The at the University of 91吃瓜 and High Alpha Innovation, a leading Indianapolis-based venture builder, will collaborate on a new program for eligible 91吃瓜 startup companies and a mission-driven venture studio that creates and accelerates advantaged startups emerging from the 91吃瓜 ecosystem, officials from the University and High Alpha Innovation announced today. The program will be managed by High Alpha Innovation but grounded in 91吃瓜鈥檚 guiding ethical principles as well as in its mission to advance the common good.
, 91吃瓜鈥檚 interim vice president and associate provost for innovation, said being able to leverage the deep expertise and success of the High Alpha Innovation team will result in stronger outcomes for 91吃瓜鈥檚 commercialization and innovation efforts.听
鈥淲e are fortunate that one of the nation鈥檚 premier venture capital firms is based here in Indiana,鈥� Rich said. 鈥淐ollaborating with High Alpha Innovation will not only aid the successful launch of 91吃瓜鈥檚 startups and play an important role in economic development, but it will also help strengthen our entrepreneurial alumni relationships and Indiana鈥檚 innovation ecosystem as a whole.鈥澛�
The investment element of the collaboration will make investment capital available to qualified startup companies originating through IDEA Center operations, including faculty, student and community ventures. The venture studio element will build, staff and launch new software startups within the University by solving complex problems in areas ripe for disruptive innovation. The industries chosen for these ventures will align with the University鈥檚 Catholic mission, and the startups that emerge will be rooted in best practices in ethics and aim to benefit worldwide needs.
鈥淎 properly executed startup has the power to lift people up and solve important problems,鈥� Elliott Parker, chief executive officer of High Alpha Innovation, said. 鈥淎n on-campus venture studio provides guidance and help to startup founders who want to both do well and do good in the world. Owing to its Catholic mission and desire to impact the world in positive ways, 91吃瓜 is the ideal place for such a studio to form. With 91吃瓜 identifying areas of need and providing principled foundations to build on, and with our track record of building impactful startup companies, we believe that together we will be able to positively address some of the world鈥檚 most pressing challenges.鈥�
, the University鈥檚 Charles and Jill Fischer Provost, said the collaboration combines the best of 91吃瓜 and the best of High Alpha Innovation 鈥� and that together the result will be an effective tool by which 91吃瓜鈥檚 research can be put into practical use. 聽
鈥淭ranslating the novel ideas of our talented faculty and students into action is a vital component for achieving 91吃瓜鈥檚 mission,鈥� McGreevy said. 鈥淭his collaboration with High Alpha Innovation will help us accomplish this. It also reinforces our commitment to ensuring 91吃瓜鈥檚 research, through growth and 聽commercialization, becomes a force for good in the world.鈥� 聽
High Alpha Innovation and 91吃瓜 have plans to collaborate more deeply on this program in the coming months, the result of which will be announced in the future.听
High Alpha Innovation is an Indianapolis-based venture builder that partners with corporations, universities and entrepreneurs to create and launch advantaged startups. Its dedicated team of company builders, strategists and designers apply a proven playbook 鈥� pioneered by 鈥� to help the world鈥檚 leading organizations innovate through systematic startup creation. For more information, visit or on Twitter at @.听
Standing for innovation, de-risking and enterprise acceleration, the IDEA Center is the fundamental resource for all commercialization and entrepreneurial activities at the University of 91吃瓜. It provides the necessary space, services and expertise for idea development, commercialization, business formation, prototyping, entrepreneurial education and student entrepreneurial efforts. It is designed to bring the best 91吃瓜 faculty, staff and student ideas and innovations to market. To learn more about the center, visit .
Originally published by at on Nov. 9.