Do venture capitalists have a bias against investment in academic spinoffs? Evidence from the MNT sector in the UK

In this paper, we provide original empirical evidence, based on a sample of 255 new ventures operating in the micro and nanotechnology (MNT) sector in the United Kingdom, on the ability of academic spin-offs to attract venture capital financing. We analyze whether venture capitalists have a bias against investing in academic spin-offs due to high levels of risk and monitoring costs. Our results suggest that this bias does not exist in the case of MNT, although spin-offs from universities with high institutional prestige have a significantly higher likelihood to receive VC financing as compared to other academic and non-academic start-ups.