Accelerators & Incubators

/Overview

Nixon Peabody represents organizations that host and manage accelerators and incubators, investors who are active in this environment, and the companies that participate in these programs—empowering our attorneys with a deep and multi-faceted understanding of this nuanced ecosystem.

From this vantage point, we know how to best structure these initiatives, catalyze their operations, and help their ventures optimize investments of capital and strategic resources.

Our team advises on formation and governance, develops policies and equity agreements for portfolio management, solidifies relationships between inventors and investors, and protects and maximizes the value of intellectual property assets as they evolve from concept to marketplace entry.

We also handle the full range of additional legal services needed by emerging growth organizations and the institutions that support them.

/Representative experience

• Represented the University of Southern California (USC) in establishing a collaboration with Autobahn Labs, an early-stage drug discovery accelerator, to advance novel therapeutics for critical medical needs, from cancer to cardiovascular disease. Autobahn will invest up to $5M per selected project while MESH Strategic Partnerships at the Keck School of Medicine, a specialized service that builds relationships between USC and industry groups, will serve as the main research facilitator, ensuring life-changing therapies have a clear and efficient path from the lab to patients in need of innovative solutions.
• Advised the University of Southern California (USC) in its collaboration with leading pre-seed investor Techstars to empower USC-affiliated entrepreneurs through mentorship, education, access to a global network of partners, and fundraising opportunities.
• Serve as mentors and speakers at a range of accelerator and incubator programs around the world, including BioLabs at New York University, BioMedSA in San Antonio, the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator, European Innovation Academy, the Long Island High Technology Incubator, and University of Southern California’s Innovation 360 workshop series.
• Represented BioLabs, an international network of premium laboratory coworking spaces for life sciences entrepreneurs, in connection with an agreement with New York University to together establish a wet lab and collaborative workspace.