UF Creates $1 Million Venture Fund for Faculty Startups

In its ongoing efforts to rise to Top 5, the University of Florida has established its own venture fund to benefit startups founded on university research.

Starting this fiscal year, the university will provide $1 million a year to fund startups founded on UF technology. Jim O’Connell, assistant vice president for commercialization at UF and director of UF Innovate | Tech Licensing, envisions the venture fund could provide between $200,000 and $500,000 for 2 to 5 UF startups in a fiscal year.

“That’s great news for our faculty,” said O’Connell. “With the Institute for the Commercialization of Florida Technology shifting focus, neither the state or the university had a seed-stage investment vehicle. We felt the need to fill some of that gap, and this $1 million fund should do just that.”

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