For 25 years, direct investments in tech spin-outs had been banned at the University of California.
The University of California (UC) system has reversed its policy that stopped its network of campuses from directly investing in its own technology startups. The ban was originally established as part of UC’s 1989 Guidelines on University-Industry Relations Policy.
At the same time that UC president Janet Napolitano rescinded the policy, she also announced the creation of an Innovation Council. The council is an outside group of advisers including venture capitalists and business executives, who will convene for the first time in August 2014. Their aim will be to work out a commercialisation strategy for the university system.
Furthermore, Napolitano approved a startup pilot programme which will allow campuses to take equity in companies or services that UC has supported, including through campus incubators or other facilities. This change also makes it possible for UC to directly fund any such companies and services.
Napolitano said: “These measures are key to supporting and expanding the entrepreneurial culture on our campuses, and enhancing the innovation ecosystem at the University of California. The technology and companies incubated at UC have a direct and critical impact on the state’s economic growth, and our continued support is integral to our university’s public mission.”
