DETROIT ? Armune BioScience of Kalamazoo won the $500,000 grand prize in the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition on Saturday, while the $25,000 student portion of the competition was won by ReGenerate, created by four University of Michigan students.

Armune BioScience is developing a technology that uses autoantibodies created by the body?s own immune system to detect cancer at an early stage. Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Arbor Photonics received the $150,000 company first runner up prize for the development of a fiber optic technology platform used in high power laser solutions which will improve manufacturing efficiencies and enable new capabilities in advanced manufacturing and defense.

In the student category, Regenerate received the top student prize for their Compact Organic Waste System, which transforms unwanted and costly organic waste into a renewable source of electricity and nutrient-rich compost. Targeted toward university cafeterias and supermarkets, the system provides a lower cost and environmentally preferable alternative to traditional waste disposal. U-M students Hunt Briggs, Paul M. Davis, Robert Levine and Nolan Orfield created the company.

University of Michigan Students Zaher Andraus, Vimal B. Bhalodia and Matthew Neagle received the $15,000 first runner up prize for their company Reveal Design Automation which provides the electronic design market with the software tools to verify correctness of complex, digital chip designs.

The awards were given by the Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan in partnership with the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan, Business Leaders for Michigan and the University Research Corridor during the inaugural Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition at the University of Michigan?s North Campus Research Complex in Ann Arbor.

?We congratulate all the companies and students this year for demonstrating their competitive entrepreneurial spirit,? said Dave Egner, Executive Director of the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan. ?Armune BioScience and Regenerate topped a list of nearly 600 outstanding businesses and students that initially entered the competition. These companies demonstrate how the entrepreneurial ecosystem continues to grow and thrive in a state that was built on the foundation of innovation.?

The competition began with a total of 600 entries and was then narrowed down to 50 company semi-finalists, and 28 student/student team semi-finalists. Ten company and 10 student/student-team finalists competed on the final days of the competition for a chance at a piece of the more $1 million in cash, in-kind services, staffing and software.

Additional Award winners for the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition include:

Company Competition:

People?s Choice ? $10,000: Sproxil

AARP Encore Award ? $25,000: Life Magnetics

Tweet Award ? $5,000: CYJ Enterprizes

Company Sector awards – $25,000 prize each

Advanced Materials: The Mackinac Technology Company

Advanced Transportation: ENRG Power Systems

Alternative Energy: Accio Energy

Defense and Homeland Security: Evigia Systems

Information Technology: MatchRX

Life Sciences: Innovative Surgical Solutions

Medical Devices: Hygieia

Next Gen manufacturing: CSquared Innovations

Products and Services: IX Innovations

Student Competition:

First Runner Up ? $15,000: Reveal Design Automation; Zaher Andraus, Vimal B. Bhalodia, Matthew Neagle ? University of Michigan

Second Runner Up ? $10,000: MiEND- Drug Screeners; Darius Banasik, Trushal V. Chokshi ? University of Michigan

People?s Choice Award ? $10,000: June Energy; Md. Shahnoor Amin, Allan R. Taylor, Abdrahamane Traore ? University of Michigan

The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition also recognized Sam Valenti as their first Spirit of Michigan Award winner. The Spirit of Michigan Award winner recognizes a person that epitomizes the entrepreneurial spirit and understands the need to support entrepreneurialism from the ground up.

Valenti Chairman of the Board of TriMas Corporation, a billion dollar manufacturer of highly engineered precision products for industry. He also serves as Chairman and C.E.O. of Valenti Capital and World Capital Partners, investment firms located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He is the former President of Masco Capital Corporation, and a 40 year veteran of Masco Corporation, a Fortune 500 manufacturer of homebuilding and home improvement products.

Valenti is also the former Chairman of the Investment Advisory Board of the $50 billion State of Michigan retirement system. In his nearly 20 year participation with the Advisory Board, Valenti spearheaded the State?s initial investments in venture capital as well as a broad range of alternative investments.

He serves on the Harvard Business School Advisory Council. He also serves on the Advisory Council at the University of Notre Dame and the Advisory Board at the University of Michigan Business School Zell-Lurie Institute. Valenti is a member of Business Leaders for Michigan and serves as Chairman of the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund.

The New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan granted Ann Arbor SPARK $750,000 to launch the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition on behalf of the Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan, which is composed of four of the region?s key business accelerators ? Ann Arbor SPARK, Automation Alley, Macomb-OU INCubator, and TechTown. Joining the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition as premier sponsors is Accelerate Michigan.

The success of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is also supported by AARP, CISCO,

For more information about the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, click on AccelerateMichigan.Org

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