Accelerators & Incubators

/Overview

Nixon Peabody represents organizations that host and manage accelerators and incubators, investors who are active in this environment, and the companies that participate in these programs—empowering our attorneys with a deep and multi-faceted understanding of this nuanced ecosystem.

From this vantage point, we know how to best structure these initiatives, catalyze their operations, and help their ventures optimize investments of capital and strategic resources.

Our team advises on formation and governance, drafts the full range of investment, equity, and other agreements needed to execute on business objectives (including SAFEs, convertible notes, and participation agreements), develops policies for portfolio management, solidifies relationships between inventors and investors, and protects and maximizes the value of intellectual property assets as they evolve from concept to marketplace entry.

We also handle the full range of additional legal services needed by emerging growth organizations and the institutions that support them.

/Representative experience

• Represented the University of Southern California (USC) in establishing a collaboration with Autobahn Labs, an early-stage drug discovery accelerator, to advance novel therapeutics for critical medical needs, from cancer to cardiovascular disease. Autobahn will invest up to $5 million per selected project while MESH Strategic Partnerships at the Keck School of Medicine, a specialized service that builds relationships between USC and industry groups, will serve as the main research facilitator, ensuring life-changing therapies have a clear and efficient path from the lab to patients in need of innovative solutions.
• Advised the USC in its collaboration with leading pre-seed investor Techstars to empower USC-affiliated entrepreneurs through mentorship, education, access to a global network of partners, and fundraising opportunities.
• Serve as mentors and speakers at a range of accelerator and incubator programs around the world, including BioLabs at New York University, BioMedSA in San Antonio, the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator, the European Innovation Academy, the Long Island High Technology Incubator, and University of Southern California’s Innovation 360 workshop series.
• We represent NEC X, Inc., the venture studio of NEC Corporation, regarding its accelerator program. This representation includes advice regarding its template agreements, negotiating and structuring investments in its portfolio companies, and intellectual property and other issues.
• Represented BioLabs, an international network of premium laboratory coworking spaces for life sciences entrepreneurs, in connection with an agreement with New York University to together establish a wet lab and collaborative workspace.

/Our other IP legal services

• Intellectual Property
• Artificial Intelligence IP
• Copyright, Trademark & Media Litigation
• Fintech & Financial Services IP
• Food, Beverage & Agribusiness
• Intellectual Property Transactions
• International Services
• Microbiome
• Patent Litigation
• Patent Mining & Monetization
• Patent Portfolio Management
• Post-Grant Proceedings
• Technology Transfer
• Trademark Portfolio Management

/Our relevant corporate legal services

• Emerging Companies
• Mergers, Acquisitions, and Corporate Transactions
• NP Capital Connector® 
• Transactional Employment Due Diligence 
• Venture Capital 
• Workplace Policies, Procedures & Training