Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center's tech transfer grant support has been rolled into the remit of state-backed business development agency MassVentures.
US state-founded tech transfer support body Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC) has been quietly wound down and amalgamated into MassVentures, the public-private business development agency for Massachusetts.
Vinit Nijhawan, managing director of MassVentures, confirmed the move through a LinkedIn post but did not respond to Boston Business Journal’s request for comment.
The merger puts an end to MTTC’s grant-making remit through which more than $3.5m in proof-of-concept funding had been awarded since the body’s establishment in 2003.
MassVentures has already assumed oversight of at least one former MTTC program, Catalyst, a grant scheme tailored to early-stage projects at Massachusetts-based institutions.
Abi Barrow, a former MTTC director who currently acts as managing partner for local consultancy Cambridge Innovation Partners, told the Business Journal that the merger was unsurprising given the long-standing relationship between both agencies.
Barrow added that a merger had previously been floated by Greg Bialecki, a former chief economic aide to the Massachusetts state governor, although his proposal was ultimately rebuffed.
