Grants, Capital and Resources
A key competitive advantage is the availability of non-dilutive and early stage seed capital to support emerging bioscience companies combined with proven value-added resources to promote commercialization and assist start-ups in the state.
Oklahoma Applied Research Support (OARS): Cutting-edge research leads to successful products, processes and services. OARS funds research in diverse fields, ranging from medicine, agriculture and energy to manufacturing, aerospace and biotechnology.
Oklahoma Health Research: Oklahomans are developing treatments and conducting research to help people live longer, healthier lives. Through this program, basic human health research projects are funded to attract the much greater R&D funding necessary to move the work forward and develop treatments to help combat society’s greatest afflictions.
Oklahoma Plant Science Research: Plant science research, for the purpose of this program, means those research activities occurring at institutions of higher education, nonprofit research institutions and private enterprises, which involve basic research in plant productivity, renewable biomass, plant-based environmental applications and chemical platforms, plant-based solutions to improve nutrition, human and/or animal health or performance, process applications and seed management and the development of new products and services that shall form the basis of new, high-technology plant science/agriculture industry for Oklahoma.
Small Business Research Assistance (SBRA): The Oklahoma SBRA program helps Oklahoma small businesses identify and successfully compete for research funding through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) and other federal programs.
Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund is a state-supported investment fund that provides concept, seed and start-up equity investments to the state’s innovative businesses. The fund looks for opportunities that show promise of rapid growth in terms of revenue, increased employment and increased private investment capital.
SeedStep Angels is a wide network of accredited angel investors that povide capital, strategic advice and mentoring to emerging growth companies to help them achieve market leadership. This network can expose entrepreneurs to a wide set of potential investors, and the process facilitates efficient investment decisions.
Cowboy Technologies was organized in 2011 as a for-profit, limited-liability company with a mission to be a catalyst for commercializing university inventions. The company goals run parallel with that of Oklahoma State University’s land grant mission of taking University research from “campus to community.”
Oklahoma has a well-developed technology development, commercialization and entrepreneurship support infrastructure.
For nearly 30 years, the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) has supported innovations and technologies that impact the world far beyond the borders of our state. OCAST is committed to diversifying the state’s economy through science and technology while helping to create jobs and bring greater prosperity to Oklahoma.
i2E, Inc. is a nationally recognized private not-for-profit corporation focused on growing innovative small businesses in Oklahoma and making a positive impact on the state’s economy. i2E receives state appropriations from OCAST and is an integral part of Oklahoma’s innovative model.
The New Product Development Center (NPDC) at Oklahoma State University pairs Oklahoma’s small manufacturers with OSU faculty, staff and students to help commercialize the manufacturer’s new product concepts.
Cowboy Technologies was organized in 2011 as a for-profit, limited-liability company with a mission to be a catalyst for commercializing university inventions. The company goals run parallel with that of Oklahoma State University’s land grant mission of taking University research from “campus to community.”
The Center or the Creation of Economic Wealth (CCEW) at the University of Oklahoma is an economic development organization specializing in technology commercialization, software business development, social entrepreneurship and agile product design.
With four curriculum programs in biological sciences, Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) seeks to encourage an attitude of discovery and critical analysis along with a genuine interest in the sciences. OCCC’s goal is to provide students the knowledge and experience to pursue further studies in the sciences or participate in science and technology.
Tulsa Community College (TCC), the state’s largest community college, also offers a wide variety of bio-related curriculum, including biotechnology and health sciences.