America Makes & YBI Announce $100K 3D Printing Start-Up Competition

The USA’s pioneer 3D printing institute, America Makes, was conceived to push the country’s 3D printing capabilities across new frontiers. To do so, the organization has typically relied on forging partnerships between well-established public and private entities and funding industrial 3D printing research, but, now, America Makes is looking to fresh companies to further their mission. In partnership with America Makes member the Youngstown Business Incubator, the nation’s first 3D printing institute is launching the AMPED YBI $100k Technology Startup Competition, which will see start-ups compete for up to $100,000.

YBI and America Makes are inviting entrepreneurs, students, and tech innovators from all over the US to compete for up to $100,000 in investment funding and $50,000 of in-kind professional services from the Youngstown Business Incubator. Rather than taking part in a competition that will see traditional businesses awarded with cash prizes, AMPED is meant to provide the necessary funding for early-stage start-ups to fully develop their ideas.

AMPED will kick off with a first round competition starting July 1st, in which entrants will submit their business ideas on PitchBurner, a platform dedicated to business competitions. YBI will then select up to seven finalists to move on to the next and final round in Youngstown, where teams will present their ideas to expert judges on November 2, 2015. The winner, or winners, will then be able to join YBI as a Portfolio Company, where they will be guided from start-up to scalable business.

In September, 2014, Ohio-based Youngstown Business Incubator has been recognized by the University Business Incubator Index in Stockholm, Sweden as the No. 1 University Affiliated Business Incubator in the world, placing it above other business incubators on the list, like Stanford, UC Berkeley, Cornell, and more. For this reason, being a part of YBI’s portfolio may significantly contribute to a start-up’s success. And, due to YBI’s relationship with America Makes, AMPED may lead to the formation of the next big 3D printing company to arrive the American and global scene.

For more information about AMPED, contact YBI Additive Manufacturing Business Coordinator Rich Wetzel at [email protected]. You can also learn more by visiting the AMPED website here.