Technology-based companies from Texas and Portugal create and strengthen interactions

Helping technology-based start-ups grow in the North American and European markets is the goal of the Texas-EU Venture Growth Initiative, an initiative that emerged from the UTEN (University Technology Enterprise Network) program, part of the UT Austin-Portugal partnership. In the 2015 edition, held on April 22 and 23 and organized by ^{the IC2} Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, technology companies from Texas and Portugal learned about opportunities for launching companies, either individually or jointly, in central Texas and the European Union, as well as concrete measures for business development.

The event was attended by nearly 120 entrepreneurs, investors, business incubator directors, and international service providers from Portugal and the United States. It included the Texas-Portugal matchmaking workshop, which discussed the contributions of incubating and accelerating technology-based companies, relationships with investors (domestic and international), and relationships with the market for the success of academic-based innovation.

 The Portuguese delegation included entrepreneurs, investors, directors of the main national incubators and accelerators, as well as representatives from both embassies, Robert Sherman (US Ambassador to Portugal) and Nuno Brito (Portuguese Ambassador to the US). FCT was represented by its vice president, Pedro Carneiro, and members of the Technology Office.

Part of the International Partnership with the University of Austin (UTAustin-Portugal), funded by FCT, UTEN, and the Global Startup Programare currently two of the main programs bridging the gap between early-stage innovations and the market in Portugal. UTEN is a network of universities, technology transfer offices, research centers, incubators, and technology transfer professionals that facilitates the acceleration and commercialization of science and technology-based innovations created by researchers in Portugal.

During the initiative, FCT announced the 1st Integrated Conference on International Partnerships with UT Austin, MIT, and CMU, dedicated to the theme: Fostering Science & Innovation Ecosystems: Portugal-USA Partnerships, to be held on May 29 in Lisbon.