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Lehigh Valley Startups Working to Solve Global Problems Win Funding

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Lehigh Valley Startups Working to Solve Global Problems Win Funding

Published Tuesday, November 4, 2025

by Paul Muschick

Four Lehigh Valley startup businesses are among those that received a share of more than $1 million in investment recently from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Entrepreneurs and early-stage companies play a key role in the regional economy, bringing new products and technologies to market, creating jobs, and strengthening communities. Supporting business startups is one of the priorities of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) in the organization’s recently adopted strategic plan for 2025-2027.

The four companies in the Lehigh Valley were among 13 in northeastern Pennsylvania that received investment from Ben Franklin from July to September of fiscal year 2026. All have operations at the Ben Franklin TechVentures business incubator in Bethlehem:

FLX Solutions builds FLX BOT, a small, modular, snake-like robot designed for maintenance and inspection tasks in hard-to-reach or confined industrial spaces.

Hydron Desal Inc. develops a liquid-liquid extraction technology for brine management in oil and gas—offering a lower-cost method to treat produced water compared to membrane or thermal systems, and works with oil and gas producers, water project developers, and midstream operators. The company won the second runner-up prize in this year’s StartUp Lehigh Valley pitch competition.

OptoVibronex, LLC is a life science startup developing a non-invasive technique that will offer physicians a faster way to diagnose diseases and track the effectiveness of treatments in fields such as skin cancer, ophthalmology, breast cancer, wound healing, dermatology, orthopedics, neurology, and vascular surgery.

Power Down Semiconductor, Inc. focuses on developing innovative, low-power solutions for microcontrollers and other semiconductors to optimize battery life and performance.

(Photo courtesy of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania)

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