Innovation Partnerships at the University of Michigan serves the U-M research community by supporting the commercialization of new research discoveries and technologies. Innovation Partnerships further partners with public universities across Michigan to bolster a statewide university technology commercialization ecosystem. This collaborative network is made possible by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Entrepreneurship and Innovation initiative through a series of programs that provides resources to streamline critical innovation and technology commercialization support.

The resulting innovations directly support Michigan’s economic growth while improving the lives of our citizens. Nevertheless, the state of Michigan remains an extremely challenging entrepreneurial ecosystem due to a lack of investment risk capital. A December 2021 Crain’s opinion piece by Reilly Brennan, the Founder and General Partner at Trucks Ventures in California, focuses on this issue(Michigan must stop letting other states profit from its innovators).

Why should Michigan’s decision makers care? The panel will discuss Michigan programs such as ADVANCE, MTRAC, and T3N and the role each plays in moving innovation. And while these funds have been critical addressing early startup investment challenges in Michigan, start-ups have typically shifted focus to more mature companies and a conservative investment thesis. This creates a retention disadvantage for a state like Michigan. Acquiring the resources to ensure these critical innovators continue to contribute to our state’s economy and innovation ecosystem is crucial. The panel will review why it’s not the right time to back down. Michigan’s economy cannot afford to lose our edge if we don’t invest in critical economic development programs.