

Ask HN: Would VC invest to do research? - jamesjguthrie

Hey guys<p>I have an idea for a project where either:<p>quite a bit of scientific research needs to be done first, or;<p>people need to be paid a lot of money to give me access to their work.<p>Lots of people have tried the second suggestion and have failed. The engineer that done the original work has now died and his family are unwilling to reveal the secrets behind it. So the only option is to do the research.<p>If once the research is complete the results are the same as the original work, there will be a <i>ton</i> of money to be made.<p>I've considered approaching my University about this work but 1) I don't think they can afford the research and 2) I think the University would own the work/potential patents, that's not ideal from a business perspective.<p>So, would investors put money in to do this research knowing the potential outcome?
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ig1
Generally most major universities have systems in place for licensing work
back to researchers and often have biz dev teams to help researchers spin of
research into companies.

In terms of VCs it would depend what sector you're in. In for example clean
energy and pharmaceuticals funding research is par for the course, but for a
web app you've got little to no chance.

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jamesjguthrie
It's internal combustion engine research really. The potential outcome will be
massive improvement in thermal efficiency and as such, reduced emissions.

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pmtarantino
I just comment to follow this conversation, and to give you some traction too
:)

