Christopher Noble, CLP, RTTP Success Stories: University Owned and/or Partnered Technology Investment Funds
Should universities invest in their startups? VCs are not available/willing to provide “gap funding” • but how and when will VCs provide follow-on funding? Alumni/donors/administration have the funds available • but who will make and monitor the investment decisions? • How do we attract professional VCs to manage the investments? To help the startups succeed; because we have good knowledge of the capabilities of the startups • but who decides which startups will receive funding? • and does this hurt those that don’t get university funding? Because this is part of the mission of the university • Really? • What is the measure of success? C. Noble -- IP2018 Istanbul -- October 2018
MIT did not invest in our own startups until 2017 We are fortunate to have many VCs in our community • We don’t want to compete with the VCs; we want to support the ecosystem • We don’t want to be “picking winners” among our startups So why did we change our mind in 2017? • Funding gap” was significant for “tough tech”: multi-year development requiring specialized facilities and significant funding • Lack of local incubators for these types of startups • Interest from investment community to partner with us C. Noble -- IP2018 Istanbul -- October 2018
• “Tough Tech”: Physical sciences, not digital (software) or life science in general • Startups that require long gestation, patient capital, specialized equipment and facilities • Breakthrough science over early profit • Not limited to MIT startups, investment managers not affiliated with MIT The Engine Fund: 1 st fund $150M, closed April 2017, $25M from MIT. The Engine Room: “Tough Tech” incubator + network of resources • Engine Fund and Engine Room operate independently, but a preference for startups that use both. The Engine Program: Guidance and mentoring The Engine Network: Corporate partnerships C. Noble -- IP2018 Istanbul -- October 2018
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