In the fourth part of OUP’s Funding and Equity webinar series, Mitra Miri and Nii Dodoo-Amoo of OUP discuss what a startup founder should expect when fundraising from venture capital groups. They begin with an overview of how venture capital firms operate to provide context for startup founders before a deep dive into the diligence…
Here are some key takeaways from our webinar on recent university startup financing trends. For more exclusive financing data around university startups, watch the full webinar below.
Last year, Congress passed the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), which significantly expands the authorities of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). In November of 2018, the U.S. Federal Government began a pilot program of these new FIRRMA authorities to review and in some cases restrict investment by non-U.S. sources in “critical technology” areas. Those “critical” areas currently include certain types of software, aerospace products, energy storage products, and many more technologies. In addition, the government is engaged in a proceeding to consider expanding the set of “critical” fields to include biotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, and advanced materials, among others.
Academics looking to maximize the impact of their research shouldn’t consider commercialization a Faustian bargain, trading open publication and monetary returns. Open-source software can be a successful strategy towards both impact and income.
Join David Dorsey and John Lee of Osage University Partners as they discuss why open source provides substantial advantages for software startups and why it has become the de facto method for deploying and commercializing software.
We’re almost halfway through 2018, which means it is once again time for OUP’s annual financing trends webinar. Which sectors have had the greatest investment and which are facing funding challenges? How do these trends apply to advancing academic technologies? What does the beginning of 2018 imply for the rest of the year and what lies over the horizon?
Hardware is hard. Large capital requirements, long development timelines, and fickle customers are classic critiques that VCs focus on when evaluating a hardware startup. Yet substantial investments in quantum computing, semiconductors, and additive manufacturing prove that an industry-changing vision with cutting edge technology can overcome investor hesitations about the sector. And while the numbers show that investment dollars into software outpace hardware, the reality is the two keywords no longer separate the industry as many hardware entrepreneurs and investors have learned the benefits of software-enabled “things.” Is the market returning to hardware bets? What do investors want to see in 2018? What are avoidable pitfalls of pitching a hardware story?
In 1981, as part of the Economic Recovery Tax Act, Congress enacted a federal R&D tax credit to encourage investment into software and technology. The credit today remains one of the largest incentives for businesses in the US. Historically, the credit was only applicable to deductions in income tax, which made it challenging for startups…