SkySong showcase features research universities, global companies
<p>Several of the world’s premier research universities and hospitals – as well as many top venture capitalists and promising global company start-ups – will visit SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, for a one-day showcase of key opportunities and information exchange Dec. 9.</p><separator></separator><p>Co-hosted by ASU SkySong and Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE), the University and Global Technology Showcase kicks off the 2009 Invest Southwest Capital Conference and features universities and global companies presenting their best investment opportunities to an audience of investors and industry experts. In addition, several of the nation’s top venture capitalists from firms such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Khosla Ventures, Bay City Capital, RedPoint Ventures, Sevin Rosen Funds and Polaris Ventures will participate in intriguing town hall discussions covering a variety of topics. </p><separator></separator><p>“We are very pleased to be able to convene a representation of the best in university research and global opportunities,” said Augustine Cheng, managing director of AzTE, ASU’s technology transfer office. “And the support we have seen from the VC community, their willingness not only to attend but to participate in our panel discussions, has also been tremendous.”</p><separator></separator><p>University participants include Columbia, Boston, Caltech, Penn, Harvard, MIT, the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Texas, UCLA, USC, Minnesota, Utah, Arizona, Thunderbird and Arizona State, as well as Ireland’s Dublin City University. Top research hospitals participating in the event include City of Hope and Mayo Clinic. Several global companies from Mexico, Brazil, Ireland and the United Kingdom will also present their investment opportunities in a fast-paced forum of what is known in the venture capital community as ‘elevator pitches.’ </p><separator></separator><p>“ASU SkySong works hard each day to bring business opportunities to Arizona and to connect start-up companies with university resources,” said Julia Rosen, ASU associate vice president for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “This Showcase is a tremendous extension of those efforts and we’re very excited to bring these opportunities and investors together.”</p><separator></separator><p>Attendees must pre-register to attend the Showcase and registrations are limited to investors and industry representatives. More information and registration is available at <a href="http://www.investsouthwest.org/">www.investsouthwest.org</a>. </p><separator></separator><p>Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE) is a non-profit organization that operates as the exclusive intellectual property management and technology transfer organization for ASU and its research enterprise. Comprised of industry and university veterans, AzTE brings together ASU’s researchers and industry partners to transform discoveries into marketable products and services, taking innovation out of the lab and into the commercial marketplace.</p><separator></separator><p>SkySong, the ASU Scottsdale Innovation Center, serves as a portal for companies to the resources and services of ASU, offering entrepreneurship training, workforce development, research integration and business development assistance. ASU SkySong supports new technology start-ups with office space, access to business services and continuing training geared toward local innovators and global firms seeking to start operations in the United States.</p><separator></separator><p>Invest Southwest is the premier capital conference for venture capital and angel investors in Arizona and the Southwest. Since 1992, this event has featured the region’s most promising ventures that have collectively raised more than a quarter billion in investment dollars from venture capital firms, angel investors and other private investors. The 2009 Invest Southwest Capital Conference will be held Dec. 9-11 at the Four Seasons Resort in Scottsdale.</p>