Top Moscow Science Institute Launches Seed Fund

The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), one of the country’s leading graduate science universities, has launched its own $30 million seed fund. The fund, called Phystech Ventures, is focussed on incubating and growing MIPT-related tech companies in the fintech, edutech, digital health, 3D-printing, efficient energy use and oil & gas technology sectors.

Wisconsin Launches New $2M Economic Development Seed Fund, IdeaAdvance

The University of Wisconsin System and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) have created a $2 million seed fund that UW-Extension will administer to help commercialize technology and ideas developed at UW campuses statewide. UW-Extension and its partners announced the Ideadvance Seed Fund today at a news conference in the State Capitol attended by Lt. […]

Arizona State University Gets $1M To Start Venture Fund

The Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority (MCIDA) has awarded a $1 million grant to the ASU Foundation for A New American University to create a venture capital fund. The fund will be invested in companies that benefit from ASU-supported accelerator programs, helping them take the next step in their development with early-stage manufacturing startup support.

University of Michigan Zell Lurie Student-led Fund invests $90K in two start-ups

The University of Michigan’s Zell Lurie Institute at the Ross School of Business today announced that its student managed Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund has made two investments. The fund provided pre-seed investments to healthcare startup AlertWatch and ad tech start up AdAdapted. The collective investments total $90,000 and closed in November 2013 and January 2014, respectively. The deals mark the latest […]

Isis Innovation, University of Oxford seed funded company, NaturalMotion, sold for $527m

Isis Innovation worked with Zoology researcher Torsten Reil to protect his intellectual property, develop a business plan, and introduce first-round investors. The company was spun out in 2001. US social games company Zynga has now finalised the acquisition of Natural Motion for more than $527m, one of the largest transactions ever involving an Oxford spin-out. […]

$35K FSU GAP Grant Recipient Aims To Eliminate Preterm Labor

A Florida State University researcher is tackling a new and inventive way to slow down and perhaps prevent preterm labor. The solution? A pair of goggles. Specifically, Associate Professor James Olcese is developing goggles — he’s calling them light emitting devices — that could intermittently flash a blue light at a sleeping pregnant mother at risk for […]

Two UCD Research Receive €150,000 each From ERC POC Awards

UCD researchers are the most successful Irish based researchers in the latest round of European Research Council (ERC) ‘top-up’ funding or ‘Proof of Concept’ awards. Two of the three Irish based researchers who were awarded one of the thirty-four grants announced by the ERC [today] are based at University College Dublin: Professor Frederic Dias, UCD School of Mathematical Sciences; […]