As a not-for-profit corporation that receives funding from government and other channels, NBIF has proven itself a lean operation that has invested in about 30 companies, recruited about 50 professors to the province and supported more than 300 research projects. The biggest and shiniest trophy in the NBIF cabinet is the exit of Radian6 – it was an early investor in the Fredericton startup and walked away with $9.25 million, or 28 times its investment, when the company sold out to Salesforce.com.
The government has added $14 million to the foundation’s Research Innovation Fund, which will help to finance about $140 applied research projects. And NBIF has announced its new Innovation Voucher Fund, which allows all small to medium-sized businesses in New Brunswick to receive research funding of up to $80,000 for commercial projects.