£140m cash boost for Imperial Innovations

Imperial Innovations, the first university-owned commercialisation company to be publicly listed, helps to bring the ideas and discoveries of Imperial’s academics to market through licensing or establishing new companies.

The funds will accelerate the number and size of investments that can be made to Imperial College London spin-out companies. Imperial Innovations also intends to invest in spin-out companies from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and University College London that are carrying out scientific research.

Sir Keith O’Nions, rector of Imperial College London, said: ‘With increased capacity to invest in companies, Imperial Innovations will enable the College’s ideas and discoveries with the greatest potential to be fully supported and translated into products and services that can be used in industry, healthcare and in a wide range of other applications.’

Since 2006, Imperial Innovations has invested approximately £47.9m in spin-out companies out of a total raised by those spin-out companies of £211m.

By 31 July 2010, Imperial Innovations had equity holdings in 79 spin-out companies and in the previous year had disclosed 344 inventions and filed 48 patents.