Purdue student startups expand to statewide presence

February 20, 2019

Socio is a Purdue University student startup that has now expanded its statewide presence. Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Networking is a cornerstone to entrepreneurial success, and continuing to expand and grow such networks can expand and grow a business, and two Purdue University student startups are taking advantage of such opportunities across the state of Indiana.

Socio Labs Inc. and Mimir, two software companies that each began as Purdue student startups, are expanding to Indianapolis.

“The university is a great environment to spark creative ideas and turn them into successful business ventures that are vital to our global competitiveness,” said Yarkin Sakucoglu, CEO of Socio, a software company that began as a Purdue student startup. “We are very excited to be part of the growing startup and tech ecosystem and provide hundreds of jobs to fellow Hoosiers here in Indianapolis.”

Sakucoglu said Socio plans to significantly scale up its Indiana workforce, creating more than 100 new jobs by the end of 2022.

This photo shows an inside look at the Indianapolis location for Purdue University-affiliated startup Mimir. (Image provided) Download image

Mimir founder and CEO Prahasith Veluvolu said that after living on the West Coast, he knew there were significant financial advantages to headquartering a business in Indiana.

“The evolving tech community in Indianapolis was a huge incentive for our move,” said Veluvolu, who studied computer science at Purdue. “Legislation in our state and city have allowed us to repurpose what would be operating costs in more expensive cities and use them to enhance our business. Our time in West Lafayette helped our team create, define and begin what is now Mimir Classroom.”

“The growing entrepreneurship community at Purdue and in the Greater Lafayette area provides great opportunities for business leaders and innovators to turn their ideas into impact across the state and country,” said Greg Deason, senior vice president for entrepreneurship and place making for the Purdue Research Foundation.

In 2013-18, Purdue University’s acceleration in creating startups saw 223 new startups. The university hit that milestone last year, along with more than $350 million in funding and investments generated and more than 300 new jobs.

Both Sakucoglu and Veluvolu point to Purdue and Purdue Research Foundation resources such as the Purdue Foundry and the Anvil for helping to contribute to their success.

About Purdue Foundry

The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization accelerator in Discovery Park’s Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. Managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, the Purdue Foundry is a top recipient at the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Designation and Awards Program by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.

About the Anvil

The Anvil is the largest co-working space operated by university students in the U.S. and is used by Purdue University students as well as the surrounding community. The Anvil is supported by the Purdue Research Foundation and is located at 320 North St. in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Writer: Chris Adam, 765-588-3341, cladam@prf.org

Sources: Greg Deason, 765-588-5251, gwdeason@prf.org

Yarkin Sakucoglu, yarkin@socio.events

Prahasith Veluvolu, media contact: Cara Wagner, cara@mimirhq.com