The Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University announced today the establishment of the David and Lindsay Morgenthaler Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund, creating a new endowed $50,000 annual Morgenthaler Prize to support the CMU’s flagship McGinnis Venture Competition.
This visionary commitment increases the competition’s total cash investment awards to $125,000 and contributes to an overall $375,000 prize package, which also includes $250,000 in Amazon Web Services (AWS) promotional credits for winning teams. Credits will be distributed by AWS Activate, AWS’s flagship startup program, and will enable student entrepreneurs to transform bold ideas into reality, helping them offset upfront infrastructure costs to bring their ideas to life.
The newly endowed Morgenthaler Prize will be awarded annually to the competition’s first-place team, providing transformative early-stage capital at a critical moment in venture formation and growth. The endowment ensures that generations of Carnegie Mellon student entrepreneurs will benefit from the Morgenthalers’ enduring commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship.
“Morgenthaler Foundation is pleased to establish the David and Lindsay Morgenthaler Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund to honor their legacy and to support the next generation of CMU entrepreneurs,” said Gary Morgenthaler, Partner at Morgenthaler Ventures. “David Morgenthaler was a venture capital pioneer and the first National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. Lindsay Morgenthaler, a CMU graduate, was Lifetime Emeritus Trustee on CMU’s Board of Trustees and led CMU’s “The Highlands Circle” society of major donors. Throughout life, they championed entrepreneurs, academic excellence and the spirit of innovation at CMU and nationally.”
Source: David and Lindsay Morgenthaler Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund – Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship – Carnegie Mellon University
