A major investment boost for entrepreneurial talent

Earlier this week, a new venture fund was launched: Delphinus Venture Capital. I’m delighted to see this initiative take shape, as it gives researchers and students a new opportunity to secure the capital they need to realise their entrepreneurial ideas and transform their knowledge into promising new companies.

Delphinus Venture Capital will invest in visionary entrepreneurs with commercially viable business ideas, offering them the best possible opportunities to establish and scale their startups.

Society has high expectations that research will also drive business development and provide solutions to the challenges we face – and at Aarhus University, we are already delivering on this mission. In recent years, we’ve seen a growing number of the university’s researchers generate outstanding ideas that can advance development and provide solutions through commercialisation.

That’s why it’s crucial that researchers with entrepreneurial talent have access to the necessary capital to turn their ideas into research-intensive companies – many of which will go on to benefit our region. Delphinus can serve as a vital launch pad for this, as it is often a lack of capital that prevents talented entrepreneurs from reaching the next level.

There is untapped potential when it comes to leveraging our knowledge and innovation to create even more research-intensive companies. As rector of Aarhus University, I meet researchers and students brimming with ideas and initiative, and companies founded by AU researchers have attracted almost DKK 3 billion in investments over the past five years. We also have a strong commercial base in East and Central Jutland. In other words, we are starting from an exceptionally strong position.

It’s also important to emphasise that a portion of the returns from the new venture fund will flow back to the Aarhus University Research Fund and be channelled into its regular grants. In this way, the increased activity in the field of innovation will also benefit Aarhus University’s research, helping to create a self-reinforcing cycle over the long term.

The new venture fund has been realised through a collaboration between three major business players – Heartland A/S, Norlys and Salling Group – and the Aarhus University Research Foundation. I would like to warmly acknowledge the strong commitment our partners have shown, which will directly benefit our entrepreneurs.
I look forward to seeing even more research-intensive companies emerge in our part of the country, built on solid ideas and backed by investment from Delphinus Venture Capital.