Since 2007 the University Venture Development Fund (UVDF) has facilitated the commercialization of university discoveries and entrepreneurial activities at Oregon’s public universities. The UVDF at Portland State University is administered by Innovation and Intellectual Property (IIP). Awards are available to PSU startups that have licensed PSU intellectual property.
Startups commonly use UVDF funding for prototype development, equipment purchases, personnel salaries, incorporation costs, legal fees and lab and office space rentals. Over the last 14 years, IIP has provided at least 15 PSU startup companies with UVDF awards, supporting startups investigating solutions to problems ranging from wildfire detection to oxygen storage.
In addition to supporting startups, IIP has also used the fund to support innovation and entrepreneurial activities for PSU students by contributing to the purchase of equipment for the university's Electronic Prototyping Lab and providing funding for the Center for Entrepreneurship and the InventOR and Cleantech Challenge competitions.
In 2020 StoneStable, a PSU startup focused on serving the global need for vaccine stabilization using patented silica-coating technology, received a UVDF award for $100,005. This grant provided some of the funding necessary to forge a pathway to commercialization, including hiring subject-matter experts in vaccine stabilization as consultants.
"This was some of the expertise that we didn't have in-house," said Ken Stedman, Professor of Biology at PSU and Co-founder and CSO of StoneStable. "Working with these specialists is helping us achieve the milestones required to secure the next round of funding and to form strategic partnerships with vaccine manufacturers down the line."
The UVDF is funded in part by donors who receive tax credits for their donations. Additional funding is generated through licensing agreements between PSU and startup companies receiving UVDF awards.
"As startups become bigger and more successful or are acquired by a larger entity, we're able to reinvest the income generated through licensing in future startups, which allows PSU to continually support our regional innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems and economy," said Travis Woodland, Director of IIP.