Colorado State University and CSU Ventures have created CSU Fund I, a private equity investment fund that will help advance early-stage companies associated with CSU.
CSU Fund I held its final close on 31 March. The fund has already made one investment and is evaluating several other investment opportunities.
The fund is managed by CSU Management, a subsidiary of the private, non-profit CSU Ventures, which helps the university to commercialise new research innovations associated with business development, global partnerships and commercialisation activities.
“This resource offers a critical piece of the puzzle for accelerating our cutting-edge research,” says Tony Frank (pictured), president of Colorado State University. “We are pleased that investors see the promise in Colorado State’s faculty and research excellence. Few universities have initiated this type of fund, which says a lot about the potential impact, success and commercial value of our programmes as well as investors’ support of CSU.”
CSU Fund I, a ten-year private investment fund, is intended to provide seed and early-stage capital to promising new companies associated with Colorado State University. The fund is expected to enhance wealth creation for its investors and portfolio companies through strategic, ROI-focused investments. In time, these investments are expected to help propel university startups and early-stage businesses to large commercial success.
The fund was based conceptually on an angel fund created in North Carolina in the early 2000s, according to Mark Wdowik, president and chief executive of CSU Management and executive fund director for CSU Fund I. The Inception Micro Angel Fund was associated with the University of Northern Carolina System and the Small Business and Technology Development Center to spur economic development in the Triad region.
Wdowik served as the executive director of the technology transfer office at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before joining Colorado State in 2006.
“These days, most venture capitalists won’t put money into investment opportunities unless the company’s making money and has customers in hand, which leaves few investing in early bright new ideas at such an early stage in the company’s lifecycle,” Wdowik says.
