The University of Minnesota has launched 25 startup companies in fiscal 2024, surpassing its previous record for the fourth year in a row. This announcement coincided with the launch of a new initiative to scale up the University’s commercialization work called Discover, Advance, Impact.
Since the 2006 founding of the Venture Center (a division of the University of Minnesota Technology Commercialization), the University has launched over 260 startup companies, with a long-term success rate of 68%. And 73% of these companies are located in Minnesota. In fiscal 2024, a record 88% of new University startups — 22 out of 25 — were located within Minnesota. And the 25 startups also meet the University’s goal to spin out “25 by 2025” under MPact 2025, the University’s systemwide strategic plan.
Within overall measures of technology transfer, the University has been named No. 1 in the Heartland and ranks among the top 15 U.S. public universities for key technology commercialization numbers, including deals, disclosures and startups in the most recent trade associations survey. And the University also typically ranks in the top 20 U.S. universities for U.S. utility patents issued.
The University also seeks to amplify its proven process for getting opportunities to innovators and innovations to market under its Discover, Advance, Impact fundraising initiative. And the initiative seeks to raise $40 million to add more capital to its proven end-to-end tech transfer model that is currently undersized relative to the innovation pipeline.
Vice President for Research and Innovation Shashank Priya cited several high-potential University startups like:
1.) Niron Magnetics – Producing the world’s first high-performance sustainable magnet with many EV and clean energy applications
2.) Jord BioScience – Harnessing microbes to improve crop production and reduce chemical use
3.) Stimdia Medical – Developing a neurostimulation therapy to support independent breathing and wean patients more quickly from mechanical ventilation
4.) Reflection Sciences – Helps teachers to measure student’s executive function to help with academic success; and
5.) Objective Biotechnology – Constructed a robot that uses machine learning to fully automate a complicated microinjection process used in genetic research, which won the Top Founder of Color prize at the 2024 MN Cup last week.
The University faculty seeks to provide these companies with gap funding to allow them to hire additional scientists to develop their ideas to a more commercially viable point.
For the later development stage, where an invention may be part of a startup company, the University worked with an outside entity to launch DiscoveryMN Angels, a network of angel investors who seek to invest in promising startups led by students, alumni, faculty, and supporters of the University of Minnesota. Plus, the University is also working on a new opportunity to help U of M entrepreneurs “pay it forward” through a Founder’s Pledge, a non-binding pledge of support to the University that enabled their early growth.
KEY QUOTES:
“Over the last five years, only a handful of universities nationally have been creating 20 or more startups per year. Today, our Venture Center has 45-50 potential startup companies in our startup pipeline, which is striking when we consider the 15-20 we had only a few years ago — it indicates a strong bench of untapped potential. With the vast majority of startup capital based in and flowing to places like Silicon Valley and Boston, we simply don’t have the startup capital available to our companies that can bring these amazing ideas to market, so we want to help our companies and help our broader startup ecosystem in Minnesota.”
“We’re proud of the tech transfer ecosystem we’ve built here at the U of M — it’s a reflection of the caliber of ideas coming out of the U of M research community and our experienced Technology Commercialization team. We can demonstrate our proven success in helping the state’s innovation economy, and Discover, Advance, Impact aims to take this work to the next level with goals for local and national impact.”
- Rick Huebsch, associate vice president for research and innovation
“The University fully believes in this vision and we’re demonstrating it by providing our own $20 million matching investment. Discover, Advance, Impact will help position the State of Minnesota to become a stronger player in attracting private investment. This program is unique because of its self-sustaining model, how it will address funding gaps between research and capital, and because it offers entrepreneurial opportunities for every student to address today’s societal challenges.”
- Vice President for Research and Innovation Shashank Priya
