Pittsburgh joins Osage network

Pittsburgh University’s tech transfer office Pitt Innovation Institute has joined Osage University Partners (OUP), a $315m-plus venture capital fund that invests in spinouts from its affiliate universities.

OUP has invested in 39 US-based university spinouts since 2009, through its initial $100m fund.

In March 2015, OUP closed its second $215m fund, with plans to invest across 50 university spinouts.

The fund invests across multiple technology sectors, including life sciences and physical sciences, through all stages of company development.

Under the arrangement, Pittsburgh innovators may assign participation rights in funding rounds for companies based on Pittsburgh research to OUP. In these cases, the university will be eligible to a share of future profits on the OUP investment.

OUP has a network of more than 80 universities and research centres and typically invests alongside other VC firms as part of a syndicate. Its commitments normally range from $5-10m.

Pittsburgh University-based research has led to more than 120 spinouts over the past 10 years, with the assistance of Pitt Innovation Institute.

Evan Facher, director of enterprise development at Pitt Innovation Institute, said: “One of the biggest challenges many Pitt startups face is access to growth capital. We are excited to be working with OUP as they have a thorough understanding of the university startup space and are familiar with working with university technology transfer offices.”