IU announces new $15 million Philanthropic Venture Fund

Seeded with $15 million, the new IU Philanthropic Venture Fund will be available to faculty, students and staff at all IU campuses to foster the creation and development of startup companies. The IU Research and Technology Corp., which has supported startup development activities at the university for two decades, is managing the donation-fed fund. It will consider opportunities for investment in April.

There’s no official cap to the amount an applicant might receive from the new IU Philanthropic Venture Fund, though comparable funds have awarded as much as $500,000. More information on how to apply will be available soon at innovate indiana.iu.edu.

Tony Armstrong, IURTC president and CEO, said the fund is meant to successfully commercialize ventures with a foreseeable impact. He listed research that contributes to a cure for a disease, a medical device or an e-learning program as innovative examples.

“There’s certainly a financial benefit from this, but I think having our alumni engaged in these companies and moving those forward is going to be the biggest benefit of them all,” Armstrong said.