Ornicept got its start developing bird-monitoring technology meant to help wind turbine and airport operators. The downtown Ann Arbor-based company, it calls Ann Arbor SPARK Central home, is now pivoting its technology to help wildlife biologists collect and manage data.
The start-up's team noticed last year that many wildlife biologists has a camera, GPS, map, paper and a broken pencil to collect data in the field. Orinicept is developing a software platform that will help wildlife biologists easily collect and dissect their information.
"The need isn't just collecting the data but managing it as well," says Justin Otani, co-founder of Ornicept.
The nearly 1-year-old start-up recently landed a five-figures worth of financing from the
Michigan Microloan Program. That money helped the start-up conduct pilot projects and is preparing to launch the technology this summer.
"We're almost ready for real customers," says Russell Conard, co-founder of
Ornicept. "We are in field testing with out first commercial partners now."
Conard and Otani have grown their team to six employees and three interns. The co-founders brought their start-up to Ann Arbor from Indiana after Conrad's wife began attending graduate studies at the University of Michigan and Conrad and Otani met an
Ann Arbor SPARK representative at a Pure Michigan booth in Atlanta last year. They are now set to man that same booth this summer.
Source: Russell Conard and Justin Otani, co-founders of Ornicept
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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