Two Seattle-area companies today signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology for a partnership that will explore a possible “technology incubator center” in Seattle that would focus on innovative clean technologies.
Patent company Intellectual Ventures and Stratos Group, a firm that runs biotech startups like Stratos Genomics, today gathered at the Westin Building in downtown Seattle with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on hand to witness the signing of the MOU, which also included signatures from Washington State Department of Commerce Director Brian Bonlender and CAS Holdings Chairman Wu Lebin.
The agreement aims to “promote technological commercialization and accompanying economic activity in Washington and Shenzhen, with a focus on clean technology and Areas of Exploration,” according to the MOU.
Both companies, with the support of the Washington State Department of Commerce, will work together over the next two years to establish a potential joint investment fund targeting early-stage clean technology and the formation of a “technology incubation center” in Seattle.
The Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology is a subsidiary of Chinese Academy of Science Holdings.
We’ve followed up with the companies to learn more about the potential tech incubation center. Update: Neither company provided further details about the MOU, noting that the process is still in the early stages of development.
