Little Rock-based startup fund winrock international It will support a project to build a high-tech communications laboratory in southern Washington County. The investment amount was not disclosed.
According to a Wednesday (April 24) news release, Winrock’s Startup Recruiting Fund will walton family foundation It will provide funding to technology startup Extremis for the development of Devil’s Den Proving Grounds in Bentonville.
Extremes, in collaboration with the University of Arkansas, plan to build A first-of-its-kind innovation campus for rapid advances in electromagnetic spectrum technology. The Devil’s Den Test Site in southern Washington County will transform a former nuclear reactor into an open-air laboratory to develop technologies that improve the performance and resiliency of wireless equipment and communications.
Winrock’s Enterprise Ecosystems team helped Xtremis evaluate the feasibility of expanding its operations in Arkansas. This work included factors such as geography and land resources, potential to develop research partnerships, availability of talent, and potential to recruit talent to the region.
“High Impact Enterprise”
The Startup Recruiting Fund is the state’s first nonprofit fund to address the funding gap to recruit high-growth startup companies in Arkansas. Investments vary in size and are seeded by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation.
The fund aims to attract high-growth start-ups to the state by providing professional support and investment. In 2023, the fund invested in Simporter after hiring artificial intelligence retail technology platform companies from Atlanta to Bentonville. Extremis will be the second company hired by the state of Arkansas through this fund, according to the release.
David Sanders, Director of Enterprise Ecosystems at Winrock, said: “This company embodies the kind of forward-thinking, high-impact companies we strive to attract to our state. Extremis not only brings dynamic leadership and cutting-edge technology to Arkansas, but also Our work with Extremis for more than two years and this investment will bring innovative companies to the state and make them want to come to Arkansas. It highlights our commitment to nurturing the environment.”
Asked about the initiative in northwestern Arkansas, Extremis CEO Adam ‘Jay’ Harrison said the company’s technology allows radios to operate “at higher performance in congested environments.” He said he would focus on development. This technology allows more radio transmitters to operate “simultaneously without interfering with each other.”
Advantages of devil’s den
The Devil’s Den test site is expected to fill a gap in the infrastructure available for field testing of this technology in the United States.
“This will take these artificial intelligence-based radios into the field and determine their performance characteristics,” Harrison said. “We are building an infrastructure from the ground up that will allow us to test, evaluate and improve these devices over time.”
Extremis is working with investors, financiers and the state on a financing plan for the Devil’s Den test site, which is expected to cost $15 million to $20 million to build, Harrison said. Startups chose Northwest Arkansas because UA has research programs tailored to their work, and UA can provide a talent pipeline for startup jobs.
“We also need topography that allows testing activities to be isolated from the surrounding infrastructure,” he said. “The topographical features of the SEFOR (Southwestern Fast Oxide Experimental Reactor) site are ideal for the type of work we are doing.”
Groundbreaking on the project could occur as early as later this year or in the first quarter of 2025. The facility is expected to be operational 18 months after groundbreaking. Over the next 12 months, Xtremis plans to deploy his staff to 20 full-time areas. We plan to open a temporary facility here. Existing staff here are working remotely. Once the Devil’s Den Test Site is completed, staff will move there.
Xtremis’ five-year plan is to have 200 employees and 1,250 indirect high-tech jobs in Northwest Arkansas, according to a news release.
