Minnesota University’s Faculty Senate has approved plans to change the institution’s policy on investment, allowing it to back its own startups.
Should the move be cleared by the university’s board of regents, Minnesota will have the ability to start investing sums of over $1m into its spin-outs and startups, as well as potential investments into companies which have licensed out intellectual property from the university.
Last year, the university licensed 154 technologies, 15 of which were used to create Minnesota spin-outs. However, Minnesota’s ecosystem suffers from a dearth of investment, and the move would allow the university to play a more proactive part in stimulating early-stage growth in the region.
Russ Straate, associate director at the University’s Venture Centre, said: “We don’t sit in an ecosystem like Stanford out in Silicon Valley where funding startup companies is something people do. Here, investors are more conservative.”
In 2014, the University of California approved a similar change in policy, which was shortly followed by the creation of UC Ventures – a $250m university venturing fund.
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