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• Princeton University’s Keller Center eLab and NJIT’s Highlander Foundry (Newark) held demo days for student companies in their summer accelerator programs.

Princeton University Keller Center eLab Demo Day

• According to Princeton University, 45 percent of this year’s eLab Accelerator business creators came from humanities departments.
• These included:
  • Unite, a map-based event discovery app that allows people to find activities and events easily in their area, pitched by psychology major Donald Della Pietra and his team, and
  • Readwell, a subscription-based reading app that offers high-quality books to preteen readers, pitched by Kate Clairmont, a Ph.D. candidate in the English department.
• We’ll have more on all of the startups that pitched in an upcoming article.

VentureLink@NJIT Highlander Foundry Demo Day

• The Highlander Foundry program is a two-month student incubator that operates during the summer at VentureLink@NJIT.
• Among the companies represented are:
  • Smart AQ, presented by Vishva Rana, which offers a real-time monitoring system for air pollution, that can inform residents and policymakers about community air pollution levels at any time; and
  • Virtual Forensic Lab, presented by Kamil Arif, which aims to bring crime scenes to forensics students, by means of a virtual environment.
• We’ll have more on all companies that pitched in an upcoming article.

NJEDA Opens Tax Credit Auction Under The Innovation Evergreen Fund

• Companies that want to take advantage of tax credits offered through the establishment of the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund (NJIEF) can now participate in an auction.
• For the 2022 auction, a pilot amount of $30 million in tax credits will be available for purchase through the New Jersey Corporate Tax Credit Auction.
• The funds raised from the auction will later be matched by professional venture capital firms and invested into high-growth, early-stage businesses across the Garden State.
• Corporations seeking to purchase the tax credits must commit to supporting the state’s innovation economy through mentorship, internships, sales and distribution pipeline access, and to serve on the NJIEF Advisory Board for one year.
• Completed applications, including a refundable deposit, must be received by October 7, 2022. Apply here.

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