Stanford launches new fund to commercialize more inventions
This initiative has similar goals and plans to UTRF's new Accelerator Fund and Venture Launch Program.
Being #5 in the country for commercializing faculty inventions is apparently not good enough for Stanford University.
The school’s Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) has launched a new initiative to reduce the gap between the hundreds of new inventions that are disclosed each year and the few that get licensed to a commercial entity or attract investment.
Named the High Impact Technology (HIT) Fund, the program is underwritten by $17 million in licensing income that OTL allocated for the effort. As part of the new initiative, Stanford hired Director Nitin Parekh and Program Manager Laura Clark Murray to bring the initiative to life. Parekh began by identifying what people on campus need in their quest to commercialize their technologies.
“As I talked to various people, I realized it wasn’t all about the money,” Parekh said. “Equally important was offering business guidance and providing industry connections. We’re trying to give them the tools and skill sets to succeed on their journey of commercialization or entrepreneurship.”
The program sounds very similar to one that the University of Tennessee Research Foundation announced in late March (click here for teknovation.biz article). That effort, named the UTRF Accelerator Fund and Venture Launch Program, is focused on starting, growing, and retaining sustainable start-ups in the Volunteer State.
To learn more about Stanford’s HIT Fund, click here.
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