From Concept to Demo: Knight Prototype Fund Announces 20 New Projects

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation recently announced funding for 20 new projects through its Knight Prototype Fund, which helps media makers, technologists, and tinkerers alike take ideas from concept to demo. Innovators are given $35,000 grants–and six months–to research, test, and iterate before building out a complete project. Launched in 2012, the […]

University of Edinburgh refreshes £6million venture fund

The University of Edinburgh has approved a £6million recapitalisation of its in-house venture capital fund Old College Capital (OCC), which provides growth and development finance into companies associated with the university. The fund, established in 2011 with support from the university and its endowment, works in partnership with investors interested in businesses with high growth […]

$474M Fund Will Support Oxford University Spinouts | TechCrunch

A new £300 million U.K. fund has been set up to support high tech startups looking to spin out of the University of Oxford. The fund is being raised by Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), a newly formed company that is working in partnership with Oxford University and its commercialization arm, Isis Innovation. The two entities will work to establish new IP-driven […]

A Venture Capital Firm Led by 2 Women Plans to Introduce a $150M Seed Fund

More than a year after striking out on their own, the founders of Aspect Ventures are preparing a formal introduction of a sizable fund. The firm plans to announce on Thursday that it has raised about $150 million for its first investment fund, a large sum for a two-founder venture capital firm. Perhaps just as […]

House and Senate on Different Pages on Biomedical Innovation

When it comes to his 21st Century Cures initiative, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton has an aggressive timeline in mind, starting with a subcommittee markup Thursday and ending with a bill on the desk of the president by the end of the year. The Senate, being the Senate, isn’t moving as quickly. […]

More mutual funds are investing in tech start-ups

Mutual fund giants aren’t just interested in putting money to work in publicly traded companies. Increasingly, they also want to own a piece of red-hot start-ups. Tech news site Re/code reported that Fidelity Investments is now in talks to buy a stake in meal-delivery start-up Blue Apron at a valuation of about $2 billion. But […]

Governor rejects Invest Georgia seed funding

Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed 11 bills Tuesday, including long-sought legislation to put seed capital into a state-run venture capital fund.A bill the General Assembly passed on the final day of this year’s legislative session authorized Invest Georgia, a VC fund created two years ago but not funded, to sell up to $55 million in insurance […]