Colleges Funnel Millions Into On-Campus Startups

Colleges Funnel Millions Into On-Campus Startups
Dr. Jeehwan Kim, a mechanical engineering professor at MIT, with the molecular beam epitaxy system that manufactures semiconductor divices such as the lasers used to read CDs. Lillie Paquette/MIT School of Engineering
Emel Akan
Updated:

Universities are home to innovation and new technologies, but some of the big ideas coming out of school labs may never become a reality. Turning them into viable businesses requires money, patience, and investor appetite.

But thanks to dozens of university venture capital funds that have cropped up in the United States in recent years, smart ideas can now easily get off the ground. The Engine, a venture fund established by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is one of them.

“Universities are trying to understand how they can better support the companies that are coming out of their labs. And that is becoming a trend,” said Katie Rae, president, CEO, and managing partner of The Engine.

Founded in October last year, The Engine will help MIT students and faculty turn their smart ideas into viable businesses. The fund has raised over $150 million from investors, including $25 million from MIT as a limited partner. In 2016, MIT was ranked as the second-most innovative university in the world, based on academic papers and patent filings, according to Reuters.

The fund will invest in startups that develop so-called “tough” technologies—breakthrough ideas that require time and patient capital—in the sectors of robotics, manufacturing, medical devices, biotechnology, and energy.

Katie Rae, president, CEO, and managing partner of The Engine (Courtesy of Katie Rae)
Katie Rae, president, CEO, and managing partner of The Engine Courtesy of Katie Rae
Emel Akan
Emel Akan
Reporter
Emel Akan is a senior White House correspondent for The Epoch Times, where she covers the policies of the Trump administration. Previously, she reported on the Biden administration and the first term of President Trump. Before her journalism career, she worked in investment banking at JPMorgan. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University.
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