IP Group, a UK-based commercialisation firm, has contributed to a total of £5.4m ($6.8m) in post-seed funding for Exyn Technologies, an autonomous aerial robot technology developer spun out of Pennsylvania, and Uniformity Labs, an industrial additive manufacturing spinout of Princeton University. The deals mark the first time that IP Group has backed spinouts of its US partner institutions.
Codelucida, a spinout of Arizona University that is working on error-correction technology for data storage and communications, has raised approximately $700,000 in angel funding led by Desert Angels, with participation from Tech Coast Angels and Arizona Tech Investors. The company, spun out by tech transfer office Tech Launch Arizona, is based on research conducted by Shiva Planjery and his doctoral advisers Bane Vasic, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Arizona University, and David Declercq, professor at Cergy-Pontoise University.
Yale University spinout Artizan Biosciences, a biotechnology producer focused on the discovery and development of drugs for conditions involving the human intestinal microbiota, has received an undisclosed sum in founding equity from investment firm Malin Corporation in return for a 32% stake. Hatteras Venture Partners also participated in the transaction.
AccuPS, a spinout of Purdue University that has created a 3D motion-tracking controller to be used with virtual reality applications, has attracted $100,000 in funding from unnamed investors. The company, which has launched efforts to raise a second funding round, previously received a National Science Foundation Small Business Technology Transfer grant for $225,000. The company also obtained a $20,000 Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund Black Award in 2015. AccuPS has licensed its technology through tech transfer office Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization.
Keio Innovation Initiative, the investment arm of Keio University, Beyond Next Ventures and SBI Investment have invested $3.4m in CureApp, a digital health company, according to The Bridge. CureApp is working on a range of mobile apps to treat conditions such as nicotine addiction, which was developed with the support of Keio University’s School of Medicine, and will use the funding to boost its R&D activities. The company previously secured $890,000 from Beyond Next Ventures in 2015.
