News
Kinetica Labs – Ergonomic Motion Capture Software
1/9/2021University of Michigan (U-M) startup Kinetica Labs is revolutionizing the workplace safety market with a trio of motion capture applications launched in July 2020. The combination of a high-value technology platform and stringing together the right local resources and networks positioned the company for success. Kinetica Labs develops motion capture...
IMPACT Newsletter – November 2020
11/19/2020As we approach the end of 2020 and the beginning of a new year, I am filled with a sense of gratitude and even optimism. I am grateful to lead the Innovation Partnerships team in their efforts to serve and support the University of Michigan community of innovators . ....
Innovation Partnerships Ramps Up Great Lakes Discovery Program
11/18/2020After a 10-year alliance with up to $130 million in funding from Deerfield Management Co. was announced in May, the U-M Office of Innovation Partnerships has worked quickly to solicit the first round of project proposals and staff a role that will be essential for the alliance’s success. Under U-M’s...
2020 Distinguished Innovator of the Year
11/18/2020Creating online courthouses that improve access to justice and reduce disparities in our legal system earned J.J. Prescott, a University of Michigan law professor, this year’s Distinguished University Innovator Award. The award honors faculty who have developed transformative ideas, processes, or technologies and successfully brought them to market. Prescott’s...
Accelerate Blue Fund Approaches First Close Goal
11/18/2020The Accelerate Blue Fund, which will provide early-stage investment capital for U-M startup companies, has raised $1.5M of its “first close” goal of $2M thanks to the generous donations of its Founders Circle Members and Supporters. Accelerate Blue has a target size of $20 million, which will be raised through...
2020 Recipient of the Jessica Soulliere Award
11/18/2020For his positive attitude, work ethic and leadership, Chuck Cole, Associate Director of the Michigan Venture Center, was awarded U-M Innovation Partnerships’s Jessica Soulliere Outstanding Service Award. The award is named for our late colleague, Jessica Soulliere, who was a trusted and valued member of OTT with an exceptional work...
20th Annual Celebrate Invention – Recap
11/18/20202020 has definitely forced all of us to redefine work and networking. As the date approached for the 20th annual Celebrate Invention we faced a choice: cancel it for 2020, or figure out how to host an impactful virtual event to connect our U-M startups, innovators, and partners. We chose...
Outstanding Service Award 2020
10/19/2020Chuck Cole, Associate Director of Ventures, is the 2020 recipient of U-M Innovation Partnerships’s Jessica Soulliere Outstanding Service Award. This award is named for our colleague, Jessica Soulliere, who was a trusted and valued colleague with an exceptional work ethic and a strong commitment to providing exceptional service. Chuck was...
Great Lakes Discovery Request for Proposals
10/7/2020The Great Lakes Discovery Fall RFP Cycle is now open, with Letters of Intent being accepted through 11:59 P.M. ET on November 30, 2020. The Letter of Intent (LOI) submission will address the items below: Novelty Genetics Biologic Rationale Preclinical Models Clinical Development Selected applicants will be invited to complete...
Refraction AI
9/28/2020Last Mile Delivery Robots Find Their Place During Stay at Home Order U-M robotics startup Refraction AI designs and operates networked fleets of autonomous robotic delivery vehicles. In the COVID-19 crisis they saw a clear need for the “last-mile” logistics platform that they had been testing on the streets of...
U-M Innovation Partnerships Impact
9/9/2020As I reflect on the past year and the challenges of the past few months, I feel incredible admiration for the ingenuity, brilliance and drive of the University of Michigan community of innovators…Kelly Sexton, Associate Vice President for Research Technology Transfer and Innovation Partnerships
U-M Record-Breaking Growth in Startups FY20
9/9/2020U-M launches record number of startups, inventions in FY2020, during period marked by pandemic By Jeff Karoub, Michigan News ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan launched a record 31 startups in fiscal year 2020, a 40% increase during a period that included a pandemic and temporarily shuttered labs. U-M inventors went...