A team of venture capitalists is starting a new firm that aims to turn technology developed by university students and faculty into successful startup companies.
Herndon-based InnovateTech debuted Wednesday and was founded by Gerard Eldering, who has formed several companies based on new technologies, such as SquareLoop, Quickpath Bioscience and Mogility.
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Elderling has teamed with three area venture capitalists for the new company: Richard Harris from Redshift Ventures, Tom Gillespie from In-Q-Tel and Mark Levine from Core Capital.
InnovateTech plans to identify which technologies could form the base of a startup company, and then help those individuals find the funding and management they need to turn their technology into a commercial success, Elderling said Wednesday.
The group is starting with a small pool of funding and hopes to make four or five deals in its first few years. Then, InnovateTech will go out to raise capital for a significant first-round investment in a firm, he said.
Elderling said he expects about 75 percent of the company’s work to be with local companies.
“In Boston or Silicon Valley, there are plenty of folks with my credentials or better out there,” he said. “Here there is a massive volume of research being done and federal funding opportunities.”
InnovateTech will focus on areas such as information technology and aviation, and do less work in such areas as medical equipment and life sciences because Elderling said many firms already work in those industries.
The group already has a contract with the nonprofit Mitre Corp., where Elderling worked previously, and is pursuing relationships with surrounding universities in the Washington area, though he said he had no partnerships to announce yet.
Jennifer Murphy, director of George Mason University’s technology transfer program, said the new company is welcome news because offices like hers are traditionally understaffed.
“Anybody who can help us identify good commercialization pathways for our technology is welcome in this space,” Murphy said, adding that she hasn’t seen a similar company start up in the area for years.
