Ohio Innovation Fund invests in impact protection company founded and led by legendary Ohio State and NFL player Shawn Springs

Five OIF-backed startups are linked to The Ohio State University

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Ohio Innovation Fund

Nov 12, 2019, 10:00 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio Innovation Fund (OIF), a venture capital firm that partners with bold, disruptive founders of high growth startups based in Ohio and throughout the Heartland, has invested in Windpact, an impact safety technology company focused on the protection of athletes, military personnel, and consumers.

Former Ohio State Buckeye and Minnesota Vikings running back Robert Smith referred OIF to Windpact. Windpact marks OIF's sixteenth investment and fifth that has ties to The Ohio State University, which supports OIF's mission to invest in Ohio, for Ohio.

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OIF Managing Director and Windpact CEO Shawn Springs are pictured above, touring Windpact’s research facility at Ohio State (photo courtesy of The Ohio State University's Institute for Materials Research).
OIF Managing Director and Windpact CEO Shawn Springs are pictured above, touring Windpact’s research facility at Ohio State (photo courtesy of The Ohio State University's Institute for Materials Research).
The Windpact and OIF teams are pictured with Ohio State Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Amos Gilat, among other university researchers.
The Windpact and OIF teams are pictured with Ohio State Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Amos Gilat, among other university researchers.

"Shawn has a personal passion for Windpact's mission and is establishing the new performance and safety standard in impact protection," OIF Managing Director Bill Baumel said. "Chicago Cubs baseball catcher Wilson Contreras and other premier athletes have signed on to use Windpact technology, and we expect broad athletic, automotive, military, and consumer market penetration in the near term."

In addition to OIF providing capital, Baumel is serving as an advisor to Windpact as it grows.

Shawn Springs, CEO and founder of Windpact, is a 13-year NFL veteran and played collegiately at The Ohio State University. Windpact's technology, built upon advanced materials characterization and precision data models, is partnered with The Ohio State University College of Engineering's Dynamic Mechanics of Materials Laboratory, which provides world-class materials testing over a wide range of strain rates.

"While Windpact has already developed partnerships with the National Football League and the Department of Defense, among others, and gained national recognition for our product, we still have progress to make," said Springs. "Ohio Innovation Fund stepped in at the perfect time to help Windpact continue our mission, and I value the opportunity to work with a venture capital firm led by an experienced investor with a proven track record of success."

About The Ohio Innovation Fund
The Ohio Innovation Fund (OIF) provides venture capital and strategic, operational, and financial expertise to high-growth companies in the SaaS, data science, cybersecurity, and medtech markets. With more than twenty years of Silicon Valley venture capital experience and close ties with a significant network of key Silicon Valley leaders, the partners of OIF have successful exits via several multi-billion-dollar valuation IPOs, as well as acquisitions by companies such as Medtronic, Dell, SAP, Intuit and Stryker. OIF's companies have been featured by CNN, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal, among others. For more information, please visit ohioinnovationfund.com.

Contact:

Ohio Innovation Fund
Katie Coulter
Director of Marketing and Strategic Communications
kcoulter@ohioinnovationfund.com 

SOURCE Ohio Innovation Fund