Montana State University awarded federal funds for statewide tech ‘gap’ grants

Montana State University has been awarded a federal grant to create a public-private partnership for growing tech companies in Montana.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration announced July 23 that it had awarded $750,000 to MSU’s Prospect Montana, a newly created program to promote high-tech economic development statewide.

The three-year funding will support three complementary efforts to see high-tech companies grow and create jobs in communities across the state, said Daniel Juliano, head of MSU’s Technology Transfer Office, who applied for the grant.

The Prospect Montana program will begin this fall with a competitive request for MSU gap fund proposals. Grant funds will be awarded to three to five applicants based on the commercial potential of their technology.