PIVOT Center Partners for Innovation, Ventures, Outreach & Technology

Grants

1. Ascender Grant Program
2. Other grant opportunities from the U
   • Research Incentive Seed Grant Program from The Office of the Vice President for Research
   • Sorenson Impact Foundation launched the Equitable & Resilient Recovery grant program
   • The Office of the Vice President for Research’s The Faculty Small Grant Program (FSGP)
   • Research Instrumentation Fund (RIF) Program - provides support to faculty and core facilities for new equipment purchases, or to replace/upgrade existing research equipment. The VPR Office runs two cycles of the RIF Program.
3. Corporate Grant Funding Opportunities
   • Alexa Prize Socialbot Grand Challenge 5  The Alexa Prize Socialbot Grand Challenge will be competed for the fifth time since launching in 2017. A multimillion-dollar university challenge to advance human-computer interaction, we will begin accepting applications on July 6, 2022. Competing teams will create socialbots that can converse coherently and engagingly for 20 minutes with humans on a range of current events and popular topics such as entertainment, sports, politics, technology, and fashion whilerearning a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. Selected university teams will receive a $250,000 research grant, Alexa-enabled devices, free Amazon Web Services (AWS) to support their development efforts, and access to other tools, data, and Alexa team support.
   • Applications must be submitted by October 5,2022 and will be reviewed and evaluated based on: potential scientific contribution to the field, technical merit of the approach, novelty of the idea, and the team's ability to execute against their plan.
4. State and Federal sources
   • https://www.sbir.gov
   • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Services - The Utah Innovation Center, of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah), provides free services to help Utah companies secure non-dilutive research and development funding. The Center also manages the Utah Technology Innovation Funding (UTIF) program that provides microgrants and nonrecourse loans.
   • https://www.grants.gov

Investments

1. University of Utah 1850 Fund PIVOT Center manages investments in companies spun out of the U through its 1850 Fund. The Fund seeks to invest in promising U of U companies from pre-seed through later rounds of investment, with a preference for investing at startup and alongside top-tier investors in subsequent rounds. The Innovation Fund does not lead investments, but seeks to syndicate with experienced investors. The amounts of investment will vary based on industry and the stage of each potential investment opportunity. For U of U spinouts to learn more about the fund, please contact investments@pivotcenter.utah.edu.
2. Other investment funds from the U
   • University Venture Fund from the Sorenson Impact Center & David Eccles School of Business
   • The David Eccles School of Business Student Investment Fund
   • Sorenson Impact Foundation Investments
   • Lassonde's Get Seeded
3. Other sources - This is an ever-growing list of opportunities, so check back often.
   • VentureCapital.org’s WeROC® (Women Entrepreneurs Realizing Opportunities for Capital)
   • Entrepreneur & Investor Life Science Summit
   • Boom StartUp PitchUp open pitch competition
   • Angel Capital Association Member Directory
   • National Venture Capital Association Members

PIVOT Center’s Pitch Prep Program

If you are looking for help preparing to pitch to investors please contact us.