The University of California (UC) is launching a $250 million venture fund that will focus on investing in startups born from the state’s university system within the fields of life sciences, agriculture, technology, energy and materials, according to an announcement on the system's website.

 

California entrepreneur and owner of the Sacramento Kings, Vivek Ranadive will lead the investment arm, which will be anchored by an initial investment of $250 million from UC’s investment office. UC Investments has an investment portfolio of approximately $100 billion, including a pension fund, an endowment, and various capital pools, reports Tech Crunch. Mr. Ranadive has also pledged to invest an additional 5% of the fund’s total corpus from his personal money.

 

“Our business plan for the UC innovation fund is designed for the next 100 years,” said Paul Wachter, chair of the UC Board of Regents Committee on Investments in a UC release. “Therefore, it’s important that we get this right with a great team and an independent structure, which is what we have accomplished by recruiting Vivek to lead the fund.”

 

The University of California system, which has over 30 accelerators and incubators, has been awarded more patents than any other university system in the world, and the system has launched more than 800 startups with UC patents since 1980. Researchers with the state’s 10 campuses, five medical centers, and three affiliated laboratories produce five inventions per day on average.

 

"It is a tremendous honor to partner with the University of California in this unique collaboration focused on investing in breakthrough technologies emerging from the world-class University of California system,” said Ranadivé in a UC statement. “As an entrepreneur, I look forward to supporting fellow entrepreneurs and growing innovative, value-driven enterprises with a mission to advance our society and make the world a better place.”