The Oregon Nanosciences and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) has refreshed its startup consulting package to include a small investment component intended to help get science-based startup ideas ready for commercialization.
Starting this fall the group will offer $25,000 to $75,000 SAFE investment to entrepreneurs in addition to the group’s free consulting services. It’s part of the organization’s shift in investment following changes at the state for commercialization gap funding, said ONAMI President and Executive Director Skip Rung.
The group is one of three signature research centers created by the state of Oregon and designed to help commercialize research coming out of the Oregon universities. ONAMI’s focus is on Oregon-based materials and device innovation.
Four years ago, the state changed funding for the research centers and ONAMI’s internal commercialization fund was eliminated. For the last several years ONAMI hasn’t had an internal investment component and instead offered expert consulting to help get companies off the ground, said Rung.
In this biennium budget he was able to carve out $478,000 to help fund some of the earliest business creation work. The idea is to get companies ready for investment from the state’s larger Commercialization Gap Fund, federal research and development grants, or other investors.
Rung noted that at this early-stage finding the business opportunity related to scientific research doesn’t take the huge investment that may be needed in later stages.
“We are not doing the $250,000 investments like we used to. We are just trying to get to something, to get from zero to one, as Peter Thiel would say,” said Rung.
His target is to be able to work with and invest in 10 companies over the next two years. More information is available online. The program has a rolling application process.
ONAMI launched in 2003 and it started helping companies with commercialization gap funding in 2006. Since that time, it’s invested more than $12 million and seen several exits and IPOs. Its most recent success story was the massive acquisition of Corvallis-based materials startup Inpria.
Other companies in the ONAMI portfolio that received past funding or help with interns and research include energy storage maker ESS Inc., materials company Liquid Wire, and robotics maker Agility Robotics.
