Europe’s deep technologies depend on university allocations – TechCrunch

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Deep technology has become a hot topic in Europe in the hope that the region can take precedence over the rest of the world in innovation based on basic research. One of the key arguments: European countries have excellent universities and talent. But how can academic talent turn into startups? Let’s dive. – Anna

Universities, deep technological boiler

“From startups to universities, we are working together to make Europe a world leader in a new wave of deep technological innovation!” EU Commissioner Maria Gabriel wrote in a tweet earlier this week after her speech at the Tech.eu summit in Brussels. As I noticed while attending the event, she was not the only one who enthusiastically mentioned this topic.

The fact that deep technology raises great hopes in Europe was not a surprise. Alexey and I have already written about Europe’s deep technological boom and investor interest in it earlier this year. But I was interested in the role that educational institutions expect.

“There is no doubt that the future of innovation in Europe will emerge from its leading universities in the world,” wrote Riam Kanso in Guest publication Tech.eu on the eve of the event. Kanso is the founder Conception Xwhich I accidentally heard about for the first time earlier this month. A non-profit organization based in the UK, is looking to convert a Ph.D. researchers of venture scientists.

“It’s a simple but well-tested recipe,” Kanso said. “You have a Ph.D. the team is working on cutting-edge research with key real-world applications. They know that their innovations can help discover effective treatments for now incurable diseases, strengthen cities with negative carbon or decide the future of automation. Through a combination of entrepreneurship training, access to legal advice, funding opportunities and expert expertise, we help them figure out how to turn their research into a viable technology startup. ”

This is not a new thing if universities are more or less willing to give birth to spin-offs or nominations (here we will use these terms interchangeably). The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is famous for counting. many entrepreneurs among their graduates, and quite a few of these businesses are based on intellectual property developed during their training or research.

But in Europe, intellectual property can be a painful problem. “The potential for significant innovation in European research laboratories,” said Kanso, “remains largely untapped due to various – and sometimes suffocating “The rules of ownership of individual entrepreneurs, which can make investment companies impossible to invest and difficult to scale.”

However, both European universities and venture firms are increasingly working to turn the most promising seeds into successful companies.

Remember the gap

Despite the obstacles, venture companies looking for innovation know that spinouts are well worth their attention. “As an investor in early-stage businesses, many of which are deeply technical in nature, we view universities as the foundation for the companies we invest in,” said Simon King, himself a venture capitalist with a Ph.D.