Venture capitalists will have more direct, regular access to University of Michigan startups when the Michigan Venture Capital Association opens a collaboration office at U-M Tech Transfer’s Venture Accelerator, officials from MVCA and Tech Transfer have announced.
The organizations have a long history of collaboration. With state support, MVCA members have invested in many U-M startups, including HandyLab and Histosonics. MVCA has 200 members from 80 firms. Many of them are come from out-of-state, and office space at the university will be particularly useful for them, said Manisha Tayal, MVCA associate director.
“Our members will get to use this office space adjacent to U-M Tech Transfer to facilitate more interaction with university technologies and deal flow,” Tayal said. “It will also benefit U-M Tech Transfer and their university startups, who now will have more access to our venture capitalists and angel investors.”