A survey by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) shows that the University of Utah has been crowned as the startup king of universities for the second year in a row.
Photo credit - Tech Ventures, U of Utah
The U of Utah had 18 startups from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, followed by MIT with 17 startups and Brigham Young University with 13.
The AUTM survey is based on information collected from 183 U.S. institutions including 155 universities, and 27 hospitals and research centers.
All told, these 183 institutions created 651 startup companies, or an average of four startups per institution. The 10-campus University of California system had 75, and the nine campuses at the University of Texas had 33.
Here’s the top ten list of the U.S.campuses with the most startups in 2010:-
- U of Utah – 18
- MIT – 17
- Brigham Young University – 13
- Columbia – 12
- Cornell – 12
- Johns Hopkins – 11
- Purdue – 11
- Cal Tech – 10
- Carnegie Mellon – 10
- Univ. of Michigan – 10
The U of Utah’s consistent position at the top of this list can be attributed largely to the Technology Venture Development (Tech Ventures) that was established in 2005, and their Technology Commercialization Office (TCO).
Tech Ventures fund everything from legal and financial/accounting services to websites and working space for startups. They help with product development, and even bring in graduate students to help startups with business plans and investment models. Faculty members are promoted and tenured based on the volume and success of their commercialization projects.
As a result of this mini-private enterprise business ecosystem established within the campus, the U of Utah has launched more than 200 startups after its first startup (TerraTek) was launched in 1970. Of these, 125 have been launched in the last 6 years alone, thanks to Tech Ventures.
“We have a tremendous culture of innovation that makes Utah one of the friendliest places for inventors and entrepreneurs, and everyone in the state benefits from the resulting economic growth,” says Jack Brittain, vice president for Technology Venture Development at the University of Utah. “We are also fortunate to have state and university programs that support technology development so we can create companies in Utah.”
In 2009, U of Utah startups directly or indirectly accounted for 15,767 jobs, $754.5 million in personal income and $76.6 million in tax revenue. The volume of startups and the resultant financial bonanza comes relatively cheap. While MIT spent almost $1.4 billion on research in 2010, the U of Utah’s research spending amounted to only $450 million.
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