The University of Wisconsin System (UW) has partnered with state development organisation the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to create a $2m seed fund designed to help commercialise intellectual property across UW campuses statewide.
The Ideadvance Seed Fund will provide up to $75,000 split across two stages, and will support potential UW-linked startups and spin-outs across all sectors, including humanities, arts, and social sciences. Both UW and WEDC contributed $1m each to the creation of the fund, and will be managed by the statewide outreach programme of the university, UW-Extension.
The funding will be available to students across the entire UW system and companies involved with the system’s tech transfer organisation WiSys Technology Foundation. However, the fund seeks to prioritise other campuses above UW’s primary institution, UW-Madison, and companies working with its associated tech transfer unit, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
Ray Cross, president of the UW System, said: “Our University of Wisconsin labs and classrooms generate ideas ripe for commercialisation, so we’re pleased to partner with the state’s lead economic development agency to support entrepreneurs on our campuses throughout the state.”
