Ozark Integrated Circuits (IC) has received more than $58,000 in cash prizes this week from the U.S. Department of Energy and through the 2020 MassChallenge.
In total, the Fayetteville-based company received $58,333, with $33,333 coming from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s American-Made Geothermal Manufacturing Prize competition and $25,000 coming from the MassChallenge final. Ozark IC is also eligible to receive a $50,000 investment from the Houston Angel Network due to its participation in the 2020 MassChallenge; if the company receives this investment, it would bring its prize haul to $108,000.
The $33,333 cash prize, which Ozark IC received on Sunday, Oct. 18, was awarded as part of the first round of comptitions for the American-Made Geothermal Manufacturing Prize. This competition is aimed at sparking innovation for “operating in harsh geothermal environments. Ozark IC worked with Sciperio Inc., AltaRock Energy and Helmerich & Payne Inc. to develop the rapid integration of sensors into Ozark IC’s high-temperature signal processing platform, XNode.
The winners of the American-Made Geothermal Manufacturing Prize stand to win $1 million. There are four rounds to the competition, in which companies are expected to assemble a team and create a prototype design.
The $25,000 cash prize was awarded to Ozark IC for winning the Gold Prize during the MassChallenge. It was one of 19 companies to win the Gold Prize during the startup accelerator.
In addition, Ozark IC was the only company selected among the 2020 MassChallenge participants to be eligible for investment from the Houston Angels Network.
“These two cash prizes plus eligibility for at least $50,000 in investment are very encouraging and humbling for us, especially to earn them in the span of one week. We see this as a validation of our development as a company and our manufacturing and development strategies” Dr. Matt Francis, Ozark IC founder and president, said in a statement. “MassChallenge has been a transformative experience and it closed on a very high note for us with the cash award and the associated Houston Angel Network opportunity. The Geothermal Manufacturing Prize is just starting and validates our decision five years ago to use additive manufacturing technology in geothermal applications. We are very grateful to our three partners: Sciperio, AltaRock Energy, and Helmerich & Payne, for their assistance and support. The next two years of this competition will certainly help us develop more solutions for geothermal applications and we are very grateful to DOE for both the award and the opportunity.”
READ MORE: Ozark IC Named Finalist in 2020 MassChallenge Accelerator
