Illinois to invest $220 million in venture capital funds
The state of Illinois is getting back in the venture-capital business for the first time in several years. Treasurer Michael Frerichs says he’ll start investing more than $220 million of state treasury money with venture funds across the state. The Legislature first authorized the state to invest up to 1 percent of its funds in […]
University College London sets up £50 million fund for technology commercialisation
University College London (UCL) has established a £50 million fund to invest in intellectual property developed on its campus. The fund will provide money for academics to do initial proof of concept work, licensing projects and forming start-ups. Although UCL research has in the past formed the basis of 67 companies, this is the first […]
Georgia’s long-stalled startup fund is set to place its first $3M bet
A long-stalled Georgia program that uses taxpayer money to attract more funding for homegrown firms is set to make its first investment with a plan to funnel $3 million into an Atlanta-based financial services venture capital fund.The investment in TTV Capital would be the first by the Invest Georgia program, a favorite of Lt. Gov. […]
African Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) seed funds inspirational
A START-UP is one step closer to getting its innovative software solution that tackles online piracy to market, following R500,000 in seed funding it received from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA).Custos Tech is one of almost 300 projects the agency, an initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, has assisted with seed funding in […]
Ohio State-Ohio University early-stage venture capital Innovation Fund could be coming soon
Innovation doesn’t happen overnight.That much is clear when looking at the delayed start of a joint venture-capital fund by Ohio State University and Ohio University.EnlargeThe Ohio State University seal.DOUG BUCHANANThe schools announced the OSU-OU Innovation Fund in April 2012, with Ohio State committing $20 million and Ohio University promising $15 million.A VC fund in California […]
New Mexico Investment Council OKs new startups fund
The State Investment Council drew broad praise on Tuesday for approving a new funding program that could allow up to $40 million or more to flow into startup companies statewide.The council unanimously approved the establishment of a new $20 million “fund of funds” that will provide money to micro funds around the state that invest […]
Commentary: America’s Seed Fund is powering Texas innovation
Innovation is the critical ingredient to creating and growing a successful start-up, but innovation requires money – money that can be very hard to find, especially if your innovation is “high-risk/high-reward.” Wouldn’t it be great if a venture capitalist investor came to Texas, offering $2.5 billion seed investments in cutting edge technologies created by early […]
Texas Emerging Technology Fund Still Benefiting Life Sciences Startups – SiliconHills
Former Gov. Rick Perry’s pet project, the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, isn’t dead, it’s just been relocated. Now under the management of the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, there are about 100 active companies still in the fund, 60 percent of which focus on life sciences, said portfolio manager Jyoti Gupta at an Austin Technology […]
America’s Seed Fund – The Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Program (SBIR/STTR)-A Year in Review
This year was a flagship year for the SBIR and STTR programs, with equal parts achievement, exhilaration and groundbreaking. None of this would be possible without the amazing work of the eleven agencies: Environmental Protection Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation and the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health […]
MIT and Imperial launch seed fund to support ‘risky’ research
David Matthews is a reporter covering research, links between universities and businesses, higher education in South America, universities in the south of England, as well as Oxford, Cambridge Imperial College London and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds in supporting “risky” research that might otherwise not be funded. […]