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THE VALLEY OF DEATH

BRIDGING

Crossing the “Valley of Death” is a major challenge in moving promising university technology from the lab to commercial and investment partners
UNIVERSITY GAP FUNDS AND ACCELERATORS

COLLABORATION THROUGH

Universities are implementing gap funding and accelerator programs to bridge this system weakness. Smart corporations and investors are collaborating with universities at this stage to tap into future technologies, investments, and insights

Developing and Sharing Best Practices

Create and expand access to best practices, insights, tactics, and benchmarking to support program improvement and stakeholder development

Advocating for the University Gap Funding Community

Increase public/private awareness of the capital and support gap for university innovation and build consensus around gap funding as a solution

Connecting University Gap Funds with Investors and Companies

Connect university translational research, proof of concept projects, and startups to sources of capital, talent, and commercialization partnerships

University Gap Funding and Accelerator Community News

2110, 2019

University City Science Center Launch Lane accelerator is now accepting apps for its inaugural cohort

Looking to grow or scale your tech-focused startup? Applications for the Launch Lane accelerator, created by the University City Science Center, are open now through November. Benefits will include an up-to-$50,000 investment, operational support to help transition from R&D to sales, space to work at ic@3401 for a full year, access to mentors and advisors, introductions [...]

2110, 2019

U-M creates investment fund to fill gap for early-stage capital for university startups

U-M Tech Transfer, the unit responsible for commercializing University of Michigan research discoveries and innovations, will create the Accelerate Blue Fund to provide seed capital to nascent U-M startup companies. Creation of the fund was approved Oct. 17 by the U-M Board of Regents. “There are enormous benefits to the [...]

1610, 2019

Two new N. Ireland equity funds have £95m for investments into innovative SMEs, universities

TWO new follow-on equity funds are making £95 million available to give potential high-growth start-up businesses in Northern Ireland an early-stage cash injection. A second round of the TechStart seed fund and the fourth Crescent Capital development fund are part of Invest NI's 'Access to Finance' portfolio, which provides loan [...]

1610, 2019

Yeshiva University’s Innovation Lab Launches 2nd Cohort With 11 Israeli Startups

Yeshiva University, the private, modern Orthodox research university based in New York City, launched the second cohort of its Innovation Lab last week, in partnership with Gvahim, the Israeli NGO that helps new immigrants to Israel with business and career goals, Cactus Capital, the first student-run university venture capital firm [...]

1610, 2019

NC Biotech Center awards $1.4M in grants, loans; portfolio startups raise $16.5M

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center awarded 18 grants and loans totaling nearly $1.4 million to bioscience companies, universities and non-profit organizations in the first quarter of its 2019-20 fiscal year. The awards, made from July 1 to Sept. 30, will support life science research and technology commercialization throughout North Carolina and help [...]

1610, 2019

Biomedical startups seek funding at Lundquist Institute’s 6th annual Innovation Showcase

A gene therapy that relieves pain; a device to diagnose ear infections in children; a virtual reality microscope that allows doctors to see 95% more of a cancer cell. These are just some of the state-of-the-art medical advances, currently under development, that were featured by 24 startup companies this week at [...]

1010, 2019

Europe’s Old Universities Spin Out New Tech Companies – WSJ

The world’s oldest universities are learning to promote their newest technologies using American-style entrepreneurialism. Across Europe, academic institutions are intensifying efforts to get promising ideas out of their labs and into commercial use, following the successful examples of Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other U.S. leaders in the [...]

1010, 2019

U of Illinois Lands $50K Grant to Create More Female-Founded Tech Companies

A women-focused accelerator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign just landed a $50,000 award from the U.S. Small Business Administration to help strengthen resources and support for female-founded tech companies. U of I’s EnterpriseWorks Incubator’s AWARE (accelerating women and underrepresented entrepreneurs) is one of 60 accelerators and incubators that were awarded the grant, [...]

1010, 2019

Fulcrum Global Capital partners with Kansas State University

Kansas City-based Fulcrum Global Capital will open an office in the K-State Office Park in Manhattan, adjacent to the Kansas State University campus, as part of a strategic partnership. Fulcrum Global is a venture capital fund that was founded in early 2019 by Duane Cantrell, Kevin Lockett and John Peryam. They all formerly worked for the [...]

1010, 2019

Nebraska’s ‘Silicon Prairie’ Is Growing Into A Hub For Innovation

Despite its unfortunate tourism slogan, Nebraska is, in fact, for everyone. And it’s an especially attractive area for startups to plant their roots and bloom. Subscribe to the Crunchbase Daily Nebraska’s tech scene, centered around the nearby cities of Omaha and Lincoln, has become an under-the-radar hub for innovation. With large examples [...]

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Who We Serve

Research Universities, Hospitals, and Institutions
Accelerators and Incubators
Government Economic Development and Innovation Agencies
Angel Investors and Venture Capital
Corporate Innovation and Venture Groups

What We Support

Proof of Concept (POC) Gap Fund Programs
Startup and Venture Gap Funds
Translational Research Gap Fund Programs
Government-supported Innovation Initiatives and Funds
Angel Investors and Angel Networks
Corporate and Venture Capital
Student Venture Funds and Crowdfunding