Facebook Pioneer’s $75 Million Gift to UCSD Is Largest from a Graduate
Facebook pioneer Taner Halicioglu is donating $75 million to his alma mater UC San Diego to jump start a $2 billion fundraising campaign. Halicioglu joined Facebook in 2004 and managed operations through its first million users. He now leads the Seed San Diego venture fund while lecturing at the university. His gift, announced Saturday night at a gala […]
London has attracted a tech fund led by Saudi Aramco, BP and other oil majors looking to collaborate and innovate
Oil and Gas Climate Initiative’s (OGCI) Climate Investments fund aims to invest in and accelerate the commercial development of new emissions-reducing technology. It first announced its plan to push £1bn over 10 years into tech innovation in 2016. OGCI is the first tenant signed up at Central Working White City, a first-of-its-kind project with space […]
Amazon Alexa Fund Extends University Ties in AI Race
Amazon has launched a new program to help students build capabilities into its voice-controlled assistant Alexa, the latest move by a technology firm to nurture ideas and talent in artificial intelligence research. The ecommerce company said it is paying for a year-long doctoral fellowship at four universities for an undisclosed sum. Working with professors, the […]
Duke U, Viking Therapeutics and PoC Capital Enter Agreement to Fund Clinical Development
Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (“Viking”) (NASDAQ: VKTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, today announced an agreement with PoC Capital, LLC to fund Viking’s initial clinical development of VK2809 in glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD Ia). Viking plans to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) […]
10 corporations, Georgia Tech launch Engage, an accelerator program and venture
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the CEOs of 10 of Atlanta’s leading corporations today jointly announced the launch of Engage, a mentorship-driven accelerator program and venture fund. The Atlanta-based Engage accelerator is open to startups across the country, with a focus placed on mentoring and market access strategies. Applications will […]
Northwestern Mutual creates $50 million Future Ventures Fund
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. said Thursday it has established a $50 million venture fund to invest in start-up companies that are developing new financial technology and other innovations the company could offer to clients. Investments from the new Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures Fund — ranging between $500,000 and $3 million each — will develop […]
Berkshire invests in commercialisation of UK university research
The UK’s £1.9bn (€2.3bn) Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund is to invest £15m in a new fund aiming to direct institutional capital into the commercialisation of UK university research. The local authority pension fund committed the £15m to the British Innovation Fund (BIF), launched on 1 December by Future Planet Capital and Milltrust International […]
RBC Invests $1 Million in University of New Brunswick’s TME Program
The funds will be distributed in the form of the RBC Innovative Action Fund and will support various elements of the TME program, including its pitch competitions, Lunch and Learn lecture series, mentor in residence program, a leadership conference, meeting space, and a number of funds aiding student startups. “We are incredibly proud of this […]
Tyson Launches Venture-Capital Fund – WSJ
Tyson Foods Inc. is launching a venture-capital fund to invest in high-tech products and services that could help refresh its stable of products, which include chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers. The Springdale, Ark., meat giant hopes the $150 million fund, which started on Monday, will pick successful startups from among a crowd of companies experimenting […]
BMW increases size of venture capital fund by 400% to $530 million
BMW AG plans to boost its investments in start-ups, as competition intensifies with new rivals including Tesla Motors Inc. over technologies that make cars smarter and more energy efficient. The i Ventures division will be moving its headquarters from NY to Silicon Valley and it will also be allowed to operate with more autonomy. Its […]