Nashville Tech Story (3/1/10)
On Wednesday of this past week, we took our Road Trippin Wednesday to Oak Ridge. We started the day in a very open, collaborative session with Tech2020 Technology Council which represents Oak Ridge and Knoxville and the Chattanooga Technology Council. Our focus was on how to do work together more effectively to promote the state’s technology companies and create a stronger workforce. We are hopeful this will be one of several meetings in the months to come.
At lunch, I was able to attend their monthly meeting which featured Grady Vanderhoofven, Fund Manager for Meritus Ventures and the Southern Appalachian Fund.
Mr. Vanderhoofven spoke on the topic of venture capital in Tennessee and the Innovation Valley. Meritus and Southern Appalachian Fund (SAF) have been among the most active venture capital investors in Tennessee during the past six years, and they have made more investments in East Tennessee than any other institutional investor over that period of time. Grady’s venture funds have invested in seed-stage, early-sage, expansion-stage, and late-stage companies throughout the southeastern United States, including companies spun-out of or working with The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. East Tennessee companies in the Meritus and SAF portfolios include: Protein Discovery, Eonstreams, Tricycle, Smart Furniture, and Aldis.
Grady Vanderhoofven commented on the state of the venture capital industry in the United States, the southeastern portion of the country, Tennessee, and East Tennessee and provided a comparative overview of how venture capital activity “here at home” compared to traditional centers of venture capital activity like Silicon Valley and New England. Great statistics and research. A lot of it was discouraging, but there is hope with the new TNVestcos.
Following the luncheon, I was lucky enough to get a few minutes with Tom Rogers, Director, Industrial and Economic Development Partnerships at Oak Ridge National Laboratories. I have never been on the campus and I was quite impressed by the research agenda being pursued in Tennessee. From nanotechnology to nuclear to clean energy, it is quite expansive.
One group of researchers are working toward a low-cost DNA sequencing tool have proposed a microfluidic device that uses a nanotube as a conduit to feed a single strand of DNA from one reservoir to another, analyzing and sequencing the DNA in the process.
On the tour, we were able to stop by the High Flux Isotope Reactor. Not sure which one was more impressive. Being in the same building with two of the top three fastest computers in the world or thinking about neutrons being disassembled below me. Wow!
In the end, the real opportunity is bringing this vast wealth of technology to the companies in Middle Tennessee. There are opportunities to collaborate on research, license research, sponsor research, start a new company, and use the facilities. If you would like to connect, drop us a line.
