IU Launching New Venture Fund

Yet another reason to be proud of my old alma mater. Our friends at Inside INdiana Business report:

The Innovate Indiana Fund is the latest in a series of moves by Indiana University President Michael McRobbie aimed at leveraging IU’s substantial entrepreneurial research capabilities, technology and business resources in an effort to help grow the state’s economy.

In early November, IU dedicated a new $10 million Innovation Center, which will serve as a state-of-the-art home for university researchers and start-up companies. The center is expected to be a hub for alliances between the information technology (IT) and life sciences sectors and as an anchor for a new technology corridor along 10th Street and the Indiana 45/46 Bypass in Bloomington.

IU has proven this year that translating innovation into successful companies in the marketplace can be lucrative. Angel Learning, which grew out of IU’s Emerging Technologies Center in Indianapolis, was sold for $100 million, making it the largest single commercialization deal in the history of the university. Because of the investment in the company, IU and its Research and Technology Corporation realized $23 million for the sale.

In 2007, McRobbie named Bill Stephan as vice president of engagement, with a focus on connecting the university with businesses and communities statewide in an effort to help enhance economic development and quality of life in the state.