New business angel fund to invest €30mn in Finnish start-ups
A new fund for business angels, EAF Finland, aims to improve growth by financing start-up enterprises. The fund’s 30 million euro budget comes from the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (Tekes) and the European Investment Fund (EIF). It was announced on Wednesday at the Arctic15 startup event at the former Nokia Cable Factory in Helsinki. […]
CCDI to back seven innovative Cape projects in second round of seed fund
A hydrogen-powered drone that releases lab-bred insects to wipe out pests, a medical device which uses a novel method to treat glaucoma and an innovative method to manufacture oak extract for use in the manufacture of wine and spirits… These are just some of the seven biotech and agricultural projects that will each receive seed funding of up […]
University of Wollongong launches AU$10m startup seed fund
The University of Wollongong (UOW) has launched an AU$10 million seed fund aimed at providing a pipeline of early stage business development for young tech startups, in order to attract outside investment. The initiative is part of the university’s iAccelerate initiative, a co-working space and program that was launched in 2012 to provide support for […]
Oculus VR co-founder Brendan Iribe donates $50,000 to UMD’s Startup Shell
When junior computer science major Sam Drozdov approached Brendan Iribe — co-founder of virtual reality company Oculus VR — during the on-campus coding marathon Bitcamp in April, he wanted to build a relationship between the entrepreneur and the student-run organization Startup Shell. Drozdov didn’t expect Iribe to donate $50,000 to the group later that month. […]
Microsoft Ventures doubles down on AI with new investments in Agolo and Bonsai
Ever feel like there’s just too much information out there? New York-based Agolo is hoping so. The startup is developing a program that summarizes large amounts of information using artificial intelligence — and it’s one of two AI startups that announced new funding Wednesday from Microsoft’s corporate investment arm, Microsoft Ventures. Agolo’s funding, first reported by VentureBeat, […]
University of Navarra Vivet Therapeutics nabs Series A funds
Vivet Therapeutics (‘Vivet’), an emerging biotechnology company developing novel gene therapies for rare, inherited metabolic diseases, announced it has raised €37.5 million in a Series A financing round. The round involved a syndicate of leading international life sciences investors led by Novartis Venture Fund and Columbus Venture Partners, and including Roche Venture Fund, HealthCap, Kurma […]
New New Mexico state Catalyst Fund announces first awards
Many cash-strapped New Mexico startups may soon get a critical boost from a state-backed investment program that’s pumping an initial $4.65 million into three local venture funds. Gov. Susana Martinez announced Tuesday that the state’s new $20 million “Catalyst Fund” is making its first three commitments to investment funds managed by New Mexico State University, […]
John Hopkins baby box startup wins $25,000 through Hopkins Social Innovation Lab
A mother looking to prevent cases of sudden infant death syndrome in Maryland has won $25,000 to help fund her “baby box” startup concept. As a member of Johns Hopkins Social Innovation Lab’s 2016-2017 cohort, Shantell Roberts has been working on a venture around Portable Alternative Cribs, through her nonprofit Touching Young Lives Inc. Enlarge […]
U-M undergrad venture fund makes first investment
Benjamin Rathi, a business and computer science senior at the University of Michigan, already had a successful startup under his belt when he won a spot on the Zell Early Stage Fund as a junior. The fund, which launched in fall 2015 with a dozen juniors at the Zell Lurie Institute housed at the Ross […]
Duke University Energy Initiative Awards Seven New Seed Grants
Research projects that explore new possibilities for energy storage, reliability, and sustainable development will receive funding in 2017 from the Duke University Energy Initiative’s Energy Research Seed Fund. Seven projects involving 14 faculty members were selected to receive a total of $240,000 from the fund. Seed funding provides a financial head start for new multi-disciplinary, […]