University of Utah entrepreneurship

The University of Utah has a thriving startup and Venture Capital (VC) ecosystem which is largely facilitated by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is a nationally ranked hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Utah and an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business.

The university has seen the launch of more than 400 startups originated from campus technologies since 1970, and these companies and all other affiliated companies have, together, secured nearly $1 billion in funding. This solidifies the University of Utah’s position as a significant contributor to the growth of Utah's robust economy.

One of the most notable success stories from the university is Myriad Genetics, a leading molecular diagnostic company dedicated to saving lives and improving the quality of life of patients worldwide. The company was co-founded by University of Utah alum, Dr. Mark Skolnick, who discovered the BRCA1 gene linked to early-onset breast cancer.

Another example is Recursion Pharmaceuticals, co-founded by University of Utah alumni. Recursion is a clinical-stage biotechnology company combining experimental biology and automation with artificial intelligence in a massively parallel system to efficiently discover potential drugs for diverse indications, including genetic disease, inflammation, immunology, and infectious disease.

As part of its initiatives to promote entrepreneurship and VC culture, the Lassonde Institute provides plenty of resources including entrepreneurship workshops, competitions, startup support, innovation programs, graduate programs, etc.

The university's premier startup experience program, the Lassonde Startup Program, provides all students, or student teams, with $500 to $1,500 in micro-grant funding to start their project. This illustrates the university's commitment to fostering an entrepreneurial culture.

One of the key particularities of the University of Utah, making it an eminent institution for startups and VCs, is the university’s focus on commercializing its inventions and technologies. The university's Technology & Venture Commercialization office is dedicated to helping the university's researchers bring their inventions to market.