State funds help fill a void on startup investing

By Robert Elder

Austin American-Statesman

Wanted: Investors willing to risk money in "the valley of death." That is Robert Barnhill's name for the perilous stage between the time a commercially viable idea is hatched by a university researcher but before it has been developed enough to attract traditional venture capital money. The issue is more than academic: Without investment money, potentially valuable university research withers on the vine before its commercial potential can be determined. The lack of funding is the "weak link here," said Barnhill, the University of Texas System's first vice chancellor for research and technology transfer, a post created last year to help bring more university-bred ideas into the marketplace. Venture capitalists have largely shunned Texas startups in fields such as the life sciences, which include medical devices, biotechnology, drugs and advanced materials, in which universities generate significant innovation. But that may be changing thanks to developments at two state investment giants. Read More

Opinion: Incubator tinkering

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Business incubators in which cities can grow their own industries -- and be picky about it in the process -- are intriguing ideas. Since the first incubator was created 47 years ago in Batavia, N.Y., grow-your-own business operations have flourished nationwide. Some are highly successful; some aren't. That Batavia project involved a chicken hatchery -- thus the term incubator. The verdict in terms of successful outcomes -- producing new local businesses -- is mixed for the 4-year-old Arlington Technology Incubator, located at 202 E. Border St. in the city's downtown area. The operation is funded primarily through a $1.4 million building purchase grant and a $250,000 operational grant from the federal Economic Development Administration. Incubators are designed to accommodate the strengths and needs of the regions they serve, with agribusiness, medical research, military technology, mom-and-pops, chip technology and numerous other categories. Arlington's incubator focuses on technology transference from the University of Texas at Arlington to the commercial world -- applications in chemistry, engineering, computer science, nanotechnology and biology. Read More

'Real catch' in emerging field

By Eric Berger

Houston Chronicle

Former first lady Barbara Bush may deserve credit for preserving the future of Houston's science industry. Late last year, Mauro Ferrari, a charismatic scholar noted for bringing physical and medical scientists together, brought his family to Houston to sell them on a move from Ohio. While house hunting in a Tanglewood neighborhood, their real estate agent casually mentioned the Bushes lived nearby. As if on cue, a large gate across the street swung open, and the former first lady emerged, walking her dog. The Ferraris waved and soon were embracing and posing for pictures with Bush. They were sold on Houston. Luring Ferrari to become the first president of the Alliance for NanoHealth, which will be announced Monday, comes at a critical time. Like other U.S. cities, Houston is racing to lay groundwork in hope of cashing in on an intellectual and industrial boom from the emerging field of medicine and nanotechnology. Although bionanotechnology still is largely confined to laboratories, a growing number of scientists point to it as the future of medicine. Read More

Samsung plant crucial to region's future

By Kirk Ladendorf

Austin American-Statesman

Mayor Will Wynn waxed bullish on the prospects for the region's chip manufacturing sector after Samsung said it will build its next factory in Austin. Despite a recent slump in local chip factories and related jobs, Wynn says Samsung gives the area a new lease on life. "We will be in this for the long haul," the mayor said. Samsung's massive new factory in Northeast Austin will extend the life of Austin's three-decade-old chip-making sector by at least another 20 to 25 years, industry experts say. Samsung, the second-largest chip maker in the world, has doubled its sizable bet on Austin with a new factory project that has been estimated to cost $3.5 billion to $4 billion. Samsung already has spent roughly $1.9 billion in Austin to build and expand its existing plant that was begun in 1996. But the new factory, to be located next door, is expected to be far larger than the first. Most of the money going into any modern chip factory is spent on the sophisticated equipment that goes inside. Industry experts say modern chip factories have become so big and so expensive that chip manufacturers are taking steps to extend the lifetimes of those plants. Read More