News round up 26 February 2018

GeoSpock seeks out new series A life
Cambridge Innovation Capital has led a $12m series A close for GeoSpock, which had already secured an initial $5.4m tranche in 2015.

Tyrata gets behind $4.5m series A wheel
Dealer Tire has led a series A round for Tyrata, a tire sensor developer based on research at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering and Nicholas School of the Environment.

KitSplit markets $2.1m seed round
NYU Innovation Venture Fund has put its weight behind KitSplit, an online marketplace to rent equipment such as cameras, drones and virtual reality headsets.

Campbell to chair Autm
Alison Campbell, director at Knowledge Transfer Ireland, has become the first representative from outside North America to chair Association of University Technology Managers.

Hamburg calls for transfer
Hamburg Innovation and the municipal government have launched a range of initiatives to bolster the local ecosystem, with a total of $3.7m being made available.

Irresistible Materials inches towards final testing
The Birmingham spinout is entering the final stages of testing for its semiconductor technology.

UA gains medtech accelerator
The city of Phoenix has approved funding for a medical technology accelerator, dubbed Innovention, which will be operated in collaboration with University of Arizona.

Liquidia restarts funding flow
UNC Chapel Hill spinout Liquidia has secured an initial $25.5m and is aiming for a $53.3m close.

Re:infer deciphers $3.5m Touchstone-led round
The UCL spinout’s cognitive AI-based systems automatically sift through communications data to uncover valuable feedback for enterprises.

LigaTrap takes on $1.5m in funding
The US-based protein purification technology developer shifted its manufacturing base to North Carolina two years ago and has now secured three licences from NC State.

Rogue entices OSU for $30m fund
Oregon State University has backed Rogue Venture Partners’ third fund, having previously also provided cash for the firm’s second vehicle in 2016.

Tricog Health clocks $4m investment
University of Tokyo Edge Capital has taken part in a funding round for Tricog Health, which uses artificial intelligence technology to determine a patient’s risk of heart disease.

Arcus Biosciences hardens IPO plans
Stanford University is set to exit the cancer immunotherapy developer, which has filed for a $100m initial public offering.

Kidaptive adapts to $19.1m series C
Adaptive learning system developer Kidaptive has closed a $19.1m round, bringing the Stanford University spinout’s total funding to more than $30m.

Morphisec marks series B round with $12m
Orange Digital Ventures, General Electric and Deutsche Telekom all took part as the Ben-Gurion University spinout added to its $7m series A.

Shoreline Biome profiles $1.1m
The microbiome profiling business is the result of collaboration between two former Roche employees and researchers from UConn and Yale New Haven Hospital.

Cove harbours $12m fund
The firm’s second fund has achieved an initial close of $12m and is due to begin investing in the coming months.

Cincera digests $5.5m investment
Monash University has spun out Cincera Therapeutics, which will work on treatments for metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes-related conditions.

Molendotech paddles to $700,000 round
Molendotech was spun out from Plymouth half a year ago and has now secured a three-tranche commitment of $700,000 from investors.

TUM and Google process AI partnership
The internet company will pour $1.2m into the Technical University of Munich Foundation and another $310,000 into TUM’s AppliedAI initiative.

Harvard traces route to Nebula Genomics
Nebula Genomics aims to launch a genomics platform that will let users securely monetise their personal data and gain medical insights.

Research commercialisation – why do it?
Alison Campbell looks at the reasons that drive technology transfer, considering views from the US, the UK and Ireland.