REINFORCING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AND THE STATES VOLUME 2: CASE STUDIES OF TECHNOLOGY PIONEERING START-UP COMPANIES AND THEIR USE OF STATE AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS

This report describes the evolution of four technology-pioneering companies, their use of state government programs, and the nature of the state and federal government support received by these companies. Since all four companies were awarded funds from the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, we pay particular attention to the relationships between the support provided by state programs and that of the ATP. These cases were selected from states providing a broad array of programs to support the formation and growth of new businesses. We find that that all four of our technology pioneers drew on the resources of public (state) universities. By investing in university research capabilities, encouraging cooperative research activities between faculty and industrial partners, and providing industry access to university laboratories and equipment, state governments have served as a major resource for this type of start-up company in achieving its R&D goals. In addition, for technology- pioneering companies having difficulty in raising funds from private sources, state programs may complement the ATP by assisting these companies in meeting ATP’s cost-sharing requirements.