October 10, 2016 – by Michael Petch
TriFusion Devices, winners of the Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC) and manufacturers of custom 3D printed prosthetic devices, rang the NASDAQ opening bell earlier today.
This morning in New York, Blake Teipel, TriFusion Devices’ CEO, joined Brad Burke from the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship to announce the opening of the tech focused stock exchange for the first day of the week. Commenting on the event the CEO said, “We are grateful for the support, guidance, and encouragement that we’ve received from the Texas A&M University and Rice University programs. The experience and coaching we have received as we’ve launched our venture have proven immensely valuable to our success.”
Texas based TriFusion Devices beat 41 rival companies to take the RBPC prize earlier this year in April. The young company aims to revolutionize “the health care and sports-equipment industries in powerful and profitable ways” by using 3D printing to create tailored solutions for “amputees and prosthetists”.
The Super Bowl of Business Plan Competitions
In the U.S. alone, approximately two million people manage with the loss of a limb: a group currently growing at a rate of 185,000 each year.
TriFusion Devices emerged as the 2016 RBPC winner after review by 275 judges and was awarded prizes and cash valued at approximately $400,000. The total prize pool for this year’s competition was reported at over $1.7 million.
