Thursday, The Seed Stage posted about the University of Utah spinning out 17 startups in the last year. What we didn't mention was that 80% of the startups have already received funding, through venture funds, angels or federal grants. Brian Cummings, the executive director of the school's office of technology commercialization, pointed out that the year before the university spun out 20 new companies.

As a comparison, that same year the Massachusetts Institute of Technology spun out 21. Cummings attributes the success at commercialization to two things: The University of Utah standardized its tech transfer program and eliminated up-front fees for for the startups and their backers, and the state created a $100 million fund-of-funds program that encourages venture investment in the state.

According to The Deseret Morning News, Mark Gorenberg, managing director of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, says Utah has surpassed Boston as a target for investment.

"It's our second-biggest area for investing now," says Gorenberg, whose fund invests only in software companies. "It is the number one tech growth area we believe in the country today, by the way, and we believe we're going to make more money here also than anywhere else in the country ... including the Bay Area. So you should be very proud of what's being built here."

The school's fund-of-funds program invests in venture capital and private equity firms who in turn invest in Utah startups. The program has apparently been judged a success by economic development officials, and the business community in Utah is pushing the state legislature to triple the size of the program this year, creating a $300 million fund. Clearly, there's more than the mountain air encouraging investment in the Beehive State. - Stacey Higginbotham

See Aug. 17 story from Deseret Morning News