Across the Lone Star State, entrepreneurs and researchers are turning new ideas into innovative products and services with the help of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.

“Texas is creating the innovation economy of the future, building an innovation ecosystem,” says Alan Kirchhoff, Emerging Technology Fund director.

Administered by seven Regional Centers for Innovation and Commercialization (RCICs), the TETF speeds up the development and commercialization of new technologies by small businesses across the state and attracts world-class researchers to Texas universities, with the goal of bringing their ideas to the marketplace. The TETF also provides Matching Awards to create public-private partnerships that leverage the strengths of universities, federal grant programs and industry.

At the request of Gov. Rick Perry, the Legislature created the TETF in 2005 with an initial appropriation of $200 million. Building on success, lawmakers appropriated an additional $75 million in 2007 and $200 million in 2009.

By the beginning of 2010, 130 early-stage technology companies had received investments through the TETF’s Commercialization Awards. As a result of the TETF’s Research Superiority Awards, 57 world-class researchers had been recruited at up to 15 universities. Wasting no time, those researchers quickly spun out 14 new companies as a result of their work and filed 31 patents, says Kirchhoff.

“We’re attracting people who want to do world-class research and also want to commercialize their ideas. They’ll create wealth and they’ll create jobs in Texas,” he says.

The RCICs work closely with applicants from their regions and act as the local agent for the TETF Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to state leadership. Each RCIC assists applicants with proposal development, post-proposal debriefings and commercialization activities. The advice provided by the RCICs is invaluable, Kirchhoff says.

“Texas is a diverse state. RCICs and the TETF help us take a regional approach to developing an innovation economy,” Kirchhoff says.