GAP Community News
The University Gap Funding/Accelerator Weekly update, a resource for those interested in university-affiliated translational research, proof of concept, startup, and venture gap fund/accelerator program
University Gap Funding and Accelerator Community News
University of Minnesota startup generator boosts local economy
In the past five years, only four universities have spun off 20 or more startups annually. The University of Minnesota ranks among the top four during that time frame. The U’s Technology Commercialization Office (TechCom for short) focuses on the
University Of Michigan Startups Raise Over $663 Million
The University of Michigan achieved its strongest year on record for research commercialization in fiscal year 2025, reporting sharp increases in invention disclosures, licensing activity, startup creation, and capital fundraising. The results reflect the continued expansion of U-M’s innovation ecosystem,
GAP Insights: Forbes on the Future of Universities and Research
In his recent Forbes article, David Rosowsky explores how research universities are entering a “looking glass” moment: facing structural change in how they teach, how they research, and how they commercialize. Forbes What’s Changing Public funding for research and higher
NZ Researchers to Gain First Rights Over Inventions, Cap Institutional Equity at 10%
In a major shift for New Zealand’s science and innovation landscape, the Government has unveiled a national intellectual property (IP) policy that will give researchers greater control over their own inventions, encouraging the commercialisation of homegrown ideas and boosting the
6 Student Ventures Awarded Fall 2025 Orange Innovation Fund Grants
The University has announced the recipients of the Fall 2025 Orange Innovation Fund, a competitive grant program that fuels early-stage ideas developed by student entrepreneurs. The fund supports innovative projects across campus that demonstrate strong potential to commercialize research. The fund, administered
UT Discovery to Impact Opens Off-Campus Lab Space for Private Sector to Accelerate Life Sciences Research
The University of Texas at Austin’s Discovery to Impact unit has opened a 10,000-square-foot off-campus wet lab in North Austin aimed at accelerating life-sciences commercialization by offering private-sector companies access to university research infrastructure and expertise.What’s new: The facility
Monash University biotech spinout Rage lands $29 million Series A
The round was led by IP Group Australia and super fund Hostplus, with support from existing investors including Monash Ventures. The funds will go towards first-in-human clinical trials for Rage’s nasal therapy to treat inflammatory lung diseases The startup’s name
La Trobe University launches fund to invest in start-ups
The Omni-System has been developed by start-up company Gaia Project Australia (GPA) in collaboration with La Trobe researchers from the School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (SCEMS) and the School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment (SABE). The company’s flagship

GAP Commentary: Can Universities Really Run Venture Studios? A Look at What It Would Take.
Whenever I see the term “university venture studio”, I have a click-whirr response that brings me back to when this conversation really started for me. It was 2023, during a panel at Covergence, where we explored whether the venture studio
University of Calgary – UCeed Startup Investment Funds celebrate five years of impact with $30M under management and first portfolio exit
In just five years, UCeed has redefined how universities fuel innovation and drive economic growth in Canada. What started as a bold idea to accelerate research from lab to market has grown into Canada’s largest university-based investment fund of its