A University of Arizona seed fund designed to help launch startups from the innovations of faculty, staff, students and alumni has surpassed its initial goal of $2 million after just a year of fundraising.
The Wildcat Philanthropic Seed Fund (WPSF) is ready to begin accepting applications and making its first investments. Tech Launch Arizona – the university office that helps commercialize inventions stemming from university research and innovation and oversees the fund – announced the milestone at a Jan. 30 event at its headquarters.
The fund is on its way to its strategic goal of $5 million, and $2 million represents the threshold for being able to begin investing in early-stage U of A-affiliated ventures. This amount was selected to ensure that the fund starts with enough capital to support a first cohort of startups through these initial high-risk phases of development.
To receive funding, startup teams must complete an online application, one requirement of which is to demonstrate either a clear affiliation with the U of A by having a student, faculty, staff member or alumnus on the team, or an effort to commercialize U of A intellectual property. If selected to proceed, the WPSF investment committee performs its due diligence to evaluate the company’s potential for success against its risk of failure and the potential return.
“We’ve been working on a strategy for a philanthropic seed fund for a long time,” said TLA Associate Vice President Doug Hockstad. “We’re excited to finally see it come to fruition and start making impactful investments.”
Full story: Seed fund to help early-stage university startups enters investment phase | Tech Launch Arizona
