North Florida Innovation Labs joins the club with help of $5.6 million FSU commitment

 

North Florida Innovation Labs joins the club with help of $5.6 million FSU commitment

FSU is all in for furthering the reach of its research.

The university recently made a $5.6 million commitment to a new local research incubator, North Florida Innovation Labs (NFIL). The incubator will be joining Leon County’s Innovation Park.

“FSU is a critical source of technology that can be commercialized by the private sector,” Innovation Park Executive Director Ron Miller told the Democrat. “That’s fundamental to what the business incubator is all about.”

The innovation labs have a mission of accelerating the development of technology companies through its business support services. The incubator will assist young companies co-locate in Tallahassee’s research park with other innovators as they develop products that contribute to new and expanding businesses.

“It's a place where they will be able to not only be in the same building (as innovators), but they will receive services such as education, connection to mentors, access to capital and generally just being able to share information with each other,” Miller said.

Besides FSU Research Foundation’s capital funding that includes a $2.6 million gift and a $3.0 million loan, the U.S. Economic Development Administration put in $12.4 million and Blueprint’s Office of Economic Vitality put in $2.5 million. The Leon County Research and Development Authority also made their own contribution of almost $2.3 million, according to Miller.

Part of FSU President Richard McCullough’s vision for research operations in Tallahassee is for FSU to move toward tech transfer, where a shift can be made from research to businesses that create jobs.

McCullough believes the innovation center is the next step for the university and the region as it works to boost opportunities to keep graduates in the area and create new startups based on university research, according to a press release.

“It is our intention to make a substantial investment in the North Florida Innovation Labs and do everything we can to ensure it comes to fruition,” McCullough said in a statement.

The team is close to signing a construction contract and is in the process of trying to get the final bid within their budget before moving forward.

“We’re probably about 30 days away from signing the contract and probably breaking ground within the next 30 days,” Miller said. “Assuming we can get the budget where it needs to be, we’ll be ready to break ground in the next 60 days.”