One Wilmington startup has been selected as a semifinalist of the NC IDEA Spring 2021 SEED grant cycle, according to an announcement from NC IDEA.
OpiAID is among 25 semifinalists from across the state who were chosen from 174 applications. OpiAID is a life science company that is using data to help rehabilitation centers solve the problem of substance abuse by providing a personalized plan for each patient. The company is building a digital platform that takes data from wearables and electronic medical records to improve outcomes for those in treatment for substance use disorder.
The Wilmington startup was co-founded in 2018 by CEO David Reeser and Stan Trofimchuk.
“This cycle, we received a near-record number of grant applications, now the third time we have conducted our SEED process virtually,” Thom Ruhe, president and CEO of NC IDEA, said in a news release. “Again, we were faced with the difficult challenge of narrowing down a competitive field of demographically and geographically diverse applicants. We look forward to learning more about the group that is moving forward to the next phase.”
In the next phase of applications, the semifinalists will submit a full proposal by early April.
“Finalists will then be selected to present before a review panel comprised of experienced investors, industry experts and entrepreneurs,” the release stated.
Grant recipients will be announced in early May. The $50,000 grants are aimed at supporting business activities that help establish target markets, reduce the risk associated with early-stage companies and help companies get to the point of suitability for growth.
For OpiAID, this announcement complements other awards and recognitions the startup has recently received.
In February, the company
received $74,500 in a state grant that was provided by the One North Carolina Small Business Program aimed at helping small companies develop new and innovative technologies. Last year, the company also won a $276,000 federal grant to support technology development.
OpiAID was also selected to participate in this year’s Venture Connect 2021 and was a winner of the
2021 Coastal Entrepreneur Award in the health care category, among other previous recognitions.
The other semifinalists are:
- Active Defender – Carthage
- Advanced Materials Manufacturing – Wake Forest
- AutoPartsNearby LLC – Charlotte
- BatteryXchange – Huntersville
- Beam Dynamics LLC – Winston-Salem
- Couplet Care – Durham
- Dare Vegan Cheese – Asheville
- DayWatt LLC – Cornelius
- GreenToGo – Durham
- FastQSR, LLC – Warrenton
- HiveTracks, Inc. – Creston
- InStryde – Winston-Salem
- Lumen Design Group – Durham
- Maurer’s Minute Mechanic Inc. – Winterville
- Peoplelogic.ai – Durham
- pro-UP – Rockwell
- Protect3d – Durham
- Rownd – Durham
- Shipmint, Inc. – Raleigh
- Smart Girls HQ LLC – Charlotte
- Stemz – Winston-Salem
- Step42 LLC – Waxhaw
- StoryNow – Charlotte
- Vetletics Inc. – Morrisville
Correction: This story has been updated to include a description of the company's product and its leadership.
