ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Virta Laboratories, Inc. was awarded Best of Boot Camp at the conclusion of Ann Arbor SPARK's 24^th Entrepreneurial Boot Camp. Virta Labs was chosen as winner by a panel of investors and industry experts who rated Boot Camp participants' pitches.

As Best of Boot Camp winner, Virta Labs received membership to the New Enterprise Forum (NEF) and a NEF coaching team for one year as well as an engagement with the Ann Arbor SPARK business accelerator. 

Virta Labs delivers malware and anomaly detection on medical devices and process control systems by non-intrusively measuring the power consumption patterns of the machines being protected.  The increasing reliance on commodity operating systems for modern devices has also opened the attack surface, leaving many devices vulnerable to a garden variety of malware.  Virta Labs helps its customers in early detection, while avoiding interference with the functions of the devices by doing the measurements "at the wall".  The Virta Labs team includes strong technical members with advanced degrees from MIT, UC Berkeley, UMass Amherst and the University of Minnesota. 

"We are very grateful to the community of entrepreneurs in Ann Arbor for being very supportive, inclusive and insightful," said Virta Labs co-founder Denis Foo Kune. "Ann Arbor SPARK's Boot Camp was a rigorous exercise that brought us closer to our customers and helped us focus on the core value that Virta Labs can provide. Ann Arbor SPARK has been a tremendous resource for us as a startup."

Ann Arbor SPARK's Entrepreneurial Boot Camp process quickly and effectively validates and focuses an entrepreneur's business idea. Compared to other entrepreneur education programs that focus on teaching how to write a business plan, Boot Camp gives business founders the tools to decide if their idea is worth executing.

"Ann Arbor SPARK's Boot Camp is a can't-miss event within the entrepreneurial community because it's effective and it's a valuable experience," said Paul Krutko, Ann Arbor SPARK president and CEO. "Boot Camp provides one-of-a-kind education and mentoring to young startups, helping them quickly get on the path to success. It's no wonder Boot Camp is an integral part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem here in the Ann Arbor region."

Ten teams and 40 volunteers participated in Ann Arbor SPARK's Entrepreneurial Boot Camp. A bi-annual program, Boot Camp has assisted more than 300 companies since 2002.

Ann Arbor SPARK will host its next Entrepreneurial Boot Camp in October 2014.

About Ann Arbor SPARK

Ann Arbor SPARK, a non-profit organization, is advancing the region by encouraging and supporting business acceleration, attraction and retention. The organization identifies and meets the needs of business at every stage, from start-ups to large organizations. Ann Arbor SPARK collaborates with business, academic, government, and community investor partners including the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw Community College, Washtenaw County, Livingston County, Washtenaw County Michigan Works!, the City of Ann Arbor, Bank of Ann Arbor and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. For more information, please call (734) 761-9317 or visit www.AnnArborUSA.org. 

SOURCE Ann Arbor SPARK