A news story from TenU, an international collaboration of leading technology transfer offices, has stated that the the UK could be missing out on thousands of cutting-edge spinout companies due to a shortage in support for academics to take the first step towards forming a business, experts are warning.
The Government wants to see a boom in spinouts, companies formed from university breakthroughs, as part of its growth mission. Bridging the gap from research to commercialising an innovation can be very challenging – it’s described by some as the ‘Valley of Death’. But relatively small amounts of funding or access to commercial expertise can make all the difference.
That is why universities, founders and investors are coming together at a major event to urge Government to expand a national fund that supports academics to get their innovations ready for investment. The Government announced a £40m Proof-of-Concept (PoC) five-year fund at the Autumn Budget for inventors to test and validate their ideas so they are more attractive to investors.
But TenU, which represents leading universities’ technology transfer teams, warns that the first £9m tranche of the fund is significantly oversubscribed with thousands of academics to miss out. The group also argues that countries such as Belgium and Australia invest significantly more in PoC funding.
TenU has commissioned a working group, including representatives from PoC funds, national funders, investors, and industry, to devise creative ideas for the future of PoC funding.
After a series of in-depth sessions, TenU is recommending a bold development of the PoC fund in which public funding is offered alongside support from the business world to test, validate and research markets for their breakthroughs – with investors also brought in to support the application and decision-making process.
The recommendation is being released ahead of TenU’s latest event: “Pathway to Growth: Driving Innovation Further, Faster” which is being held at the British Academy on 20 May – where the working group’s chair Adam Stoten will present the findings.
Read more about this event, the call to action and TenU’s activities, here.
