University College London (UCL) has announced the launch of its UCL Technology Fund, set to invest 50 million into world-leading research over the next five years.
The cash will fund academics whose research has commercial potentia, to support early stage proof of concept, licensing projects and new spinout companies, and projects can come from all areas of the university including life sciences, engineering, and ICT.
Dr Celia Caulcott, vice-provost (enterprise) at UCL, said: "UCL has an impressive track record of commercialising our research through licensing and spin-outs and the launch of the UCL Technology Fund underlines our long-term approach towards investment.
"Together with our partners, we will ensure UCL continues to maximise the commerical opportunities of its innovative and ground-breaking research, with the aim of benefitting society as a whole and producing economic impact.
"The fund exemplifies UCL's Grand Challenges strategy, which brings expertise from across UCL and beyond to solve key global problems."
The European Investment Fund and Imperial Innovations will both provide funding, each committing to 24.75 million over the first five years. Independent venture capital investor firm Albion Ventures will manage the fund, monitoring objectives and financial targets.
The university already has UCL Business (UCLB), its technology transfer company dedicated to commercialising research and increasing the number of projects it can support.
This scheme has spun out more than 60 companies to commercialise the intellectual property developed by researchers. One such firm is Senceive, which provides wireless monitoring technology to the construction and railway industries.
"The quality of research at UCL means that there is already a wealth of opportunities to be exploited and this will provide even greater level of resources to UCLB to increase throughput," said Russ Cummings, chief executive officer at Imperial Innovations.
"We expect our participation in this new fund will lead to a significant increase in our rate of investment in UCL related spinouts to which we will have access via our role in this new fund."
-
Should AI PCs be part of your next hardware refresh?AI PCs are fast becoming a business staple and a surefire way to future-proof your business
-
Westcon-Comstor and Vectra AI launch brace of new channel initiativesNews Westcon-Comstor and Vectra AI have announced the launch of two new channel growth initiatives focused on the managed security service provider (MSSP) space and AWS Marketplace.
-
Is Rishi Sunak’s ‘Unicorn Kingdom’ a reachable goal or a mere pipedream?Analysis Plunging venture capital investment and warnings over high-growth company support raise doubts over the ‘Unicorn Kingdom’ ambition
-
Some Tech Nation programs could continue after Founders Forum acquisitionNews The acquisition brings to a close a months-long saga over what the future holds for Tech Nation initiatives
-
Podcast transcript: Startup succession: From Tech Nation to Eagle LabsIT Pro Podcast Read the full transcript for this episode of the ITPro Podcast
-
The ITPro Podcast: Startup succession: From Tech Nation to Eagle LabsITPro Podcast Some small firms are already lamenting the loss of Tech Nation, but Barclays Eagle Labs has much to offer the sector
-
Don’t count Barclays Eagle Labs out just yet – it can deliver in ways Tech Nation never hasOpinion Tech Nation has a great track record, but Eagle Labs has the experience, the financial clout, and a clear-cut vision that will deliver positive results for UK tech
-
UK tech sector could face a ‘unicorn winter’ amid spiralling economic conditionsNews Tech Nation’s final piece of industry research calls for action to support continued ecosystem growth
-
"It's still not great": Industry divided on government's SMB tax relief packageNews The government’s handling of R&D tax credits has left SMBs with a “sense of disbelief”
-
UK startup's Equinix deal marks step towards broad quantum computing accessNews Businesses around the world will be able to use its quantum computing as a service platform through Equinix
