June 28, 2024, Salt Lake City, Utah
Summit Venture Studio (SVS) is a research and development company of the University of Utah. Technology Licensing OfficeSVS currently works with more than 80 universities across the country to start and invest in new software companies based on university-developed intellectual property.
Have a look at this TechBuzz Articles for October 2020 About the PIVOT Center, formerly the Technology Licensing Office: In 2023, the office appointed new leadership and rebranded to a new name, the Technology Licensing Office.
SVS offers a range of services to startups, but key to this is providing capital, typically between $200,000 and $400,000. We provide the startups in our portfolio with experienced talent to develop, launch and scale their ideas with go-to-market strategies based on proven principles.
SVS was launched in January 2020 with the approval of the Technology Licensing Office and the first investment in the fund. Taylor Bench and Spencer Walker (Managing Director of SVS) have worked together in the Technology Licensing Office for almost a decade, managing the new ventures team and the software development center. In December 2022, SVS raised a $9 million fund. The hybrid investment firm’s argument is that universities want to work with them to commercialize software developed at their universities by university faculty (not students).
Their guess was correct: since the end of 2022, 80 universities have partnered with SVS to commercialize university-developed software based on their professors’ research.
By recruiting local co-founders and employing established and proven entrepreneurial concepts such as the Big Idea Canvas, Y-Combinator techniques and other lean techniques, SVS unlocks innovations developed by university faculty and helps them gain traction in the market.
SVS also works with technology transfer offices at all universities in Utah and universities outside of Utah. Currently, we work with 80 universities. Every month, SVS receives hundreds of potential projects. In May 2024 alone, we received nearly 500 new project ideas from one of our partner universities, Johns Hopkins University.
In the past two years, SVS has founded 14 companies, nine of which are based on software IP from Utah universities.
The three SVS portfolio companies with ties to Utah are:
translation is a sports strength and conditioning software company from the University of Utah that grew out of the research of Dr. Ernie Reimer. FYTT’s technology is used by professional sports teams such as the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants, as well as several universities, including the University of Utah, Utah State University, Santa Clara University, and Ohio State University.
SVS has helped FYTT generate revenue and grow its customer base, now targeting high school sports and private gyms in addition to professional and collegiate sports.
Viewpoint is an educational technology platform that provides students with interactive live simulations. Created by Dr. Elizabeth Gerber, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, ViewPoint is led by University of Utah alumna and former professor Fiona Hayes. ViewPoint is used at 24 universities across the U.S. and has served 11,000 learners since its creation.
Edufresh is an online platform that aims to increase student engagement and reduce K12 teacher burnout through innovative learning tools and resources. Based on the research of a professor of educational psychology at the University of Utah, Dr. Aaron FisherEdufresh helps teachers and after-school staff understand problem behaviors and how to most effectively support students in the classroom.
Several schools in Utah, along with others across the country, have licensed and expanded adoption of EduFresh software, and SVS will work with Edufresh to increase adoption of Edufresh by educational institutions through the state program.
SVS provides its portfolio companies with a support network including sales, marketing, development, accounting and legal services to help portfolio company co-founders execute and gain traction in the market.
SVS also attracts domestic investor capital and fosters corporate partnerships.
SVS’ future plans include launching eight more portfolio companies in the coming months and recruiting local industry experts as co-founders for these companies. With great and unexpected innovations emerging from its university partners, SVS plans to raise a second fund soon.
The company also plans to host events such as simulations using ViewPoint software to foster community engagement on important relevant topics, as well as weekly educational and networking meetings called The Midday Connect (www.themiddayconnect.com).The company will also continue to recruit presidents, advisors and directors for its portfolio companies.
Above all, SVS will focus on generating initial revenue and guiding portfolio companies towards acquisitions or future funding rounds.
For more information about SVS, please visit SVS. Website.
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