University of Notre Dame’s commercialisation hub, Idea Center, spawned a total of 27 spinouts and startups in 2017-18, a record for the university that surpassed the objective of 16 companies.
The result meant Notre Dame almost matched the 33 companies generated through the university’s entire history prior to 2017-18. Its previous best had been three businesses in 2016.
Idea Center launched in early 2017 to help thrust more Notre Dame faculty and student-led innovations onto the marketplace. It includes a 55,000-square foot Innovation Park and the so-called Commercialization Engine, which now acts as Notre Dame’s tech transfer link.
The 27 businesses launched last year cover sectors such as healthcare, IT, law and media. Out of the 55 co-founders, 31 are Notre Dame students.
Altogether, the 2017-18 Notre Dame roster was able to secure more than $4m in funding and generate more than $500,000 in sales revenue.
The university now aspires to create 30 companies during the current 2018-2019 fiscal year with the aim of cultivating an ecosystem with economic dividends for the South Bend-Elkhart region.
James Thompson, associate vice-president for innovation at University of Notre Dame, said: “60% or 70% of all startups fail. While not all of our startups will survive, our comprehensive de-risking and vetting process, which we call the Commercialization Engine, will likely result in a higher success rate than the average.”
