Georgia Research Alliance

GRA operates as an independent not-for-profit entity governed by leaders from industry and academia. While GRA receives a state appropriation for investment in university-based research opportunities, its small staff and lean operations are funded through foundation and industry contributions. In its first 19 years, GRA leveraged $525 million in state funding into $2.6 billion of additional federal and private investment. VentureLab is GRA's signature technology commercialization program. Launched in 2002, VentureLab helps build high-growth companies around laboratory discoveries at GRA's partner universities. VentureLab seeks out university-based research innovations, evaluates their commercial potential and provides resources to address the management, market and technology risks that come with new ventures. Each participating university -- Georgia Tech, Emory, the University of Georgia, Georgia State University and Georgia Health Sciences University -- has an active technology incubator with which VentureLab can partner. In the last five years through VentureLab, GRA has evaluated the commercial potential of more than 260 university inventions or discoveries and awarded VentureLab grants to form 107 active companies. At the end of 2010, these companies employed more than 640 professionals, had attracted $460.2 million in private equity investment and generated nearly $77 million in revenue.