The owner of the US basketball team the Sacramento Kings, Vivek Ranadivé, will lead a new venture fund for the University of California (UC), anchored with $250m from the UC Investments Office and expected to grow with additional funds from donors, including Ranadivé. The Los Angeles Times reports the fund will have a presence throughout the entire state of California and Ranadivé plans to invest in projects across a range of areas, including technology, energy, life sciences, agriculture, and materials. In addition to his role as CEO of NBA powerhouse Golden State Warriors, Ranadivé is also an investor in several other tech companies, such as Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, Spotify,
The owner of the US basketball team the Sacramento Kings, Vivek Ranadivé, will lead a new venture fund for the University of California (UC), anchored with $250m from the UC Investments Office and expected to grow with additional funds from donors, including Ranadivé. The Los Angeles Times reports the fund will have a presence throughout the entire state of California and Ranadivé plans to invest in projects across a range of areas, including technology, energy, life sciences, agriculture, and materials. UC President Janet Napolitano expects the access to capital for start-ups led by students, professors and alumni will help move the results of more high-quality research into the marketplace.