UC Davis set a new record for external research funding in the fiscal year 2019-20, receiving $941.2 million in awards, a $94.5 million increase from the previous year. The awards reflect a broad range of critical work, from therapies for pancreatic cancer and disability research to new online learning platforms and tackling issues related to climate change. UC Davis researchers also applied their unique areas of expertise to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. More than two dozen grants totaling $2.4 million were awarded during the fiscal year. The federal government remains the top funder for research at UC Davis, but the University also saw notable activity from other funders, including $85.4 million in business funding, an $11 million increase from the previous year.... Read More

Emerging innovators interested in technology commercialization can learn a lot from experienced entrepreneurs. This talk will focus on challenges and rewards of starting and growing companies based on university technologies. Ted Daley will draw from his experiences as a founder of and advisor to biotechnology companies spun out of University of California campuses, and will offer helpful perspective to people considering starting their own companies and practical advice to early-stage founders.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020, 10:30 – 11:45 am

UC Davis has been awarded $20 million as part of a multi-institutional collaboration to establish an institute focused on enabling the next-generation food system through the integration of artificial intelligence, or AI, technologies. The AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems, or AIFS, aims to meet growing demands in the food supply by increasing efficiencies using AI and bioinformatics spanning the entire system — from growing crops through consumption.... Read More

Aijun Wang, a UC Davis associate professor of surgery and biomedical engineering, was awarded a $500,000 grant to create the next generation of vascular grafts for patients with end-stage kidney disease. The funding, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and American Society of Nephrology (ASN), will enable Wang to improve kidney dialysis by improving grafts that connect blood vessels and maintain the blood flow rate. The generous award stems from the KidneyX: Redesign Dialysis Phase 2 competition, which Wang won during the recent virtual KidneyX Summit.... Read More

UCSF, UC Davis, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory formed a Tri-Institutional Partnership in Microbiome Research (TrIP Microbiome) to leverage their collective expertise in these areas. Together, the TrIP Microbiome institutions will catalyze and fund novel, bold, and potentially transformative collaborative microbiome research projects proposed by their scientists. The first round of funding was awarded to five cross-institutional teams.... Read More

UC Davis is planning a unique, multidisciplinary approach to screening its on-campus population for COVID-19 this fall. The limiting factor with most COVID-19 testing is the time it takes to get results, which would be a problem in keeping the coronavirus from spreading through a college campus. UC Davis is ramping up to be able to screen individuals for COVID-19 much faster using an open-source method that may avoid some of the bottlenecks of other approaches..... Read More

Visit the website: https://covid19research.ucdavis.edu/

Venture Capitalists and COVID-19 (SSRN)

Researchers surveyed over 1,000 venture capitalists at over 900 firms to understand how the pandemic has affected their decisions and investments. According to the findings, VC investment pace is down to 71% of normal. The findings further indicate that 52% of VC portfolio companies are positively affected or unaffected by the pandemic, 38% are negatively affected, and 10% are severely negatively affected. Many VCs have also dedicated more time to provide guidance and support to portfolio companies.... Read More

Announcing the YC Startup Library (Y Combinator)

Y Combinator announced the launch of the YC Startup Library, a central location with advice and content for the public. The new library offers entrepreneurs knowledge such as strategies on pitching, fundraising, and navigating the coronavirus pandemic.... Read More

Agtech Sector Blooms As More Dollars and Startups Rush In (Crunchbase)

Investments and startup activity in the agtech space have increased significantly over the past five years. According to Crunchbase, VCs invested $4 billion in agtech startups in both 2018 and 2019. With $2.6 billion invested so far, 2020 is on track to repeat or even exceed the activity of the previous two years.... Read More

EPA, USDA Launch Next-Generation Fertilizer Challenge (Feedstuffs)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Agriculture partnered to create the Next Gen Fertilizer Challenges. The competition, launched to further agricultural sustainability efforts and adopt new technologies in the U.S., consists of two challenges that aim to increase the development and use of fertilizer technologies to maintain or improve crop yields while reducing the environmental footprint of fertilizers.... Read More

Collaboration Between Start-Ups and Federal Agencies: A Surprising Solution for Energy Innovation (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation) 

Collaborations between climate-tech startups and government partners help startups overcome obstacles and yield more favorable results. With these collaborations, outcomes related to patenting and follow-on financing are often greater than collaborations with private firms or universities. Despite their promise, climate-tech startups face a VC environment that still perceives this sector as risky and unattractive from an investment standpoint.... Read More 

UC Davis Venture Catalyst supports the development of new ventures fueled by university research and technology. Venture Catalyst offers several innovative programs that bridge the gap between early-stage research and commercialization and provide entrepreneurs the resources, support, and connections needed to successfully form and grow technology-based startups. With a focus on accelerating technology-led economic development in the Davis-Sacramento region, Venture Catalyst also works closely with partners in the regional innovation and economic development ecosystems. 

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