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Drexel Applied Innovation at Drexel University has launched a program to encourage and support the formation of startup companies based on research at the university. The “Drexel Express Startup License” is a startup- and investor-friendly licensing agreement with pre-set terms. This new licensing tool will be used in cases where the startup is partnering with Drexel Applied Innovation to successfully complete designated commercialization pathways.
The Drexel Express Startup License aims to significantly streamline the licensing process and reduce the turn-around times from months to weeks, enabling the startup and its founders to focus their energy on building a company and not on negotiations.
“From my past experience as a co-founder of a venture-funded university spinout, I know that launching a startup is challenging enough. The typical university startup licensing process can be very frustrating and time consuming for the startup which adds to that challenge. The new program enables my team to be on the same side as the startup team so that we can be a partner in their pursuit to make real-world impact,” says Shintaro Kaido, vice provost for innovation and executive director of Drexel Applied Innovation.
The pre-set terms are significantly more favorable than those typically extended to startups by universities and are supported by leading investors, such as the venture capital investors in the Kauffman Fellows Network, a selective global fellowship of 713 venture capital professionals founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in 1994.
The licensing program will be first offered to Drexel innovators successfully completing the NSF I-Corps Teams program and receiving the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award. Drexel Applied Innovation will be introducing additional pathways in the future to serve the diverse needs of Drexel entrepreneurial teams.
Under Drexel University’s Office of Research & Innovation, Drexel Applied Innovation provides technology licensing, industry sponsored research support and startup services to assist and elevate the impact endeavors of Drexel faculty, post-doc’s and graduate students.