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| Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge (IBTEC) |
| Profiles of Winning Business Plans |
The Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge is
designed to showcase global business opportunities that have the greatest
potential for a positive impact on society through the deployment of new and
truly innovative technologies.
See how winning IBTEC has helped three of the teams from the 2006 competition.
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Aurora Biofuels
2006 First Prize Winner |
An innovative alternative energy company with a
revolutionary method of creating biodiesel |
Richcore Lifesciences
Private Limited
2006 Second Prize Winner
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A biotech application research company from India that
developed hygroscopic paper |
Gravitonus, Inc.
2006 Humanitarian Award
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A team of experienced Russian medical doctors that
developed a technology that helps paralyzed individuals resume active lives.
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 Aurora Biofuels
www.aurorabiofuels.com*
With the soaring cost of fossil fuels
and the looming threat of global warming, the need for alternative,
environmentally-friendly fuel sources is imminent.
"There are problems with existing biodiesels," explains Matt Caspari, CEO of
Aurora BioFuels. "Creating biodiesel from agricultural crops is expensive, and
there's simply not enough feedstock. Even if you took all the soy oil in the
U.S. and converted it into biodiesel, you'd only displace about five percent of
the usage need. There's also the ethical issue of diverting a food crop for
fuel, driving up food prices in the process."
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Caspari and fellow Aurora co-founders Guido Radaelli and Bert Vick believe the
solution lies in using algae as a biofuel feedstock.
Naturally oily, algae grows quickly on marginal land and in brackish water. It
can produce more bio-oil per acre than existing biodiesel crops, and can be
harvested daily. What's more, it removes carbon dioxide from the air as it
grows.
Add to that the fact that Aurora has developed and patented technology that
boosts algae's bio-oil production capabilities and you can see why Aurora took
first place honors and the $25,000 prize at the 2006 Intel+UC Berkeley
Entrepreneurship Challenge (IBTEC).
"The experience of participating in IBTEC was definitely worthwhile," says
Caspari. "You get a chance to practice your presentation in front of a panel of
judges who are experienced investors, go through a Q&A session, and get
candid feedback. It really helps prepare you to go out and do the real
fundraising after."
Since participation in IBTEC, Aurora has raised $5 million from three venture
capital firms, opened an office and laboratory in the San Francisco Bay area,
and started up a test facility in Florida. "We found investors, we put together
a team, and we're doing the work," says Caspari. "We're off and running."
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 Richcore
www.richcoreindia.com*
At the 2006 Intel+UC Berkeley Technology
Entrepreneurship Challenge (IBTEC), Richcore, an Indian biotech application
research company, garnered second prize for its development of and plan to
market hygroscopic paper. The technology behind the project allows ordinary
paper to absorb moisture from the atmosphere and remain perpetually moist. It
has applications in a wide spectrum of industries, including floriculture,
horticulture, healthcare, tissue culture, packaging, food processing, and
solid-state fermentation.
Since the competition, the Richcore team - Subramani Ramachandrappa, K.
Ramachandran, R.N. Sharma, and Sanjay Jha - has secured funding from venture
capitalists with the aid of Avendus, an India-based financial advisory firm,
and launched its hygroscopic paper venture. The initial marketing focus has
been on the floriculture industry because the hygroscopic paper is an ideal
material for creating artificial flowers that look and feel like the real thing
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"We have launched the flower business, and are currently licensing the
technology for use in health and tissue culture," reports Ramachandrappa,
Chairman and Managing Director of Richcore. Further, he says, "we have been
profitably operating the business."
Ramachandrappa says IBTEC was a catalyst in moving the marketing process
forward. "Feedback from the IBTEC judges helped us evaluate our plan from many
perspectives, and our plan got polished. Exposure to the judges helped us in
our funding process and our interactions with venture capitalists." In short,
he says, "IBTEC gave us a head-start when we approached venture capitalists as
it was like a prelude which qualifies for the first round of talks. We would
not have been able to attract a financial advisor like Avendus if we were not
well-groomed by our experience at Berkeley."
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 Gravitonus, Inc.
www.gravitonus.com*
As an orthopedist at a Russian medical facility specializing in spinal cord
injuries, Dr. Alex Kosik routinely worked with severely disabled patients. To
help them and other quadriplegics around the world regain some independence and
quality of life, Dr. Kosik assembled a team - including Taras Kosik, his
brother and a rehabilitation specialist for the handicapped - and went to work
on an Alternative Computer Control System (ACCS). Their company, Gravitonus,
developed a device that, when placed in the mouth cavity and manipulated with
the tongue, allows the user to operate a computer. The result is that
individuals gain not only autonomy from being able to operate wheelchairs and
household appliances, but are also able to take advantage of education and
employment opportunities.
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For their plan to bring the ACCS to market, the Gravitonus team - including the
Kosik brothers, Krystyna Kosik, Dmitry Devyaterikov, and Vitaly Kuzmin - won
the Humanitarian Award at 2006 Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship
Challenge.
"The IBTEC award was a major breakthrough," says Dr. Kosik. "We got visibility,
support, and worldwide recognition for the Gravitonus name."
Since IBTEC, Gravitonus has set up U.S. operations with an executive team
headed by CEO Marshall Ferrin, and begun to develop distribution channels for
the accessibility and gaming markets. Financial support has come from
enthusiastic investors, including Microsoft's Bill Gates. Though the meeting
with Gates was set up prior to IBTEC, Dr. Kosik says, "the award certainly
improved our chances for funding."
Additionally, Dr. Kosik notes that the business venture has benefited greatly
from association with Intel, including "business consulting support from the
Russian Intel Digital Health Department."
Though emphasis is currently on the U.S. market, the product has generated
interest in Europe and South America, and the company eventually hopes to bring
the ACCS to handicapped people around the globe.
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