Colorado State University and CSU Ventures have created CSU Fund I LLC, a private equity investment fund, to help advance early-stage companies associated with CSU. The fund, which held its final close March 31, already has made one investment and is evaluating other opportunities. The fund is managed by CSU Management Corp., a subsidiary of the private, non-profit CSU Ventures, Inc., which helps the university to commercialize its research. A 10-year private investment fund, CSU Fund I is intended to provide seed and early-stage capital to promising new companies associated with CSU. In time, these investments are expected to help propel university start-ups and early-stage businesses to commercial success.

Companies that ultimately receive an investment from the fund must have an established association with CSU, such as a licensing relationship, research partnership, joint venture, or similar business relationship. Money invested in the fund comes from private investors, including individuals and large investment funds, rather than public sources, and the fund will seek to leverage these investments through syndication investments made with other VCs, angels, and private equity firms. CSU Fund I also will look for opportunities to leverage other funding sources, such as federal agencies, through programs such as the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.

CSU Fund I is based conceptually on an angel fund created in North Carolina in the early 2000s, according to Mark Wdowik, president and CEO of CSU Management Corp. and executive fund director for CSU Fund I. The Inception Micro Angel Fund was associated with the University of North Carolina System and the Small Business and Technology Development Center to spur economic development in the Triad region. The angel fund was started with initial investment of about $2 million by private investors to help spur entrepreneurship in an economically challenged area recovering from losses in the furniture and textile industries. Wdowik served as the executive director of the TTO at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before joining CSU in 2006. “These days, most venture capitalists won’t put money into investment opportunities unless the company’s making money and has customers in hand, which leaves few investing in bright new ideas at such an early stage in the company’s life cycle,” he says.

Source: Colorado State University

Posted July 28th, 2010 under Tech Transfer

Write a comment