NUtech Ventures, the tech transfer organization at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has launched a new Innovation Advancement Fund to help move academic research toward becoming a viable product.

“Many promising university discoveries never reach the marketplace because they require additional development before companies, investors, or startup teams are willing to invest,” the fund’s landing page said. 

“Rather than funding new scientific research, the program supports focused, milestone-driven activities that move innovations closer to commercialization,” it said.

The fund is open to UNL faculty working with inventions that have been disclosed to NUtech Ventures. Applications are open until Sept. 15 for up to 10 spots.

The fund is supported by $100,000 from the UNL Office of Research and Innovation, with additional funding available from the Agricultural Research Division, College of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences for their faculty. 

Individual awards of up to $20,000 will help researchers test whether their inventions have commercial viability. That can include building prototypes, doing pilot studies and other technical validation.

Though not mentioned on NUtech’s website, the fund could be used together with a Nebraska Department of Economic Development prototype or academic research and development grant to compound support for university entrepreneurship. 

Startup ecosystem advocates often talk about a spectrum of funding that, when combined, can give new startups better financial footing for success.

Startups such as Sentinel Ag, which works on soil health, and Drone Amplified, which addresses avalanche and fire management, found their start with UNL researchers and support from NUtech Ventures. Both startups also received prototype grants.

The Innovation Advancement Fund is part of a wider shift in tech transfer. It used to be that university innovations were largely licensed to companies that would incubate research into products available to the public. 

But now, businesses see that as a risky investment. They want new inventions to be more developed, either by universities or by startups, before acquiring them. That has led tech transfer offices to invest more heavily in entrepreneurship and funds to bridge technology from the lab to commercialization.