# Utah Innovation Fund

Utah Innovation Fund is an Asset Manager based in Salt Lake City, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Salt Lake City, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Salt Lake City, UT, United States
- **Founded:** 2023
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** utahinnovationfund.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/nucleus-fund-utah

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Nucleus Fund provides early-stage investment for Utah's deep-tech sector. It was created to accelerate Utah's economy by investing in early-stage, deep-tech ventures emerging from the state's universities and research institutions. It offers access to mentorship, networks, and commercialization resources and connects research from state institutions to global markets.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- AI/ML
- ClimateTech
- Industrial Tech
- Robotics & Automation
- Healthcare Services
- Real Estate
- Mobility & Transportation

## People

- Gavin Christensen — Board Chair
- Katy Willis — Chief Executive Officer
- Spencer Romney — Investment Director

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the Utah Innovation Fund?

Investment Director Spencer Romney leads deal origination, diligence, and portfolio management, reporting to CEO Katy Willis. A board chaired by Gavin Christensen of Kickstart Fund provides investment oversight. The three-person investment team operates with independence from the state legislature, though deployment milestones are mandated by the fund's enabling legislation.

### How is the Utah Innovation Fund capitalized, and what is the source of its capital?

The fund was capitalized with a one-time $30 million allocation from the Utah State Legislature in 2023. This is not pension capital — it is a direct state appropriation structured as an evergreen investment vehicle. Returns recycle back into the fund rather than flowing to the state's general fund, enabling perpetual reinvestment.

### What is the relationship between the Utah Innovation Fund and the University of Utah?

The fund maintains formal cooperation agreements with both the University of Utah and Utah State University to access and commercialize faculty and student research. It works alongside the University of Utah's PIVOT Center but operates as an independent investment entity, not a university program. Spencer Romney previously invested university-affiliated deals at PIVOT before joining the fund.

### What investment stages and check sizes does the Utah Innovation Fund target?

The fund writes initial checks between $200,000 and $1 million, targeting seed and Series A rounds with reserved follow-on capital for later stages. It takes equity positions on commercial terms, distinguishing itself from grant-based state economic development programs. The evergreen structure allows flexible hold periods unconstrained by conventional fund lifecycles.

### Which sectors does the Utah Innovation Fund explicitly avoid?

The fund has not publicly enumerated exclusions, but its university-commercialization mandate naturally filters for deep-tech and IP-driven sectors — enterprise software, AI/ML, industrial tech, robotics, semiconductor packaging, climate tech, and healthcare services. Consumer internet, traditional retail, and non-Utah-affiliated startups fall outside its statutory scope.

### How does the Utah Innovation Fund differ from Utah's public pension investment programs?

Utah's roughly $20 billion public pension system allocates to external fund managers across asset classes. The Innovation Fund by contrast makes direct equity investments from its own balance sheet into early-stage companies, with no pension beneficiary obligations. It is a separate legal entity, not a program within the state retirement system.

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- [Freya Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/freya-ventures)
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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:08:22.057Z

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