Northern Colorado Business Report: CU technology spinoffs survive at higher rates

All but 27 of the 132 companies formed around CU technology since the school’s 1994 fiscal year are still operating or have been acquired by companies still operating. That’s not counting nine more that have been formed in fiscal year 2014, which runs through June 30. The latest CU figures cover only companies formed through fiscal year 2013.

For entrepreneurs who have had success growing a company from CU-based technology, the main advantage is clear: In most cases, the technology you’re licensing from a university already has been in research and development for several years. Thus, much of the cost and risk of developing new technology from scratch already has been abated.