The fund will invest $1m of capital each year in University of Florida spinouts that have already secured the support of one external investor for the round in question.
University of Florida is to establish a venture fund with $1m of capital each fiscal year to back two-to-five of its spinouts.
The fund will be stage-agnostic, the university said, but it will only provide between $200,000 and $500,000 in spinouts that have secured the backing of at least one accredited, third-party investor.
The vehicle will be run by UF Innovate | Ventures, the umbrella body accountable for University of Florida’s innovation operation, and will forgo board seats and controlling stakes in its portfolio companies.
University of Florida views the move as a chance to restore early-stage funding availability that was lost when the plug was pulled on the Florida-wide early-stage innovation board Institute for Commercialization of Florida Technology in 2017.
The institution also expects to boost its bid to become one of the five best public universities in the US, and believes the same model could with time be employed at other Florida-based academic centres.
University of Florida spawned 15 spinouts during the 2019 fiscal year ended June 30, taking its total to more than 200 since its tech licensing division launched in 1985.
David Norton, vice-president of research at the university’s Office of Research, said: “Our intent is for this $1m venture fund to be a magnet. While we recognise this amount of money by itself will not make a huge difference, we believe it will highlight the work our faculty do, indicate University of Florida has ‘skin in the game,’ and attract other, larger, investors.”
