U of M Shatters Startup Record, Unveils Initiative for Innovation
The University of Minnesota (U of M) is celebrating a record-breaking year for technology commercialization, having launched 25 startup companies in the 2024 fiscal year. This marks the fourth consecutive year of record-breaking numbers for the university. Simultaneously, the U of M announced the launch of a new initiative, “Discover, Advance, Impact,” designed to scale up its commercialization efforts. This initiative aims to transform discoveries into real-world solutions.
Since the Venture Center’s establishment in 2006 (a division of University of Minnesota Technology Commercialization), the U of M has fostered over 260 startup companies, maintaining a long-term success rate of 68%. Impressively, 73% of these ventures remain within Minnesota. In fiscal year 2024, an outstanding 88% (22 out of 25) of the new startups were located in-state. The 25 startups also align with the university’s strategic plan, which is focused on spinning out “25 by 2025.”
“Over the last five years, only a handful of universities nationally have been creating 20 or more startups per year,” said Rick Huebsch, Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation. “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.”
The U of M’s technology transfer performance has earned it the designation of “No. 1 in the Heartland,” placing it among the top 15 U.S. public universities for key commercialization metrics. These include the number of deals, disclosures, and startups, according to recent survey data from trade associations. The university also consistently ranks among the top 20 U.S. universities for the number of U.S. utility patents issued.
“As one of the nation’s leading public research universities, we have a unique responsibility to ensure our innovations and discoveries are translated in ways that positively benefit people and the communities in which they live,” stated President Rebecca Cunningham. “Our researchers across the University of Minnesota System have cultivated an ecosystem for innovation, and as a result, we continue to create new products and solutions that transform, improve and enhance the world around us.”
New Initiatives to Support Future Innovation
Under the “Discover, Advance, Impact” fundraising initiative, the University is aiming to improve its established processes for connecting innovators with opportunities and bringing innovations to market. The goal is to raise $40 million to bolster its existing “end-to-end” technology transfer model, which is currently limited by the size of the innovation pipeline.
“The University fully believes in this vision and we’re demonstrating it by providing our own $20 million matching investment,” said Vice President for Research and Innovation Shashank Priya. “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.”
Priya highlighted several promising university startups, including the following:
- Niron Magnetics: Producing the world’s first high-performance sustainable magnet, with potential applications for EVs and clean energy.
- Jord BioScience: Leveraging microbes to improve crop production and reduce chemical use.
- Stimdia Medical: Developing a neurostimulation therapy to facilitate independent breathing and quicker weaning of patients from mechanical ventilation.
- Reflection Sciences: Providing tools for teachers to measure student executive function to assist with academic success.
- Objective Biotechnology: The company constructed a robot that uses machine learning to automate a complicated microinjection process used in genetic research. The technology won the Top Founder of Color prize at the 2024 MN Cup.
According to Huebsch, to support early-stage innovation, the university offers gap funding, which allows faculty the time to hire scientists to advance early research ideas toward commercial viability. For later-stage development, such as when an invention is part of a startup, the university partnered with an outside entity to launch DiscoveryMN Angels, which is a network of angel investors who seek to invest in startups led by alumni, faculty, and supporters of the University of Minnesota.
The university is also developing a “Founder’s Pledge,” a non-binding pledge of support to the U of M to aid the early growth of successful U of M entrepreneurs.
“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,” said Huebsch. “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.”
