The Maine Technology Institute in October awarded $1.45 million in loans and grants to 26 Maine technology companies.

The majority of those funds—$997,700 to be exact—were delivered in the form of four Development Loans, which MTI offers three times a year to support the conversion of innovative research into new products, processes and companies.

MTI also approved 19 Seed grants totaling $433,740, and three TechStart grants totaling $15,000. In total, the loans and grants leveraged approximately $2.6 million of matching funds from the receiving companies.

The four companies that received Development Loans:

MyHealthMath LLC in Portland received a $250,000 Development Loan, which it matched with $661,850 from other sources. MyHealthMath is a software product designed to help employers navigate the process of selecting health insurance plans. The company has grown from one to five employees over the last six months and plans to grow from five employees to 24 by the end of the 2017.

Advanced Concepts & Engineering LLC, or ACE, in Dexter received a $249,000 Development Loan, which it matched with $639,300 from other sources, to enable it to further development of a portable, self-contained and fully automated solution for conducting gradation tests on construction aggregate materials. The MTI funding will allow ACE to produce 15 beta units that it will deploy to five regions of the country to further assess and analyze its performance and effectiveness.

Accelera Inc. in Biddeford received a $250,000 Development Loan, which it matched with $305,591 from other sources. Accelera has signed a licensing deal with Harvard University’s WYSS Institute for its patented technology that aims to improve balance and athletic performance by delivering imperceptible vibrations to feet via high-tech insoles. The company plans to develop a suite of lightweight wearable products utilizing this technology.

MedRhythms Inc. has received a $248,700 loan, which it matched with $313,400 from other sources. The healthcare company, whose CEO lives in Cape Elizabeth, is creating a product that uses music to improve physical therapy and rehabilitation results. Specifically, the MTI loan will allow MedRhythms to build an end-to-end platform, a saleable gait training product, and help it prepare demonstrations for its next generation of products.

MTI provided Seed grants, which are grants up to $25,000 intended to support entrepreneurs engaged in R&D activities or follow-on funding, to 19 companies:

  • Thrivant Health, Portland; award amount: $25,000
  • University Of New England, Biddeford, award amount: $25,000
  • Casco Bay Butter Company, Portland, award amount: $21,044
  • Heather Condon dba i-Tell Alert, Winthrop, award amount: $12,325
  • Maine Shellfish Developers, Brunswick, award amount: $25,000
  • Compotech Inc., Brewer, award amount: $25,000
  • Island Energy Inc., Northeast Harbor, award amount: $24,481
  • Marine Microverse Institute, Kittery Point, award amount: $18,200
  • Jeeva Medical Corp., Brunswick, award amount: $25,000
  • Mega Industries LLC, Gorham, award amount: $25,000
  • North Spore LLC, Portland, award amount: $25,000
  • Caffeinate Labs Inc. dba Zootility Tools, Portland, award amount: $25,000
  • LSM Enterprises Inc. dab EterNav, Castine, award amount: $18,829
  • Maine Marine Composites LLC, Portland, award amount: $19,250
  • Automation Integrators Inc., Auburn, award amount: $22,500
  • Spring Point Solutions LLC, Portland, award amount: $25,000
  • Seamade Seaweed Company, Portland, award amount: $22,711
  • Deep Blue Design LLC, Portland, award amount: $24,400
  • Parent Technology Group, Windham, award amount: $25,000

Three companies received $5,000 TechStart grants:

  • American Unagi, an aquaculture company in Thomaston
  • Spring Point Solutions, a software company in Portland
  • LSM Enterprises dba EterNav, a software company in Castine

MTI, created by the Maine Legislature in 2000, provides funding to Maine entrepreneurs operating in one of seven target industries: aquaculture and marine technology, biotechnology, composite materials, environmental technologies, forestry and agriculture, precision manufacturing, and information technology.