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The Ventures team at Innovation Partnerships offers a variety of resources through our connections with University, public, and private partners. Start accessing insights from these connections today.

Startup Incubator

The Innovation Partnerships Startup Incubator provides resources to qualified U-M startups. The Incubator offers flexible leases for world-class lab and office space in the U-M North Campus Research Complex. Tenants are provided with concierge service and networking opportunities to accelerate their ventures.

Mentors-in-Residence

Created in 2008, the Mentor-in-Residence (MIR) program was a direct response to a demonstrated need for experienced business professionals to assist with the multiple startup projects in the U-M pipeline. Innovation Partnerships’ Mentors-in-Residence assist with the raising of startup capital, identifying and connecting startup founders with talent including executives, the identification of early customers and partners, general business, commercial, and financial strategies, business structure and planning and other valuable services. The MIR team is composed of experienced business and investment professionals in a variety of industries and are eager to help you build your startup company.

MTRAC

Translational research funding is key early-stage grant money to enable the transition from successful academic research to an innovation that is sufficiently developed, de-risked, and on the path to commercialization. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) has provided funding for five MTRAC Translational Hubs across the state. Innovation Partnerships manages two hubs, MTRAC for Life Sciences and MTRAC for Advanced Transportation, and collaborates with hubs run by other institutions for Advanced Applied Materials, Advanced Computing and AgBio.

Accelerate Blue Fund

The Accelerate Blue Fund (AB Fund) is an early stage venture fund that exclusively invests in University of Michigan (U-M) licensed IP startups, managed by the Innovation Partnerships Ventures team.

The goal of Accelerate Blue is to bridge the funding gap between initial launch and angel/VC funding for startups based on University of Michigan intellectual property. The Fund is an opportunity to further enhance U-M’s leadership position in research, technology innovation and commercialization by creating a critical new resource to support U-M startups. In addition to risk tolerant early stage capital, the AB Fund provides extensive connections to other investors, business mentoring and IP support through the U-M Innovation Partnerships licensing team.

Accelerate Blue Foundry

The Accelerate Blue Foundry is a new program designed to bridge the gap between startup founders and some of the most promising innovations from University of Michigan research. By connecting top entrepreneurial talent with U-M technologies, the program will accelerate the path to startup launch, fostering new ventures that have the opportunity to solve the world’s great challenges.