UVA Licensing & Ventures Group

Unlike a typical TTO that only licenses patents to third parties, UVA LVG operates an internal Seed Fund — managed by Robert J. Creeden — that directly capitalizes spinouts. It also maintains a formal Entrepreneurs in Residence program with seven named executives who can serve as interim management for fledgling companies, turning the office into both a patent manager and an active venture investor at the seed stage.

Robert J. Creeden, as Managing Director of the UVA LVG Seed Fund & New Ventures, leads the group's direct venture-investment activity. The broader organization is run by Executive Director Richard W. Chylla, who oversees licensing, finance, operations, and legal functions. The Seed Fund operates within the Office of the Vice President for Research, under Assistant Vice President Robert R. Merhige.

UVA LVG's venture activity appears focused on direct seed and start-up equity investments in its own university spinouts rather than fund-of-funds commitments. The group negotiates license agreements, provides seed funding, and embeds Entrepreneurs in Residence into portfolio companies.

The group targets early-stage opportunities — specifically seed and start-up phases — consistent with its role in forming companies around freshly disclosed university inventions. It also indicates the capacity to participate in expansion and late-stage rounds for existing portfolio companies that have matured beyond the formation stage.

The UVA LVG Seed Fund is a commercialization vehicle, not part of the university's long-term endowment pool. It operates under the Office of the Vice President for Research and focuses on equity investments in UVA spinouts, while the Board of Directors — which includes former TA Associates Chairman Richard Tadler — provides governance separate from the university's investment management company.