Technology Transfer
Funding Opportunities
To support highly innovative, high-impact research that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will accelerate the field of cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular research.
American-Made Solar Prize Round 6
American-Made Solar Prize Round 6 is a competition designed to energize U.S. solar innovation through a series of contests that accelerate the entrepreneurial process from years to months. To date, the Solar Prize has funded 120 teams—likeAeroShield—with more than $15 million in prizes, helping spur countless connections between entrepreneurs and experts at the nation’s top test facilities, makerspaces, universities, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s national labs.
With the recent launch of Round 6, the competition is now seeking innovators, entrepreneurs, and those with an idea to revolutionize the solar industry.
Quick Facts About the Solar Prize
- The prize offers a total of $4.1 million in cash and voucher prizes to teams of creative individuals and entrepreneurs who are ready to advance conceptual solar solutions toward product realities.
- Through three contests, participants compete for progressively larger prizes, including an optional justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion–focused prize that rewards efforts to lower barriers to solar adoption in underserved communities.
How To Get Involved
- Reach out to us for support and mentorship to help your submission stand out.
- Sign up here and we’ll notify you when registration for Office Hours with VentureWell staff goes live in August.
- Follow the competition on HeroX.
- View a recording of the Solar Prize informational webinar to learn more about timeline, goals, how to find support, eligibility, and more!
Baylor New Venture Competition
The competition provides participants with personal and professional development through industry-specific mentorship, exclusive access to experts and fellow innovataors and a chance to compete for over $250,000 in cash prizes and vital resources.
Medical Device Innovation Challenge
The CNYBAC Medical Device Innovation Challenge is a 6-month mentorship / network expansion / resource rich program for early stage innovators. MDIC accepts 5 teams to participate in the annual program. To date, 28 teams have graduated from the program and have amassed milestone achievements during and following their participation.
James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program
The purpose of the Program is to support research initiatives that address the health care problems of Floridians in the areas of tobacco-related cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and pulmonary disease.
VETS Symposium and Competition
Do you have a business idea or early stage business? Would you like to apply for the 9th Annual VETS Business Pitch Event and compete for $12,000 in cash and other prizes? You must be a Veteran, service member, or spouse to be considered for the financial pitch competition.
Through this challenge, NASA explores whether a new industry could transform this orbital debris into an orbital opportunity by creating feedstocks from recycled spacecraft. Tell us how YOU would recycle objects in orbit!
NCATS-SBIR/STTR Funding Opportunities
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are government set-aside programs for U.S. small businesses and research organizations to engage in research and development that has the potential for commercialization and public benefit.
Quantum Sensing Challenges for Transformational Advances in Quantum Systems
Up to two (2) preliminary proposals and up to two (2) invited full proposals may be submitted per lead institution contingent to the requirement the proposed projects are in substantially different research areas.
EnergyTech UP aims to cultivate the next generation of energy innovators while accelerating the transfer of energy technologies to market. This prize seeks to attract the talented students of today and help them develop into the engineers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, market analysts, and project developers of tomorrow.
Student teams compete for a total of $370,000 in cash prizes as they explore business opportunities for lab-developed or other high-potential energy technologies, assess commercialization opportunities through market analysis, and present a viable business plan to industry judges. Throughout the competition, they receive mentorship and materials to help them succeed.
There will be an informative recruiting webinar with a chance for a team-building and networking on January 17th, 2023. Please register to join here: http://bit.ly/3HOwr0P
S2S is an invitation-only symposium featuring the most innovative therapeutics startup ideas from the world’s top research institutions. Submissions from researchers are reviewed by a senior advisory group composed of experienced biotech investors. Selected presenters work 1-on-1 with advisory group mentors to further refine their concept and prepare a 15-minute presentation. 200+ attendees include entrepreneurs, biotech investors (Angels / VCs), pharma scouts, academic investigators, TTOs, etc.
If interested, please contact our office at ttoinfo@usf.edu
The Synapse Innovation Awards returns for the 3rd year to celebrate Florida’s innovators, risk takers, doers and creators for daring to see an opportunity to make something better - and to do it! Thanks to our sponsors at Florida Power and Light we are able to distribute cash prizes to our first, second, and third place winners.
Entries will be evaluated by a hand-selected group of judges ranging from top CEOs, innovation leaders and investors from across the state AND the Synapse community will also get to vote for their favorites.
The top two ranking companies in each category will be invited to present their company on Center Stage in front of the judges and thousands of attendees at the Innovation Showcase during Synapse Summit 2023 on Tuesday, February 14th.
The winners of each category and the cash prize winners will be announced live at the showcase, with a $50,000 prize to the top scoring company. Florida-based companies can apply to any of the 5 award categories. Submissions are open until January 13, 2023 11:59pm. Winners will be announced live on Center Stage at Synapse Summit 2023.
First Place - $50,000
Second Place - $20,000
Third Place - $5,000
Pitch and connect your technology with leading corporate, investment and federal prospectors. Qualified participants receive engagement and membership opportunities with partnering consortia, while competing for $50K in non-dilutive funding.
USF Research & Innovation and the Florida High Tech Corridor are partnering to provide $75,000 to support the advancement of technologies developed by USF researchers. It’s part of the Early-Stage Innovation Fund, a pilot program launched in fall 2022.
WIPO's Global Awards program recognizes exceptional enterprises and individuals using intellectual property (IP) to make a positive impact - both at home and beyond their own borders. The Global Awards program is rooted in WIPO’s mission to ensure a world where innovation and creativity from anywhere is supported by intellectual property for the good of everyone.