The Center for Innovative Technology announced the release of the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund annual report for FY2016, which tracks the Fund’s investments in high-potential initiatives throughout Virginia. Outcomes reported in FY2016 by Fund awardees identify early returns on the Commonwealth’s investments. The CRCF was created by the Virginia General Assembly to accelerate innovation and to drive economic development throughout the Commonwealth, while solving important state, national, and international problems through technology research, development, and commercialization.
CIT tracks outcomes from CRCF award recipients during the period of performance and for five years following project conclusion. Highlights of the newly released report follow; access the complete CRCF FY2016 Annual Report to learn more.
- Additional funding leveraged. In FY2016, CRCF award recipients reported attracting more than $69 million in follow-on monies to support research and technology efforts after CRCF projects concluded. Sources of funding ranged from angel and venture capital to corporate partners to grant funding. An additional $7 million was leveraged from in-kind support and nearly $96 million has been reported as pending, with more than 50% from funding rounds that are underway.
- Organizational growth and expansion. In FY2016, at least three new companies were formed to commercialize or otherwise extend the reach of CRCF-developed technologies, at least four organizations expanded or established facilities, and at least two companies relocated their operations to the Commonwealth. More than 150 jobs have been created, including full-time and part-time and with hires ranging from students supporting a specific project to senior-level executives to consultants. Nearly 150 jobs with a similar spectrum have been retained. CRCF awardees reported more than $9.5 million in sales revenue over the past year, with three organizations each reporting figures of more than $1.5 million.
- Products / services introduced to market. At least 11 new products and/or services have been introduced to market, as reported by CRCF awardees in FY2016, and two organizations anticipate near-term releases; an additional 30 technologies were reported as under development, including at the beta, demo, or prototype stage. At least 250 licenses for CRCF-funded software have been sold.
- Intellectual property created and licensed. CRCF award recipients reported 19 patents awarded, more than 50 patents filed or pending, and 16 patent applications under development; this includes USPTO, PCT, non-U.S., and provisional patents. Additionally, eight invention disclosures have been reported, along with several trade secrets and trademarks. Three organizations have executed licensing agreements for their technology, ongoing licensing discussions were reported by several other organizations, and at least nine organizations have reported licensing IP from Virginia colleges and universities.
- Regulatory applications and approvals. Fund recipients reported that 16 clinical trials were completed, underway, or recently approved for CRCF-funded technologies. Additionally, at least two awardees are engaged in or on the path to pre-clinical research and investigational studies.
- Publications prepared and accepted. Articles by CRCF award recipients appear in respected industry journals, and recipients have given numerous presentations domestically and internationally about their novel technology. In FY2016, more than 260 total publications and presentations were disclosed by CRCF recipients. Of this, more than 200 have been accepted and/or delivered, 35 have been submitted and are awaiting acceptance, and nearly 30 are being developed.
Ed Albrigo, President and CEO of CIT, said, “The CRCF drives critical efforts to advance innovation and entrepreneurship in the Commonwealth by identifying and funding high-growth opportunities at some of the earliest stages of research and development. The Fund provides research teams with access to capital at a pivotal stage in their process, enabling technological breakthroughs in key industry sectors that have been identified as focal points for Virginia.”
Since the inception of the CRCF program in 2011, nearly 616 applications have been submitted from all of the Commonwealth’s ten technology regions. From these submissions, 232 awards totaling nearly $20 million were announced, and are being leveraged with more than $50 million in committed matching funds. CRCF projects have covered the following technology sectors: advanced manufacturing, aerospace, communications, cyber security, energy, environment, information technology – including data analytics, life sciences, modeling and simulation, nuclear physics, transportation, and unmanned systems.
In FY2016, CIT announced 48 grants to startups, universities and research institutes engaged in research and development projects totaling $3.4 million in five technology sectors: cyber security; energy; information technology, specifically data analytics; life sciences; and unmanned systems, for air, ground, sea, or space. This investment was leveraged with an additional $11.6 million from award recipients.
This fall, CIT announced that approximately $2.8 million is available for the FY2017 solicitation, currently underway. Although Letters of Intent are no longer being accepted this round, information on the programs and industry sectors is available via cit.org/initiatives/crcf/fy2017-solicitation. Award announcements are planned for early June 2017.
Additional information regarding the CRCF can be accessed at cit.org/initiatives/crcf.
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