Student startups win funding in Invent Penn State Inc.U Competition
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — SlammedU, a startup founded by Smeal College of Business student Niklas Restrepo, won first place and $15,000 in the 2026 Invent Penn State Inc.U Competition. As a kickoff to Penn State Startup Week, six student teams pitched their startups to a panel of judges, competing for prizes totaling $35,500 in funding. SlammedU connects incoming college […]
Iowa House amends bill requiring university endowment investment in innovation funds
Iowa House lawmakers sent amended legislation to require investment of university endowments in state innovation funds back to the Senate Tuesday, with Democrats calling the measure a tax on Iowans looking to support higher education. Senate File 2453 would require state universities to invest 1% of their endowment fund assets in one of the state’s innovation […]
GAP Insights: UBC / Integrated Venture Fund for Scaling Research Startups
What Happened The University of British Columbia and InBC have established the UBC Catalyst Ventures Fund, a new investment vehicle of up to $40M aimed at accelerating companies rooted in UBC research. Key structural elements: The fund is explicitly tied to British Columbia’s Look West economic strategy, with defined targets to significantly expand employment and […]
GAP Insights: Georgia Research Alliance / Statewide Translational Infrastructure at Scale
A State-Level GAP Model GRA’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship program represents a coordinated, statewide approach to bridging the gap between university research and commercialization. By operating across multiple institutions, the program creates a shared translational funding infrastructure that supports technologies emerging from Georgia’s research universities. This model enables consistency in funding approach while increasing the scale […]
GAP Insights: UNC / Sustained Startup Output as a System Signal
Consistency and Scale Reaching 200 IP-based startups reflects long-term consistency in moving research discoveries into venture formation. UNC has maintained steady startup creation while also supporting ongoing company activity. More than 55% of its IP-based ventures remain active, and cumulative outcomes include nearly $49 billion in funding raised and more than 131,000 jobs created globally. […]
GAP Insights: Northwestern University: Philanthropy and Thematic Acceleration at Scale
A Philanthropy-Fueled Expansion Northwestern’s Simpson-Q Accelerators are enabled by a $25 million philanthropic gift, underscoring the growing role of donor capital in advancing university commercialization infrastructure. Unlike traditional research funding, philanthropic investments in this context are being directed toward translational capacity, enabling institutions to build programs that help move discoveries toward deployment. From the Mind […]
GAP Pipeline Brief: Indiana University / Gap Fund & Blatt Fund Awards
Program Overview Indiana University’s Innovation and Commercialization Office has awarded funding to three faculty-led projects to support commercialization of technologies addressing respiratory disease, antibiotic resistance, and assistive health technologies. The Gap Fund and Blatt Endowed Fund are designed to help faculty overcome early commercialization barriers, generate proof-of-concept data, and position technologies for licensing, startup formation, […]
HKIC, Gobi Partners and HKU team up for fund backing university research start-ups | South China Morning Post
Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC), the government’s investment arm, has teamed up with venture capital firm Gobi Partners and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) to launch a fund on Tuesday to invest in technology start-ups spun off from the university’s research breakthroughs, according to an HKIC statement. Gobi-HKU Fund I made two investments at its launch: Manifold […]
Forbes: Eight Leading Midwestern Universities Launch A Bay Area Innovation Hub
Eight leading midwestern universities announced today that they are launching a San Francisco–based hub designed to support their startups, advance their research commercialization and connect them with new investors and partners in the San Francisco region. The Third Coast Foundry is being developed as a two-year pilot project by the following research universities: Combined, the eight […]
GAP Pipeline Brief: University of Sheffield / AmpliSi Silicon Anode Technology
Award & Investment Overview Clean Growth Fund has made a pre-seed investment in AmpliSi, a University of Sheffield spinout developing silicon-based anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The investment represents the first capital deployment from Clean Growth Fund’s £150 million Fund II, which reached a first close of £49 million. Northern Gritstone is also participating in […]