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MWM Ventures Labs is interested in partnering with University Researchers to submit proposals for funding. Some well developed ideas may also receive funding from the MWM Ventures Technology Fund. The lab also offers six months to one year research internships to graduate students to work on specific projects that are currently being incubated in the lab. MWM Ventures Labs team brings industrial partnerships to increase the value creation from the proposed ideas. The Labs provides dedicated resources including computational and human capabilities to improve and enhance the products. Most of the value created is still retained with the Research Partners while greatly enhancing the speed with which the products can be introduced or commercialized successfully. MWM Ventures Labs retains skilled research talent to internally complement the resources needed.
SEED GRANTS
Turning ideas into inventions
"What if...?" These words characterize the earliest stage of invention-the very phase that MWM Ventures Labs seek to benefit with its Seed Grants.
Seed Grants can help turn incipient ideas into viable inventions. They enable faculty of universities to take risks and explore uncharted concepts, before they've developed proof of concept or gathered any data.
This funding — up to $50,000 per grant — targets projects focusing on novel, enabling, and potentially useful ideas in all areas of technology. Though it might enable only exploratory experiments and proof of concept, a Seed Grant also might position projects to receive further funding, such as an Innovation Grant, to take a concept to full development.
INNOVATION GRANTS
Transforming inventions into salable innovations
Even once an idea has advanced to the "invention" stage, a number of scenarios can keep it from advancing further. Perhaps some intellectual property has been developed, but additional demonstration of success is required. Maybe one or more innovative companies have been identified as targets for the use of the technology, but help is needed to establish collaboration. Or maybe faculty needs to further solidify the intellectual property, to reduce the uncertainty associated with applying the technology to commercial needs.
Innovation Grants — for as much as $250,000 — can remove obstacles like these and keep the innovation process on track and moving forward. They're meant to benefit projects that have progressed beyond their earliest stages — projects that have established proof of concept and identified an R&D path and IP strategy. Ultimately, each grant will help a project build a package to bring to venture capitalists or companies that might invest in its technology.