Foxconn Creates $100M Venture Fund
Foxconn Technology Group continues to make its presence felt in the Wisconsin business community. The latest move: The Taiwanese contract manufacturer is forming a $100 million early-stage venture capital fund with three of the Badger State’s leading companies and organizations. Advocate Aurora Health, Northwestern Mutual, Johnson Controls, and Foxconn will each contribute $25 million to the fund, […]
2 MSU POC programs get boost to continue in
LANSING, Mich (WLNS) – Two innovative projects at Michigan State University have a green light today to continue their groundbreaking work. The Michigan Strategic Fund Board today approved a two-year extension and refunding of $500,000 for the University Early State Proof of Concept Fund-ADVANCE program. That program supports the current gap in the pipeline of moving […]
University of Queensland biotech startup NexGen Plants bags $3 million
Schenk tells StartupSmart the technology poses an alternative to genetically modified produce, allowing for cross-breeding of plants to introduce desirable traits by adding only the genome that’s required for that trait. There are big parts of certain plants’ genomes that are “hidden treasures”, Schenk says, and by extracting those genomes and placing them into other plants, the […]
Toyota VC Unit Investing in Robotic Startups, U Michigan and Imperial College included
To solve some of the world’s biggest problems, it will take innovation in artificial intelligence (AI). That’s the goal of Toyota AI Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital (VC) subsidiary of the Toyota Research Institute (TRI). Toyota AI Ventures invests in companies developing AI, autonomous mobility, cloud, data, and robotics technology. Toyota AI Ventures recently issued a call for innovation […]
Amazon’s Alexa Fund Fellowship adds 14 more universities for Innovation Fellowships
Amazon today announced the expansion of the Alexa Fund Fellowship, adding 14 new university partners, including MIT, University of Cambridge, and Dartmouth University. As part of the expansion, the Alexa Graduate Fellowship and Alexa Innovation Fellowship were also introduced. Participating education institutions will use the funding to support novel applications of voice technology, advances in […]
Michigan angels raising $25M venture capital fund
A local angel investor organization has set out to raise a $25-million venture capital fund. Grand Rapids-based Grand Angels said yesterday it filed a form Regulation D with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to create Grand Angels Venture Fund III. GA Fund III will invest in 12-15 “emerging companies” in four market segments: advanced […]
Accelerator program propels Alabama Birmingham startups to successful launches
Tan and other Fledging team members are proud that their startup company is profitable. (Alicia Rohan/UAB) Fledging – one of seven student-led ventures of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Commercialization Accelerator – has moved into Innovation Depot, allowing students to work in the hub of Birmingham’s startup network. “We’re extremely proud to have Fledging join Innovation Depot,” said Devon […]
How Johnson & Johnson is using startup incubators to find new talent
Johnson & Johnson is using a network of incubators in 11 cities to position itself as an innovative brand in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and in the consumer products area. For a company like Johnson & Johnson, finding talent with expertise in technologies like data analytics, blockchain and connected devices is a big concern. As new […]
NC State Chancellor’s Innovation Fund-Out of the Lab and Into the World
Groundbreaking research happens every day at NC State, and a growing number of important technologies are making the leap from lab to marketplace. It’s no surprise that adequate funding is crucial to this transition. While grants and other funding may initiate research and get the ball rolling, there’s a real need for continued funding to take something […]
UC Berkeley startup accelerator gets a boost from venture fund – SFChronicle.com
On the top floor of downtown Berkeley’s tallest building, a space that commands sweeping views from the hills to the bay hums with entrepreneurial activity. In one wing, startup executives meet one-on-one with advisers from UC Berkeley. Around dozens of workbenches, programmers hunch over their computers while small teams of two to five people confer about […]