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science and the Insight Centre for Data Analytics at UCD are; Dr Alison Keogh and Dr Cailbhe Doherty.
ProvEye is developing advanced processing software to derive quantitative data from images collected by drones, and other platforms, which can be used to make informed actionable decisions on the farm. The founders of ProvEye, a start-up emerging from the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, are; Professor Nick Holden and Dr Jerome O'Connell.
At NovaUCD, the hub for new ventures and entrepreneurs at University College Dublin, we nurture and support new high-tech and knowledge-intensive companies as part of UCD’s research and innovation mission. At NovaUCD we provide purpose-built, state-of-the-art incubation facilities alongside a comprehensive business support programme for our client companies along with a series of programmes, such as the UCD VentureLaunch Accelerator, to assist researchers who are commercialising research outputs. NovaUCD has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx. www.ucd.ie/novaucd