Michigan spawns 31 spinouts in 2019-20

University of Michigan (U-M) said yesterday that it had launched 31 spinouts in the 2019-20 fiscal year, breaking the previous record of 22 set in 2018-2019.
U-M Tech Transfer, the institution’s commercialisation office, registered 522 inventions during the period compared with 502 the previous year, also a new best for the university.
Turnover for U-M spinouts more than halved to $237m from $505m in 2019-20, while licensing revenue was also lower at $14.5m compared with $16.3m year-on-year.
Researchers received 163 US patents, down from 171 year-on-year, and 268 licence and option agreements were signed versus 232 in 2018-2019.
Four exits were secured in the last fiscal year including Quantum Signal, the robotic systems spinout purchased by carmaker Ford in August 2019 as a way of enhancing its autonomous driving initiative.
Other highlights included the launch of the $130m Great Lakes Discoveries fund from healthcare-focused investment firm Deerfield Management to back early-stage biomedical research.
Kelly Sexton, associate vice-president for research, tech transfer and innovation partnerships at U-M, said: “The launch of 31 new startup companies last fiscal year is a testament to the strength and resiliency of the university’s growing innovation ecosystem.
“This record-breaking growth in startup formation is important in 2020 because these new companies will be meaningful contributors to the growth and diversification of our state’s economy as we work to rebound from the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.”