Mtech Ventures is the University of Maryland's incubator for technology-based companies commercialized at the university. It exists for the most dangerous stretch of a startup's life: after customer discovery, before the first round of venture capital.
Member companies get affordable lab and office space on campus and hands-on mentoring from staff and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence who have built companies before. Because the incubator sits inside the University System of Maryland, one of the country's largest public research and teaching systems, members also draw on the university's advanced laboratories, scale-up facilities, and research talent next door.
Mtech Ventures Support
- 1-on-1 access to business mentors and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
- Customer discovery education and support through the UMD I-Corps program
- NSF I-Corps application assistance
- Team building and operations assistance
- Prototype development assistance
- Access to IP and corporate law attorneys
- SBIR/STTR grant application assistance
- Pitch deck review and edits
- Quaterly milestone meetings with Mtech Ventures staff — more often when you need it
Mtech Ventures Facilities
- Wet labs with biosafety cabinets and fume hoods, 10-foot lab benches
- Private offices and co-working space
- Two conference rooms (8-10 people)
- Mailbox service and package reception — virtual membership available
- HVAC with some utilities included
- Access to university athletic facilities
Being a part of the Technology Advancement Program (now Mtech Ventures) raises the company’s profile. It decreases the risk to the investors.
Floyd Taub, Founder of Digene
Mtech Ventures Company Spotlight: Martek Biosciences
Martek Biosciences, a company that launched leveraging several Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) programs at the University of Maryland, was acquired by Dutch company Royal DSM NV for $1.1 billion in 2010.
Martek was the second company sold for more than $1 billion that made extensive use of Mtech’s venture-building and biotechnology programs during its early stages. Digene Corporation was acquired by Qiagen NV for $1.6 billion in 2007.
Martek was a leader in the innovation, development, production and sale of high-value products from microbial sources that promoted health and wellness through nutrition. The company’s flagship product was life’sDHA™, a sustainable and vegetarian source of algal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) important for brain, heart and eye health throughout life for use in infant formula, pregnancy and nursing products, foods and beverages, dietary supplements and animal feeds.
Use Mtech Ventures to…
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Find a lab/space for creating/making
Located on the College Park campus in the Herbert Rabin Technology Advancement Building, Mtech Ventures is strategically situated adjacent to the bioscience, engineering and computer science complexes. Mtech Ventures has 14 labs that are each 1,000 sqft and can be leased by one venture or shared by two. The incubator also has 17 private offices that are adjacent to labs and four that are standalone. Mtech Ventures is designed to accommodate a variety of space configurations for offices and laboratories suitable for both prototype development and small scale production. Virtual incubation with mailbox service is also available. For fabrication and testing on a larger scale, the university’s advanced laboratories and scale-up facilities are easily accessible.
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Get advice for my idea
Mtech Ventures helps early-stage startups survive the critical period in their development between conducting customer discovery and raising their first round of venture capital. This assistance includes hands-on mentoring for early stage companies.