This partnership marks a significant step forward in our mission to accelerate innovation and startup creation across New Jersey. Cornucopian Capital will work closely with the NJII Venture Studio team to evaluate venture concepts, provide investment oversight, and guide early-stage companies through funding and scale-up. 

By combining NJII’s strengths in technology commercialization and academic collaboration with Cornucopian’s deep investment expertise, we’re strengthening our ability to transform high-potential ideas into thriving, fundable startups. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome Cornucopian Capital to the table,” said Michael Van Ter Sluis, Vice President of Entrepreneurship at NJII. “Their experience and insight will be key as we build the next generation of New Jersey-born companies.” 

This collaboration aligns with our commitment to building a systematic and scalable startup ecosystem—one that is grounded in real-world technology and focused on solving critical challenges in healthcare, IT, defense, and beyond. 

It also reinforces NJII’s broader goal: to position New Jersey as a national leader in innovation by linking academic research, entrepreneurial talent, and capital under one strategic vision. 

Learn more about the NJII Venture Studio: https://www.njii.com/venture-studio/

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The NJII Venture Studio is the latest addition to New Jersey’s growing network of Strategic Innovation Centers (SICs). Over the next five years, the NJII Venture Studio aims to launch 10 companies, each with the potential to receive up to $1 million in funding. Startups will benefit from hands-on venture support, including expert mentorship, operational guidance, office space, and access to NJIT’s vast research infrastructure.

“The NJII Venture Studio represents our unwavering commitment to fueling innovation through meaningful collaboration between academia, industry, and government,” said Dr. Michael Johnson. “It’s a platform where transformative ideas can become real-world solutions.”

At the heart of this initiative is the desire to accelerate the commercialization of research developed by NJIT, NJII, and their corporate and academic partners. This effort directly supports NJIT’s 2030 Strategic Plan, which prioritizes research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

“The NJII Venture Studio,” explains Michael van Ter Sluis, Vice President of Entrepreneurship at NJII, “is the purest manifestation of the NJII’s primary mission – to accelerate technology translation from of host institution, NJIT.”

The NJII Venture Studio offers a unique model that integrates corporate collaboration at the earliest stage of development, a differentiator emphasized by NJIT Board of Trustees Chair and NJII Board Member Robert Cohen, President of Digital, Robotics & Enabling Technologies at Stryker. By merging NJIT’s R1 research capabilities, NJII’s operational excellence, and NJEDA’s public-private infrastructure, the NJII Venture Studio is positioned to become a national exemplar of innovation-led economic growth.

“Our goal is to provide startups with more than funding — we’re providing a foundation. We’re giving them a team, a roadmap, and a direct line to industry insight from day one,” said Mary Jane (MJ) Durkin, Director of the NJII Venture Studio.

Located in Newark, a thriving urban hub with access to the largest port on the East Coast and a strong academic and tech ecosystem, the NJII Venture Studio joins HAX as the city’s second SIC. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka praised the collaborative spirit driving this initiative and highlighted the long-term economic ripple effect it will have across the region.

“This is a prime example of what we need to be doing to make our state successful,” said Mayor Baraka. “The relationship between the academic community, the private sector and the public sector is the right combination. Because I believe if you build in Newark, it affects the entire region.”

With its launch, the NJII Venture Studio marks a new chapter in New Jersey’s innovation story — one where research-driven startups are cultivated with purpose and launched with impact.

To learn more or inquire about the NJII Venture Studio, visit https://www.njii.com/venture-studio/.
To explore New Jersey’s Strategic Innovation Centers, visit https://www.njeda.gov/strategic-innovation-ce.

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With a thriving ecosystem of startups, major corporate investments, and a strong pipeline of talent, Newark is increasingly being compared to Silicon Valley. Michael Johnson highlights the city’s strategic advantages, including its proximity to major markets, commitment to emerging technologies, and collaborative efforts between industry and academia.

Could Newark be the next major tech hub? Read Michael Johnson’s insights in the full Forbes article here.

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The NJII Venture Studio will accelerate and commercialize high-tech and information technology developed by NJIT, NJII and NJIT’s corporate partners, alongside other academic contributors to the advancement of the industry. This is the seventh SIC established under Governor Phil Murphy’s administration. SICs are designed to nurture R&D, innovation and entrepreneurship through mentorship, networking and business support, driving the growth of new and diverse enterprises and fueling economic progress.

To read the full article on NJIT’s website click here.

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Michael Johnson, President of the New Jersey Innovation Institute, addressed the crowd, identifying lessons he has learned through his far-ranging career as an innovator, and strategies that entrepreneurs can take to scale their unique businesses. Founded in 2014 at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the New Jersey Innovation Institute aims to accelerate the translation of technologies, foster innovation and upskilling the state’s workforce by being a conduit between NJIT and the outside world.

“It has been breathtaking to see the changes in the state’s innovation economy in such a short period of time and programs like NJ Innovation Fellows are exactly what the state needs to spur innovation and build an innovation ecosystem,” said Johnson.

To read the full press release click here.

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To read the full article click here.

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The 10-month startup accelerator program empowers members with direct investments from Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Northpond Ventures, and McKesson Ventures to enable the generation of innovative digital technologies for drug discovery and development.

The startup cohort will focus on important and disruptive bio-technical approaches in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), with expertise and tools from clinical scientists to continue Merck’s purpose to use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives.

Read the full announcement and learn more about the 12 companies selected to join this collaborative cohort here.

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