University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Research Foundation announces new Catalyst Grants

Five new research projects at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have received grant seed-funding from the UWM Research Foundation for projects that range from new materials for removal of arsenic from groundwater to a strategy for improving batteries for electric cars. The Catalyst Grant Program invests in promising early-stage research at UWM in areas where the […]

Sale of French state assets to fund innovation

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced on September 3 that France will sell off state assets to help raise billions of euros to finance innovation. “In a few weeks’ time I am going to announce that we will privatise certain companies to raise money to finance innovation,” the economy minister told a business conference in Italy. As […]

Oxford biotech startup Nightstar Therapeutics plans US NASDAQ float

Founded in 2014, the company has developed a technology that could cure blindness. Nightstar is the latest in a number of UK-based healthcare companies looking to US markets for IPOs. Investors in the US are said to have a better understanding of biotech, which leads them to value early-stage companies at higher amounts. Nightstar is […]

Aston University startup gets $200K seed funding to bring AI to smart buildings 

Grid Edge, is the brainchild of three researcher friends, Tom Anderson, Dr Jim Scott and Dr Dan Wright, who met while working together at Aston University’s European Bioenergy Research Institute in 2012. The funding comes from Ignite, the investment fund from UK power supplier Centrica, to help it take a step closer to realising its […]

UChicago Startup Investment Program makes first investment of $500K in surgical startup

The University of Chicago has made its first venture investment from the UChicago Startup Investment Program. ExplORer Surgical, which is based on technology developed at the University of Chicago Medical Center, provides an interactive surgical playbook that promotes optimal teamwork in the operating room. It will receive an investment of $500,000 from the University as part of […]

Ontario government creates $25.8M cleantech innovation fund 

Provincial officials announced August 29 that the Ontario government is starting a fund to support the creation and commercialization of green technologies. The Low Carbon Innovation Fund will support technologies in areas such as alternative energy generation and conservation, new biofuels or bioproducts, transportation, and carbon capture and usage. Ontario says that this initiative is […]

Enterprise Ireland reveals latest €750,000 Competitive Start Fund

Enterprise Ireland has issued a call for applications for its seventh Competitive Start Fund (CSF) to be launched in 2017. The €750,000 fund is open to all sectors, with a particular focus on start-ups in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, life sciences and renewables. ‘Start-up businesses offering innovative products and services are the lifeblood of […]

Imperial pilots new route for academic spinouts, inventor choice

In a first for any UK university, the College has launched Founders Choice™, a programme offering academics a choice between two routes for founding spinout companies. It has been created by the College with the support of its technology commericalisation partner, Imperial Innovations. The Founders Choice™ initiative is an exciting opportunity for people like myself – Professor […]

Super seven firms boosted by University of Essex Knowledge Gateway Innovation Fund

Among the projects which have been boosted by the Knowledge Gateway Innovation Fund is the EyeWink, which enables smartphone users to control their devices with the wink of an eye. The brain-computer technology, developed by senior Essex university researchers Davide Valeriani and Ana Matran-Fernandez, could soon be in production thanks to a £15,000 grant. It provides […]