INNOVATION WORKS INC

THE COMPANIES SERVED BY IW IMPACT SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA IN SEVERAL WAYS: (1) THEY CREATE JOBS; (2) THEY HELP RETAIN KEY REGIONAL TALENT; (3) THEY ATTRACT INVESTMENT DOLLARS AND TALENT TO THE REGION; AND (4) THEY CREATE A SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FOR THE REGION'S COMPANIES. INNOVATION INVESTMENT FUND - THE CORE OF THE INNOVATION WORKS MODEL IS THE INNOVATION INVESTMENT FUND, SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA'S LEADING SOURCE FOR SEED-STAGE CAPITAL FOR START UP TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES. INNOVATION WORKS HAS DEVELOPED AN EVALUATION PROCESS THAT IS STRUCTURED TO HELP FACILITATE WISE INVESTMENT DECISION-MAKING WITHIN INNOVATION WORKS. THE PROCESS IS DESIGNED TO LEVERAGE THE KNOWLEDGE OF INDUSTRY CONTACTS, STAFF DOMAIN EXPERTS, BOARD MEMBERS, AND MARKET EXPERTS, AS WELL AS TO GATHER THE OPINIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FOLLOW-ON INVESTMENT COMMUNITY. ALPHALAB - AN INTENSIVE PROGRAM FOR LAUNCHING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SOFTWARE, ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE, AND INTERNET-RELATED COMPANIES. ALPHALAB PROVIDES FUNDING, FREE OFFICE SPACE, AND EXPERTISE TO HELP COMPANIES RAPIDLY DEVELOP THEIR TECHNOLOGY, GAIN EARLY USER FEEDBACK, DEVELOP GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGIES, AND MOVE TOWARD COMMERCIALIZATION. ALPHALAB GEAR - THIS PROGRAM WAS LAUNCHED IN 2013 AS THE HARDWARE ACCELERATOR PROGRAM BASED ON THE ALPHALAB ACCELERATOR MODEL TO SUPPORT PHYSICAL PRODUCT COMPANIES. PROGRAM COMPONENTS INCLUDE THE SAME CORE PROGRAMMING AS ALPHALAB PLUS PRODUCT DESIGN, MANUFACTURING, SUPPLY CHAIN AND RETAIL DISTRIBUTION. ALPHALAB GEAR COMPANIES ALSO BENEFIT FROM BEING A PART OF THE EXTENDED ALPHALAB NETWORK, LEVERAGING THE ALUMNI AND MENTOR NETWORKS, SOFTWARE/INTERNET EXPERTISE BUILT OVER PRIOR ALPHALAB PROGRAM CYCLES. ALPHALAB HEALTH - THIS PROGRAM WAS LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER 2020 AS THE HEALTHCARE AND LIFE SCIENCES ACCELERATOR PROGRAM BASED ON THE ALPHALAB AND ALPHALAB GEAR ACCELERATOR MODELS TO SUPPORT HEALTHCARE COMPANIES. PROGRAM COMPONENTS INCLUDE THE SAME CORE PROGRAMMING AS ALPHALAB PLUS DATA COLLECTION, PROOF-OF-CONCEPT TRIALS, CLINICAL TRIALS, REGULATORY STRATEGY, AND REIMBURSEMENT AND REVENUE MODELS. ALPHALAB HEALTH COMPANIES ALSO BENEFIT FROM BEING A PART OF THE EXTENDED ALPHALAB AND ALPHALAB GEAR NETWORKS, LEVERAGING THE ALUMNI AND MENTOR NETWORK. ADDITIONALLY, BENEFITTING FROM THE EXTENDED NETWORK PROVIDED THROUGH THE COLLABORATION WITH ALLEGHENY HEALTH NETWORK. ROBOTICS FACTORY - THE ROBOTICS FACTORY INCLUDES THREE PROGRAMS: THE CREATE PROGRAM WILL DRIVE INNOVATION TO MEET INDUSTRY DEMANDS BY BRINGING ENTREPRENEURS, TECHNOLOGY EXPERTS, AND RESEARCHERS TOGETHER WITH SPECIFIC INDUSTRY EXPERTS TO DEFINE EXISTING AND EMERGING PROBLEMS AND IDENTIFY SOLUTIONS; THE ACCELERATE PROGRAM IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR UP TO SIX PRE-SEED ROBOTICS STARTUPS EACH YEAR TO RECEIVE FUNDING FROM IW, MENTORSHIP, AND RESOURCES TO TAKE THEIR COMPANY TO THE NEXT STAGE OF GROWTH; AND THE SCALE PROGRAM PROVIDES EXPERTISE IN PRODUCT PROTOTYPING AND SERVICES TO HELP STARTUPS DEVELOP PRODUCTION-READY PRODUCTS. UNIVERSITY GRANTS (UIG) - IW WORKS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WORLD-RENOWNED UNIVERSITIES IN THE PITTSBURGH REGION TO IDENTIFY AND CULTIVATE RESEARCH IDEAS THAT HAVE VIABLE MARKETS, AND PROVIDE FUNDING TO HELP ACCELERATE COMMERCIALIZATION. INTERNSHIP PROGRAM - THROUGH OUR ONGOING RELATIONSHIPS WITH AREA UNIVERSITIES, IW IDENTIFIES HIGH-CALIBER MBA AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO SHOW HIGH POTENTIAL IN BUSINESS, ENGINEERING AND OTHER IN-DEMAND FIELDS, FOR PLACEMENT AS INTERNS IN REGIONAL TECHNOLOGY START-UPS AND INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURING COMPANIES. INVESTOR DEVELOPMENT - IN THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT, ASSISTING COMPANIES WITH RAISING CAPITAL IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT, AND MOST REQUESTED, SERVICE OFFERINGS THAT INNOVATION WORKS PROVIDES. EVERY COMPANY IN THE INNOVATION WORKS PORTFOLIO, REGARDLESS OF INDUSTRY, STAGE OF GROWTH OR EXPERIENCE OF THE ENTREPRENEUR, HAS FUNDRAISING AS A CONSTANT AND NECESSARY PRIORITY. INVESTOR DEVELOPMENT ASSISTS INNOVATION WORKS PORTFOLIO COMPANIES IN ALL ASPECTS OF THEIR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS. FROM 1999 - 2025, IW'S PORTFOLIO COMPANIES AND ACCELERATOR COMPANIES RAISED $4.15B OF FOLLOW-ON INVESTMENT-MOSTLY FROM SOURCES OUTSIDE OUR REGION. PORTFOLIO EXECUTIVES - ONE OF THE KEYS TO INNOVATION WORKS SUCCESS IS ITS APPROACH TO HELPING COMPANIES BY PROVIDING NOT ONLY CAPITAL, BUT ALSO BUSINESS EXPERTISE. INNOVATION WORKS' PORTFOLIO EXECUTIVES ALSO IDENTIFY AND ASSEMBLE THE ESSENTIAL BUSINESS RESOURCES, SKILLS, ADVICE AND INFORMATION THAT ARE NEEDED BY ITS PORTFOLIO COMPANIES BEYOND WHAT IS PROVIDED BY INNOVATION WORKS INTERNAL RESOURCES. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF INNOVATION WORKS VALUE PROPOSITION, BECAUSE ALL EARLY STAGE TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES CAN GREATLY IMPROVE THEIR CHANCES OF SUCCESS IF GIVEN ACCESS TO THE RIGHT EXPERTISE AND ASSISTANCE. STARTABLE - A COMMUNITY- AND SCHOOL-BASED PROGRAM THAT TEACHES THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND CULMINATES IN A BUSINESS PITCH COMPETITION. SCALABLE INNOVATION - SCALABLE INNOVATION PROGRAM EXPANDS OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH MANUFACTURERS AND STARTUPS AND HELPS THEM OVERCOME INHERENT CHALLENGES IN SCALING THEIR BUSINESSES. THE PROGRAM HELPS REGIONAL STARTUPS BUILD SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE LOCAL MANUFACTURING COMMUNITY. THROUGH THE PROGRAM, MANUFACTURERS CAN FIND NEW CUSTOMERS AND MARKETS. AS A STARTUP GROWS AND BECOMES MORE SUCCESSFUL, THEY WILL BECOME A BIGGER CUSTOMER FOR THE LOCAL MANUFACTURERS WITH WHICH THEY WORK. LIKEWISE, STARTUPS BENEFIT FROM THE EXPERTISE OF EXPERIENCED MANUFACTURERS, WHO CAN HELP OVERCOME ENGINEERING, DESIGN AND OTHER TECHNICAL CHALLENGES SO THE STARTUP CAN REACH COMMERCIAL SUCCESS FASTER, CHEAPER AND MORE RELIABLY. THE SCALABLE INNOVATION PROGRAM HELPS MAKE THE CONNECTIONS AND PROCESSES WORK SMOOTHLY SO BOTH STARTUPS AND THEIR SUPPLIERS BENEFIT. INNOVATION ADOPTION PROGRAM (IAP) - IW PROVIDES FUNDING AND CONNECTS SMALL MANUFACTURERS WITH THE REGION'S CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE TO HELP THEM IMPROVE PRODUCT AND PROCESS ENGINEERING FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. EARLY STAGE TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (ETAP) - SIMILAR TO THE UIG PROGRAM, BUT OUTSIDE OF THE UNIVERSITY CONTEXT, IW'S ETAP PROGRAM ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS REGARDING THE COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL OF FORMATION-STAGE COMPANIES THAT HAVE REQUESTED ASSISTANCE FROM IW. THROUGH ETAP FUNDING, IW PROVIDES COMPANIES WITH DIRECT INVESTMENT OF UP TO $50,000 AND OFTEN LINKS THE COMPANY WITH A CONSULTANT OR INDUSTRY EXPERT TO ASSIST THE COMPANY IN ANSWERING FUNDAMENTAL BUSINESS QUESTIONS EARLY IN THE LIFE CYCLE, THEREBY ACCELERATING THE COMPANY'S DEVELOPMENT. UPPRIZE - INNOVATION WORKS ASSUMED THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BNY MELLON UPPRIZE SOCIAL IMPACT CHALLENGE IN 2019. THE UPPRIZE COMPETITION WAS DESIGNED TO IDENTIFY PROMISING TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS FOR ISSUES AFFECTING MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS AND/OR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN SOUTHWESTERN PA. IN 2013, INNOVATION WORKS, INC. FORMED IW MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC FOR THE PURPOSE OF MANAGING RIVERFRONT VENTURES, LLC, A FOR-PROFIT VENTURE CAPITAL FUND WITH COMMITMENTS OF $23.7 MILLION.