News links for the week of 3rd Feb 2014
Missed a story over the past week? Catch up with our regular headline recap:
Circassia heads for massive UK IPO
Circassia, a biotech spin-out of Imperial College London developing cat and other allergy treatments, announces plans for $285m initial public offering.
Whirlscape types out seed round
Whirlscape, a spin-out of the University of Toronto, secures $500,000 for its mobile device touchscreen keyboard.
MI Airline enjoys the high life
Cabin crew tablet start-up MI Airline receives backing from the Mainport Innovation Fund, backed by both corporates and universities.
Holoxica leads on Scottish crowdfunding site
Edinburgh spin-out Holoxica becomes first company to hit its crowdfunding target on new Scottish crowdfunding site.
Oxehealth arms itself with East
Oxford spin-out Oxehealth announces appointment of former ARM chief executive Warren East to its advisory board.
Automotive fuel start-up Simple-Fill receives seed funding from Ohio State University.
Wisconsin spin-out vaccinates its future with $8m
Madison Vaccines, a life sciences spin-out of the University of Wisconsin, secures $8m series A.
Purdue breathes evergreen life into startups
Purdue Research Foundation and Cook Medical partner on $12m evergreen fund for life science firms at Purdue University.
York gets a slyce of the action
Canada’s York University lends its computer vision technology to fashion app developer Slyce.
Amadeus hits the right notes for £33m fund
UK-based tech investor Amadeus raises £33.2m ($54m) early stage investment fund.
Shazam for Kvamme as Drive speeds into $250m goal
Drive Capital, a venture capital firm backed with $50m from Ohio State University, hits its $250m fund goal in a year.
AtTask wins over students at University Venture Fund
Workflow management platform AtTask closes $38m series D with participation from University Venture Fund.
Xagenic out of the lab with $20m
Toronto life sciences spin-out Xagenic closes $20m series B ahead of FDA submission.
Zinwave, a wi-fi solutions spin-out from Cambridge University, is acquired by US manufacturing firm McWane.
Michigan start-up initiative reloads with $33m
New Economy Initiative, a project funding incubators in Detroit, attracts $33m in new funding.
The university contribution to Illinois
The Illinois Innovation Index highlights the role of universities in creating Illinois start-ups.
Blue Cross $50m health boost to Philly
Health Insurer Independence Blue Cross unveils plans to invest up to $50m into venture funds and start-ups in the Philadelphia region.
Lockwood to network TSB’s knowledge
The UK’s Technology Strategy Board appoints non-executive chair of forthcoming Knowledge Transfer Network.
Newcastle slingshots start-ups
Australia’s Newcastle University teams up with incubator Slingshot to put the Aussie coal town on the start-up map.
Michigan’s University Research Corridor finishes dead last in comparison to other US tech transfer regions, despite strong showing in other areas.
