Florida High Tech Corridor
Early Stage Innovation Fund
This program supports early-stage innovations and applied research with significant for commercial potential. These funds are meant to seed USF-developed innovations that could lead to industry investment, start-up creation, and/or licensing opportunities. USF researchers may request up to $25,000 to support USF research expenses associated with the further development of the target innovation.
Fall 2024 Program Update: In collaboration with USF’s Tech Transfer Office, the Florida High Tech Corridor has restructured the Early-Stage Innovation Fund to ensure we continue to invest with impact and support innovations with the strongest commercial potential.
Letters of Intent will now be accepted on a rolling basis. Submit an LOI here: https://airtable.com/shrE87zKnQ8AXP1vn
Please Note: Before submitting a letter of interest, researchers must disclose the technology central to your submission to the USF Tech Transfer Office via the USF Inventor Portal.
The review committee meets periodically throughout the year and invited proposals are presented to the review committee at the next available meeting.
Please review the program guidelines for more details on the updated processes and full proposal requirements.
Learn more about past awards provided through the Corridor Early-Stage Innovation Fund:
- USF, Florida High Tech Corridor partner to support advancement of innovations (August 24, 2024)
- USF Research & Innovation and the Florida High Tech Corridor partner to fund Early-Stage
Innovation Awards (February 27, 2023)
- USF, Corridor collaboration supports sustainable manufacturing, defense technology
and Alzheimer’s research (June 27, 2023)
- USF, Corridor collaboration supports infrastructure innovation, vaccine development and infection fighting strategies (March 4, 2024)
Corridor updates are regulary shared through the Research Investigators Listserv.
To subscribe to that listserv, click here.