Chalmers University of Technology’s investment and incubator unit recorded a $79,000 operating loss for the year, during which it backed 34 portfolio companies with a total of $3.5m in funding.
Chalmers Ventures, the investment and incubator arm of Chalmers University of Technology, invested a total of Skr31m ($3.5m) across 53 transactions in 34 distinct portfolio companies during 2018.
The division’s annual report indicated it had worked alongside 114 companies and projects, 78 of which originated from its internal programs. Chalmers Ventures added 14 new companies to its portfolio during the reporting period.
The performance was not enough to spare Chalmers Ventures a small operating loss of around $79,000 for the year, down from the $26,000 profit recorded in 2017. Chalmers Ventures’ operating revenues for 2018 amounted to $3.9m.
During the year, Chalmers Ventures generated $5.3m from the sale of 14 equity stakes, implying a 2.8 times return based on the $1.9m it had invested in those companies.
Since its establishment in 2015, Chalmers Ventures has worked with more than 550 startups altogether, 200 of which it has either founded or invested in.
The unit agrees licences and spins out companies based on academic research, while also operating entrepreneurship programs including a pre-accelerator designed for teams from the Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship.
Chalmers Ventures runs two fully-fledged accelerator programs each catered to early and growth-stage ventures respectively, as well as a “startup camp” that helps entrepreneurs flesh out their concepts.
