Virginia Tech aims for more spinouts after years of lagging behind
Virginia Tech is conducting more research than ever, but the amount of technology spinning out of its labs and into the real world has underachieved.
It’s a conundrum with major implications for the local economy, as Virginia Tech is the leading driver of the burgeoning technology industry taking shape around Blacksburg and Roanoke. If the university’s inventions aren’t escaping the lab, they’re not turning into local startups, attracting venture capital or paying salaries to keep young talent here.
TEConomy Partners, which recently conducted a statewide study of the local technology ecosystem, identified Tech’s recent lackluster performance as a major stumbling block for this region’s aspirations to become a vibrant technology hub.
The number of patent applications filed by Virginia Tech fell between 2013 and 2016 from 142 to 97, according to data from Association of University Technology Managers, or AUTM. The money earned from licensing deals was down from $2.37 million to $1.84 million.
To read more of this extensive article and the path tech is moving towards, check out the entire article below.