News that clean energy mogul Michael Polsky is writing a $35 million check to the University of Chicago highlights one of the best things Chicago’s growing entrepreneurial tech scene has going for it – university-based innovation engines, lead by the U of C and Northwestern.
And while much of the buzz flows from the powerhouse business schools – Booth at Chicago, Kellogg at Northwestern – Polsky’s move is a nod to research-driven innovation thriving in other parts of the universities.
His gift, announced this week, will expand the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, turning what is a signature arm of the Booth School of Business into an entity that also incorporates broader university efforts to foster entrepreneurship and commercialize innovative ideas.
With impressive startup spinoffs that include GrubHub and Braintree, both of which competed in the school's vaunted New Venture Challenge, the University of Chicago already has strong entrepreneurial genes. Polsky told the Chicago Tribune that this move is an attempt to build on that across the institution.
“The university has recognized that and capitalized on that. It’s not just Booth any more,” Polsky told the Tribune’s Blue Sky Innovation.
Included in the new center will be the Chicago Innovation Exchange, which will be renamed the Polsky Innovation Exchange, and UChicago Tech, a tech licensing group.
Polsky, a University of Chicago trustee and Booth graduate, is the founder and CEO of Chicago-based Invenergy. This gift brings to $50 million his support for the university.
Northwestern, meanwhile announced last month the creation of two new investment funds aimed at monetizing student and faculty innovations. The $10 million N.XT Fund for faculuty and students supports early-stage innovations based on Northwestern-patented technology, specifically efforts that are too advanced for federal funding but too early for private investment. The $4 million NU Seeds Fund supports student startups with or without Northwestern-owned tech patents.
