David Washburn serves as President of Red Cedar Ventures and Chief Executive Officer of the Michigan State University (MSU) Research. See contact routes.
David Washburn serves as President of Red Cedar Ventures and Chief Executive Officer of the Michigan State University (MSU) Research Foundation, overseeing the venture arm that commercializes MSU intellectual property after previously leading technology transfer at the University of Tennessee and University of Illinois. His firm’s investment thesis targets the idea and pre-seed stages, focusing exclusively on Michigan-based technology ventures emerging from the MSU system to provide initial capital for prototyping and market research. Red Cedar Ventures typically invests a minimum of $250,000 per company and often participates in future rounds alongside strong lead investors rather than acting as the sole lead. Notable portfolio companies include GreenMark Biomedical and Ubiquitous Energy, both of which received early funding from the firm to advance their technologies. Washburn’s distinctive point of view centers on the critical role of university-origin capital in bridging the gap between academic research and market launch for faculty and student startups. While he holds board positions at entities like Cambridge Enterprise, the search resul
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