State Universities Join Forces to Fund Tech Startups
Michigan's 15 public universities are launching a new economic innovation initiative with an aim of raising $75 million to create 200 Michigan startup companies.
University, state and foundation officials yesterday formally launched the Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MIIE). They also announced the initiative's first $1.3 million in entrepreneurship and commercialization grants.
The goal of the MIIE is to speed the commercialization of university research while promoting a culture of entrepreneurial risk-taking.
The initiative will partner Michigan’s philanthropic resources with university and private business resources to help launch new startup companies and industries, and strengthen ties between small business, industry and academia.
The consortium plans to raise and distribute $75 million over the next seven years – mainly through donations from some of the more than 2,200 philanthropic foundations across the state – and match those funds with resources and funding from universities and private businesses.
The first 20 small grants being handed out under the initiative include a wide variety of efforts, including:
Commercializing new antibiotics to fight drug-resistant infections.
A compact, wireless “wearable video system” that could be used by the military.
Printing circuits on paper with metallic ink.
The Central Michigan University Entrepreneurial Engagement Program, providing new multidisciplinary courses in entrepreneurship, student internships in entrepreneurship and technology commercialization.
The Launch Pad, to stimulate the creation of student-owned businesses in Genesee County.
A list of the 20 winning proposals, including names of the principal investigators, their affiliations and the award amounts is available at www.pcsum.org/miie.
Two-thirds of the $75 million will go to the Technology Commercialization Fund, which provides “gap funding” to guide university-born ideas along the path toward venture-capitalist investment. The other third will be used to build a culture of entrepreneurialism among students, faculty and industry in Michigan.
Initial funding for the MIIE was provided by the C.S. Mott Foundation, which awarded a $2 million planning grant last fall. The grant launched an MIIE pilot and paid for the first round of awards. This first round of activity proves the concept can be implemented: the state’s public universities will in fact come together to contribute to the state’s economic renewal.
Thirty-nine proposals were evaluated and ranked by review committees with members drawn from academia, business and industry. Awards were made through three funds: the Technology Commercialization Fund, the Industry & Economic Engagement Fund, and the Talent & Entrepreneurship Education Fund.
A second round of grants is planned for the fall, and the program is expected to continue for seven years.
Winning grant proposals came from Grand Valley State University, the University of Michigan, Western Michigan University, Saginaw Valley State University, Wayne State University, Michigan Technological University, Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Northern Michigan University, Ferris State University, University of Michigan - Flint, Eastern Michigan University and Lake Superior State University.
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Michigan's 15 public universities are launching a new economic innovation initiative with an aim of raising $75 million to create 200 Michigan startup companies.
