The Maine Technology Institute recently made a round of awards to entrepreneurs, companies and organizations $2,527,572, with $425,000 of that going to a pair of businesses in Old Town and Orono. Those local awards were as follows.

Double Blue Sports Analytics, Orono – $175,000. Double Blue Sports develops advanced and affordable video analysis and sharing applications for athletes, teams and coaches. Current video analysis, capture, management and training technology, which is a $7 billion dollar industry, have seen little innovation over the last decade. Double Blue’s objective is to completely transform the mechanisms of athletic analysis through its agile philosophy, innovative methods and wearable sensor technology. We are patent pending on three revolutionary methods to capture and extract meaningful information and performance mobile interfaces.

Blue Ox Malt House, Old Town – $250,000. This MTI Development Loan supports Blue Ox Malthouse as it connects agriculture to one of Maine’s fastest growing industries, craft brewing, by building a pilot malt production facility in Maine that solves technical unknowns and de-risks the technology. Malt is the grain-based ingredient used in brewing, distilling, and specialty food processing. The malt industry is highly concentrated in a few large companies, and all malts used in Maine brewing are sourced from outside the state despite the fact that Maine is the largest grain producing state in the Northeast. Maine could supply nearly all of its own malt demand if appropriately sized malt production existed in state.

The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) is a publicly-funded, industry-led technology venture fund. MTI invests in entrepreneurs and companies engaged in developing innovative technology products, services and processes in seven technology sectors. MTI awards funds in the form of grants and loans to Maine entrepreneurs and companies on a competitive basis. In addition, MTI offers support for startup and growing technology companies and connects these companies to other resources to help them grow and succeed. Started in 1999, MTI has invested more than $180 million in Maine through these funds and through the management of several bond funds that have strengthened Maine’s innovation economy.

For information about MTI, its funding programs, frequency of awards, qualifications, general terms of awards, and key application dates, please, visit our website at www.mainetechnology.org.