2007 Winner Reaches $1 Million Funding Mark
Business Plan Competition Helps New Space Venture Technologies
Take Off, Lumedyne Technologies Demonstrates
GOLDEN, Colo.--(Business Wire)--
One year after winning the 8th Continent Project's inaugural Lunar
Ventures competition, San Diego-based Lumedyne Technologies has
secured $1 million in funding and several industries are clamoring to
benefit from the technology.
"Winning the 8C Lunar Ventures Competition was the spark that
ignited Lumedyne Technologies from being merely a great idea and cool
technology to a funded company poised to change several industries,"
said Brad Chisum, CEO and founder of Lumedyne Technologies. "Not only
was Lunar Ventures instrumental in helping refine our business model,
8C made it possible for us to get an audience with the new Space
Angels funding network and Space Investment Summit 3, resulting in $1
million in funding just one year after winning Lunar Ventures."
The Lunar Ventures Competition challenges students in business,
engineering and science to collaborate in creating business ventures
related to space. Prizes for the winner include a cash award of
$25,000, in-kind services and an invitation to compete in the Global
MOOT CORP Competition for $100,000 in prizes. Lunar Ventures brings
out innovative technological advancements, and Lunar Ventures judges
know a winner when they see it. The 2008 competition will be held
March 28-30, 2008 on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines in
Golden, Colorado.
Lumedyne's accelerometer technology, smaller than a dime, was
originally developed by the Navy where CEO Brad Chisum was an Engineer
and a student at San Diego State University. The technology, described
as "revolutionary," is significantly less expensive and higher
performing than anything else on the market. Originally developed for
aircraft, missile and space navigation systems, Lumedyne is being
considered by customers in various industries including oil and gas
exploration, the intelligence community, mining, aerospace and others.
"The 8th Continent Project was created for the sole purpose of
organizing the small entrepreneurial aerospace technology industry to
bring space down to earth, and Lumedyne Technologies is a shining
example of that promise," said Burke Fort, executive director of the
8th Continent Project.
While Lumedyne's sensor technology has potential in many
industries, one industry currently counting on Lumedyne is oil and gas
exploration. Currently oil companies only extract 20-30 percent of a
given deposit because the rest is too expensive to extract with
current technology. Lumedyne sensors, up to 30,000 of them, help show
precisely where the remaining oil is and how to access it, putting the
remainder of the deposit within reach.
Because of the sensors' extreme sensitivity they are also highly
useful in gauging mine and bridge safety by detecting subtle changes
in structural integrity.
Within five years, the company expects to be using the sensors for
micro satellite navigation. Networks of tiny satellites -
approximately one-inch cubes - will require extremely precise, low
power accelerometers to remain in contact with other satellites in the
array and to continue to function. According to Chisum, only
Lumedyne's accelerometer technology can do this. No other sensor
technology will work.
"We saw huge potential in Lumedyne's technology at last year's
Lunar Ventures Competition and couldn't be more pleased to see Brad
and his team meeting one of their business plan goals within a year of
being announced as the 2007 Lunar Ventures winner," said Burke Fort,
8th Continent director. "This year's competition is looking to be just
as rewarding, with finalists including teams from MIT, Harvard,
Purdue, Johns Hopkins, Boston University and Utah State."
"I would strongly encourage students across the country, whether
they have a complete technology and business platform ready or simply
a great business idea for future space technology with immediate Earth
application, to enter the Lunar Ventures competition. At the very
least you will get an honest assessment of the viability of the
technology and business plans from nationally recognized experts,"
Chisum added.
About the 8th Continent Project
Based out of Golden, Colorado, the Colorado School of Mines' 8th
Continent Project is the world's most comprehensive effort to
integrate space technology and resources into the global economy. 8th
Continent provides the infrastructure and resources to solve a wide
range of challenges from global warming to renewable energy
development. Located in Colorado, home of the most concentrated
entrepreneurial, investor and aerospace talent in the world, 8th
Continent brings space down to earth with the industry's first trade
association, incubator, venture fund and research hub, all working
together to develop the next generation of space business ventures.
More information can be found at www.8cproject.com.
About Lumedyne Technologies
Lumedyne Technologies Incorporated (LTI) was founded in 2006 under
the name Omega Sensors. In 2007, LTI changed its name and will provide
highly advanced MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems)
accelerometers. The MEMS technology used in LTI's sensors was
developed at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR), a
government research laboratory. Under exclusive patent rights, LTI is
responsible for product commercialization. The technology behind LTI's
products is protected by six patents with two more pending. It has
been selected as one of the "World's Best Technologies for 2005" by
the World's Best Technology Showcase, named one of the "Most
Promising" Energy Technologies for 2007 by Rice Alliance, and has
achieved best known values for the smallest displacement ever measured
by a MEMS device. For more information, please visit
www.lumedynetechnologies.com.
8th Continent Project
Erin Pickard, 303-786-7000
epickard@metzger.com
Bill Green, 303-786-7000
bgreen@metzger.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
