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Birmingham-Based Startup Raises $1M Seed Round To Improve University Access To Corporate-Sponsored Research Funding

May 31, 2022•about 3 years ago

Amount Raised

$1 Million

Round Type

seed

Birmingham

Description

Astound, a Birmingham-based startup, has successfully secured $1m in seed funding to develop the first marketplace to allow research institutions and universities to easily find corporate sponsors for important scientific research. Astound CEO and founder Dr. Joel Berry, is a biomedical engineer with thirty years of experience in life sciences and bioengineering product development. Astound received its $1m in funding from Nashville-based Mark Two Ventures, a venture studio which provides startups with seed stage capital in addition to product development, software engineering, and design expertise.

Company Information

Company

Astound

Location

Birmingham, Alabama, United States

About

The Astound platform represents the first product of its kind and is focused on accelerating research and development collaborations between industry and academia."Corporate spending on sponsored university research is approximately $80B globally and over $40B annually in the US alone" according to Dr. Berry. The company is actively seeking universities and corporate research sponsors who have an interest in learning more about the platform. Astound received its $1m in funding from Nashville-based Mark Two Ventures, a venture studio which provides startups with seed stage capital in addition to product development, software engineering, and design expertise. "Astound will provide a platform that makes it easy and fast for companies to find and sponsor research relevant to their product development goals. That's exactly what Astound says it hopes to provide to universities and other research institutions. "As a venture studio, we will provide Astound with access to our team of experienced product managers, software engineers, designers, and more to help them build and grow their platform."