Impact Investing vs. Venture Philanthropy
Impact investing and venture philanthropy might appear the same, but there are several differences. Venture philanthropy has been around much longer, as the phrase was coined by John D. Rockefeller III in 1969. His idea of venture philanthropy was as follows: “An adventurous approach to funding unpopular social causes.” Venture philanthropy peaked in popularity in […]
University of Dayton, Wright State Research Institute, and Dayton hospitals funded a startup company to commercialize technology
The major hospitals in Dayton are banding together to fund a company that will help commercialize health care technology. The 28 hospitals of the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association are partnering with Cincinnati-based design firm Kaleidoscope Inc. to launch a business that will focus on commercializing health care technology from the hospitals, the Air Force […]
Cisco aims to cash in on startups by growing corporate venture fund
Cisco claims that it invest in the best teams and technologies that improve how people work, live, play, and learn. The networking giant claims that it can accelerate the impact of startup innovations via direct access to Cisco customers, partners, business leaders, and Cisco IT. Cisco Investments, the venture capital unit within Cisco, is looking […]
$2.9M in WA Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) grants announced
Celiac disease-safe wheat, premature infant pain detection, and new medicines to fight flu and cancer are among the ideas to receive $2.9 million in funding from Washington’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF). The 10 new commercialization awards are part of LSDF’s $100 million portfolio, which features an impressive 7-to-1 ROI statewide—including $510 million in new […]
Mercia investors warm to group’s approach to university start-ups
If only investors had it that easy: gaining some exposure to the next hot start-up without the risk that it might fail. Several University spinout groups such as Imperial Innovations and IP Group have had mixed fortunes as investors took fright after the 2008 financial crisis. Now, Mercia Technologies, which listed on Aim last December, […]
TEDCO hoping slight changes translate to big boost in investment for local startups
There are a couple of common analogies for startups wooing potential investors, said entrepreneur Brian Razzaque — it’s like herding cats, or getting one lemming to lead the others. Most investors are wary of bankrolling an unproven company without someone else’s seal of approval. That’s why the backing of the Maryland Technology Development Corp. was […]
PwC Malta’s €1m Start-up Fund attracts 87 applications
PwC Malta has received 87 applications so far for its €1 million Start-up Fund launched in mid-June 2013. This is an initiative whereby PwC Malta assists start-ups with innovative business ideas, by providing pro-bono advisory services. The fund is supported by Times of Malta. Applications are reviewed by a selection committee that meets on a […]
Innovate Indiana Fund Part of $5.75M Investment
MatterFab, an Indiana University-funded maker of metal 3-D printers, recently closed a $5.75 million seed-funding effort toward the design and development of its first printer for commercial, industrial-grade use. The Innovate Indiana Fund and GE Ventures were among the investors in the Series A financing round, which will help the San Francisco-based company produce what […]
Governor rejects Invest Georgia seed funding
Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed 11 bills Tuesday, including long-sought legislation to put seed capital into a state-run venture capital fund.A bill the General Assembly passed on the final day of this year’s legislative session authorized Invest Georgia, a VC fund created two years ago but not funded, to sell up to $55 million in insurance […]
More mutual funds are investing in tech start-ups
Mutual fund giants aren’t just interested in putting money to work in publicly traded companies. Increasingly, they also want to own a piece of red-hot start-ups. Tech news site Re/code reported that Fidelity Investments is now in talks to buy a stake in meal-delivery start-up Blue Apron at a valuation of about $2 billion. But […]