Harvard University launches The Grid to accelerate lab-to-market technologies
Harvard University already has an impressive track record, having launched more than 100 start-up companies based on research conducted in Harvard labs during the past five years alone. These new ventures have raised $4.4 billion in equity financing and created countless jobs.
Believing that campus-based research has the potential for even greater impact, the university has launched The Grid, an initiative aimed at speeding up the translation of innovations from university labs into commercially viable products and services that address global challenges.
The suite of programs, focused on the physical sciences and engineering, will enable entrepreneurially minded Harvard researchers and students to translate their research into start-ups. According to the announcement, four activities will be part of The Grid’s initial offerings:
- Translational awards to support Harvard faculty-led research projects at the cusp of commercial viability;
- Dedicated workspace for selected teams, adjacent to faculty labs and other core facilities;
- Onsite advisors to provide expertise and mentoring in startup formation, fundraising, intellectual property strategy, licensing, business development and other facets of launching successful ventures; and
- Educational programming geared toward undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, and faculty, focused on translational and entrepreneurial skills and connections to the broader community of startups, investors, industry, and alumni, in collaboration with other university innovation initiatives.
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