USC Start-ups Raise $115M in Two Years

By Elisa Wiefel on November 4, 2009 12:48 PM

Since the beginning of 2008, 15 USC spin-off companies have raised approximately $115 million in financing.

“The impressive amount of cash going into USC start-ups is validation from the private sector and an early indicator of USC’s strategic focus on start-up creation,” said Krisztina Holly, vice provost for innovation and executive director for the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation.

The funding activity of USC spin-offs is especially interesting when considering the current economic climate. A report released in October by Dow Jones VentureSource called 2009 “the worst investment year since 2003.”

Although USC start-ups have seen a significant drop-off in venture capital, these companies have tapped other funding sources, including private investors, overseas investors and government grants.

“These investments are votes of confidence in the entrepreneurial potential of USC innovation and are fueling new businesses poised to make an impact in the next decade through new products and job creation,” Holly said. “I have to give the credit to our start-ups for their resourcefulness in raising funding from creative sources during these tough times and building innovative companies that can attract these investments in the first place.”

USC will formally announce the numbers at First Look L.A. 2009, an invitation-only look at emerging start-up opportunities from three of the city’s premier research institutions: the California Institute of Technology, UCLA and USC.

As in past years, invited venture capitalists and other investors will get a “first look” at pre-screened start-up opportunities from all three universities in physical sciences and life sciences.

TAGS: innovation, research

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