Penn’s StartUP Fund Announces its First Investments

The Office of the Chief Innovation Officer (OCINO) at the University of Pennsylvania has announced the first investments from its StartUP Fund, a $10 million University-backed initiative designed to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative technologies emerging from research across all twelve of Penn’s Schools. The fund’s inaugural investments will support three separate Penn faculty-founded companies—Vasowatch, OneFiltr, and Peptaris—spanning the fields of maternal health, advanced radio-frequency filtering technology, and AI-powered drug discovery, respectively.

“Penn researchers are developing technologies with the potential to address some of the most important challenges facing society today, and many of these solutions have the potential to create entirely new markets,” says John Swartley, Penn’s Chief Innovation Officer. “I am thrilled that the StartUP Fund is able to provide the critical early-stage capital needed to support Penn spinout companies as they translate these types of innovations into products with real world impact. These first three investments are truly reflective of the extraordinary breadth of research and entrepreneurship across Penn.”

Read more at Penn Today.