Success Stories

Akoya

Akoya, Inc., headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, is a business intelligence software company that focuses on direct material purchasing. The company's management team has more than 41 years of experience in software development and services. The company's core technology was developed by Caterpillar Inc. and serves as the foundation of Akoya's flagship product, CostPoint.^TM CostPoint is a unique software tool that enables purchasers to reduce the cost of purchased components without sacrificing product quality. Akoya is targeting a market of large manufacturing companies that have a combined annual direct materials spend of more than $400 billion.

Since the launch of the company in November of 2004, Akoya has experienced rapid growth in both customer acquisition and product development. The company's products gives direct materials purchasing professionals unprecedented insight in their direct materials spend.

Service(s) Received from the Illinois Technology Development Alliance
The ITDA has been working with Akoya since its inception, helping with the initial spin-out from Caterpillar Inc. providing assistance with investment capital raising and business development. The ITDA provided referrals and introductions both investors and fortune 500 companies helping Akoya secure a total investment capital raise of $2,500,000 and their initial beta customers.

Firefly Energy

A long-term ITDA client, Firefly Energy was formed after its technology, technical founder, and initial seed funds were spun out of Caterpillar Inc. in 2003. Firefly Energy's technology is an innovative material science based on two years of research, and changes the paradigm by removing most limitations of current lead-acid battery products. This innovation has lead to the development of a next generation lead acid battery technology that has the opportunity to replace major portions of the $30 billion worldwide lead acid battery market. This technology can deliver a combination of high performance, extremely low weight and low cost (1/10 of Nickel Metal Hydride & Lithium), all in a battery which utilizes the best aspects of lead acid chemistry without the corrosive drawbacks of this same chemistry. Firefly's product represents a compelling shift in lead acid battery performance, delivering significant changes in the economic and functional value associated with this category of battery technology.

Service(s) Received from the Illinois Technology Development Alliance
Firefly is a portfolio company of the ITDA's Technology Development Bridge program. Our program provided a total investment of $650,000. The ITDA assisted in securing an additional $60,000 follow-on grant from the NASA-Illinois Commercialization Center (NICC) matching the current $100,000, in order for Firefly to continue its collaborative testing work with NASA researchers. Through direct and indirect assistance the ITDA has assisted Firefly in successfully securing a total of $6,000,000 in investment capital. The ITDA is currently working with Firefly Energy to secure federal technology development financing.