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V O L . X X V I I N O. X X I I I O C T O B E R 1 8 , 2 0 2 1 6 Economic Development Administration Build to Scale grant. The Atlantic Federal Credit Union Foundation in South Portland an- nounced a $10,000 grant to support projects or programs that promote, teach and enhance financial skills and literacy. The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities American Recovery Plan grant totaling $56,498. The funds will be used to support both new and ongoing educational programs, includ- ing school programs that were paused during 2020. Children's Center, an early childhood intervention and family support ser- vices organization in Augusta for chil- dren with special needs, announced that The Davis Family Foundation committed $100,000 and the Elsie & William Viles Foundation commit- ted $25,000 (bringing its total contri- bution to $50,000) towards its plan to expand its Augusta facility. The organization has raised $3.2 million for the project. Central Maine Power in Augusta said it invested $180,000 in Science, Tech- nology, Engineering, Arts and Math education programs throughout Maine in the past 12 months. Members of the Maine Service Employees Association Local 1989 in Augusta ratified a labor agree- ment with the Mills Administration for the 2021-2023 contract period. The approval of the contract follows the ratification of a similar con- tract by members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Together, the contracts will cover more than 9,000 employees within the State's Executive Branch. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins announced that the state of Maine received a total of $1.1 million to help keep the state pipeline system safe. The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency awarded a total of $1.5 million to three Maine organizations to conduct brown- fields assessments, develop cleanup plans and support community out- reach. The Greater Portland Council of Governments and the Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission each received $500,000 while the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments was awarded $480,850. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland was awarded $749,815 to assist its Gulf of Maine Blue Economy Initiative, a program designed to boost competitiveness of the region's sea- food industry, create good-paying jobs and accelerate economic growth. The funding was awarded through a U.S. B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state B I Z M O N E Y Maine startups have raised millions of dollars in recent months B y M a i n e b i z S t a f f M aine's economy is still showing the effects of the pan- demic, lurching two steps forward and one step back. But Maine's startup community has been a bright spot in recent weeks and months. As reported by Mainebiz staff, a handful of startups have raised significant capital to help fund expansion. MedRhythms Inc., a Portland-based digital health startup that uses sensors, software and music to help restore ner- vous system functioning and walking ability, raised $25 million in Series B venture capital funding. As reported by William Hall, the company said it will use the money to expand its team and operations. The financing was co-led by Morningside Ventures and Advantage Capital, with par- ticipation from existing investor Werth Family Investment Associates. MedRhythms has raised a total of $34 million in private financing since launching in 2015. The company also recently inked a licensing deal with Universal Music Group NV, the world's largest music label, to bring "prescrip- tion music" to patients. Atlantic Sea Farms, Saco-based producer of kelp-based consumer products, raised $3.1 million and, according to a Form D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, can raise up to $4 million. Desert Bloom Food Ventures, a New York City-based fund that invests in and supports food companies, led the funding round and now has a board seat. As reported by Laurie Schreiber, the company is in the process of building out a new seaweed processing and innovation facility, which also houses Atlantic Sea Farm's Maine Seaweed Cultivation Center, to produce products and ingredients that are available year round. The team is currently moving from 6,000 square feet in Saco to a 27,000-square-foot leased industrial facility at 20 Pomerleau St. in Biddeford. The com- pany's products include jarred seaweed salad, kimchi and pureed kelp "cubes" that can be used in soups and recipes. KinoTek, a Portland-based developer of a digital health platform for body-motion assessment, has raised $2.1 mil- lion in venture capital, which it will use to hire more front-end developers and scale up operations. The investors are led by the Orlando, Fla.-based Lake Nona Fund,which invests in sports and health technology startups. Other investors in the seed round include the Maine Venture Fund and Florida-based Bridge Angel Investors, Renee Cordes reported. Earlier this year, KinoTek raised $600,000 in a pre-seed funding round that was oversubscribed. Finally, bluShift Aerospace, a Brunswick Landing-based developer of small rockets, took to crowdfunding to raise nearly $1 million from more than 800 investors. The cam- paign helped fund larger quarters at Brunswick Landing and allowed it to increase its engineering staff. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y B L U S H I F T A E RO S PA C E Maine's startup community has been a bright spot in recent weeks and months. A Brunswick Landing startup, bluShift Aerospace, raised $1 million through a crowdfunding campaign. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E S T A T E W I D E N O T E W O R T H Y S O U T H E R N S O U T H E R N N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T

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