Under Assembly Bill 2664, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed on Friday, each campus will receive $2.2 million in one-time state funds to build out incubator space, equipment, training, legal services and lab space. UC said it also will raise matching funds.
The bill's author, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, said in a tweet Friday the initiative will help convert the university's research into beneficial products.
“UC is second to none in terms of the scope and scale of our innovative and entrepreneurial potential. This investment by the Legislature, and the private sector leverage it spurs, will ensure successful outcomes for years to come,” said Christine Gulbranson, UC senior vice president for research innovation and entrepreneurship, in a statement.
According to an announcement from UC on Friday, its graduate students found a startup, on average, every two weeks.
The $22 million appropriation was included in the state's 2016 Budget Act.
California created a similar program in 2000 supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. Also created through legislation, the California Institutes for Science and Innovation (Cal-ISIs) aims to speed up business growth in the state, develop research and innovations to meet California's needs, and train future scientists, according to an Assembly analysis.
The state provided $400 million in startup funds for Cal-ISIs, and the UC provided a 2-to-1 match from business and federal sources.
This story originally appeared on techwire.net.