Connecticut Senate Approves CTNext In Effort To Boost Startup Companies, support UCONN
It could be years before results are visible, but Connecticut made the first significant move Thursday to extend state government’s role in promoting startup firms and early-stage business ventures. The Senate approved a $19.7 billion state budget that includes a provision broadening the work of CTNext, a subsidiary of Connecticticut Innovations, the state’s venture capital […]
Venture Capitalist David Schwab on industry focused micro-investing and mining tech from the University of California system
David Schwab, who launched Vertical Venture Partners a couple of years ago after 20 years at Sierra Ventures, says he did that so he could pare down his investment focus. Micro-funds are the place to be, he believes, and it’s better to go deep into relieving specific industry “pain points” than to try to sell […]
Ara Parseghian Medical Research Fund launches at Notre Dame
Building on the partnership that the University of Notre Dame formed with the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation in 2010, the University has now established the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Fund and is moving the administrative functions and granting process of the foundation from Tucson, Arizona, to Notre Dame. Through this partnership, the Parseghian family […]
OSF HealthCare launches $75M fund to invest in health technology
The Peoria-based health system is the parent of Rockford’s OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center. In February, the health system activated OSF Ventures, a $75 million fund that invests in companies intent on developing medical technologies and applications to improve patient outcomes or reduce health care costs. Pulse Therapeutics, the St. Louis company, has developed a […]
Badger Fund of Funds launches first venture capital fund in La Crosse
The Badger Fund of Funds, seeded with a $25million commitment from the state, said Thursday it will launch its first venture capital fund in La Crosse. The Idea Fund of La Crosse will be managed by Jonathon Horne, a LaCrosse native who previously worked in investment banking at J.P. Morgan in New York. He was […]
Accelerate Long Island is back with $6M+ seed fund
Accelerate Long Island is back in business, and it’s main private-investment partners are coming along for the ride. The seed-funding business accelerator, which has been publicly quiet since awarding its 10th and final first-round stipend in December, has been awarded $3 million by Empire State Development to establish the Accelerate NY Seed Fund, with matching […]
South African fund aims to sow and grow new university technologies
MOST universities start as teaching institutions, delivering graduates to society. After a number of years, the focus is shifted to a more research-oriented approach and, apart from graduates, research papers became an important output of the institution. At the turn of the last century, innovation became an important strategy globally and patents were added to […]
Florida Institute -Funded Companies Selected to Present for $150K
The Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research (the Institute) announced today that four of its funded companies have been selected to present at the Florida Venture Forum’s 9th Annual Early Stage Capital Conference being held at the Hilton Carillon in St. Petersburg on Tuesday May 17, 2016. The Institute supports new company creation […]
Mayfield raises $525 million for two new funds for early stage startups
The majority of that capital ($400 million) makes up Mayfield XV, the fund focused on early-stage companies, while the rest ($125 million) will go to Mayfield Select for later-stage investing. Mayfield says that Mayfield Select is a first for the firm, which has traditionally focused on investing in younger startups. Even so, those late-stage dollars […]
New £180m fund to accelerate innovation across the Midlands Engine
The ERA is the first project to be delivered by the ‘Midlands Innovation’ initiative and will help unlock £120m of private sector investment. It will tackle some of the biggest energy challenges facing the UK such as making the best use of available resources and how to produce affordable energy. Commercial secretary to the Treasury, […]