Former Senate President Steve Sweeney said he would develop a state venture capitalist endeavor if elected governor, according to a platform he released Thursday.
The Democrat said he would found a New Jersey Innovation Commonwealth modeled after Silicon Valley and Israel’s technology industry. The former legislator said the new program would fund the “commercialization of ideas” from New Jersey scientists and engineers, and said the program would receive returns on investments.
In the release, Sweeney said the program would combine public funds, endowments, and other funds to invest in the early stages of “mission-critical technologies.” The program would focus on “financing new ventures” in health, energy, materials science, and information technology.
The Democrat said the program would collaborate with Rutgers, Rowan, and Princeton Universities, the Stevens Institute of Technology, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, county colleges, and trade schools.
“As the Trump administration continues to undermine the Department of Education and cut critical school funding to advance political agendas, it’s more important than ever to safeguard access to quality education and better position ourselves for future success,” Sweeney said in a release. “As Governor, I will strengthen our higher-ed institutions and push back against these threats by investing in our universities, county colleges, and trade schools – as well as building strong, private, in-state partnerships – so New Jersey remains the best state in the country to learn, work, and live.”
The NJ Innovation Commonwealth Authority would also provide grants and similar research investments, while working with New Jersey-based companies like Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and RWJ Barnabas.
Sweeney is one of six Democrats seeking to replace term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy. The primary will be held June 10, and more than 25,000 Democrats have already voted by mail.
