An accelerator set up by four North East universities has launched a £1.7m seed investment fund that aims to support spin-out businesses that come from top academic research.
The fund from the Northern Accelerator, which will be managed by Northstar Ventures, aims to make significant investments in businesses with the best commercial ideas and high growth potential in a targeted group of sectors, including healthcare, clean technology and data.
Further funding will be made available during the year.
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The Northern Accelerator - which is made up of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria and Sunderland universities - aims to turn university research into commercially viable and highly investible businesses.
The number of spin-out businesses from Northern Accelerator has more than doubled over the past year and has increased fivefold since the partnership began in 2016.
Based on the most recent data, this boosted growth in spin-out company creation has put the Northern Accelerator universities on a par with the golden triangle universities which are generally considered the leaders in this field.
Alice Frost, director of knowledge exchange at Research England, said: “I very much welcome Northern Accelerator’s launch of a Seed Investment Fund. This is an important step along the way for a vital development in the North East that can increase commercialisation of university research and address the Government’s levelling up agenda.
“It demonstrates that universities are addressing key challenges in the Government’s R&D roadmap and in COVID19 economic recovery. It also highlights the importance of Research England’s Connecting Capability Fund as a driver for collaboration and success.”
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Durham University vice-chancellor Prof Stuart Corbridge said: “The launch of the Seed Investment Fund will be a catalyst for change in the North East and builds on four years of success in converting academic innovation into successful enterprises that boost the region’s economy.
“There is a high degree of collaboration between our region’s universities and a wealth of untapped potential demonstrated in a promising pipeline of innovation that builds on our research strengths. The new fund will unlock that potential, not only impacting the economy but also allowing more of our great research and innovation to make a real-world impact.”
Newcastle University vice-chancellor Prof Chris Day said: “Our region’s universities are converting more and more academic research and innovation into successful businesses. This is helping the economy by creating new highly-skilled jobs and drawing investment to the region. It also helps to move research from our region to make an impact around the world.
“The launch of the Seed Investment Fund will help to develop more viable businesses and accelerate growth.”