Following a year of planning and coordination with stakeholders, CTC launched its new Venture Development Program (VDP) in March. The VDP is an outgrowth of our efforts to showcase seed stage opportunities in cooperation with partner federal labs, universities, incubators, and accelerators throughout California.

Expanding on our successful First Pitch platform, the Venture Development Program is intended to create a bridge between technologies laboring through exit from labs and universities and partners in industry.

This process begins with screening available technologies by a panel of mentors, advisers, and angels, consideration of startup potential, market forces, development timelines, out-licensing options, and more.

VDP can provide a focal point to bridge the so-called "valley of death” for technologies at the prototype stage, and the Council will focus heavily on industries with high barriers to entry, long product development timelines, and intensive capital requirements.

The Venture Development Program kicked off formal meetings and site visits with several campus conversations in March. The month was highlighted by a site visit to Lawrence Livermore National Lab, at which the Lab presented six pre-seed concepts to the CTC Venture team. Those six concepts are currently in review by our extended network of mentors, advisers, and angels.

For more about First Pitch, please visit the Initiative's HOME PAGE HERE.

If you're interested in learning more about the Venture Development Program or to inquire about participating as an adviser, contact us at ventures@californiatechnology.org.