Penn and Ben Franklin Tech Partners expand startup partnership

Ben Franklin Technology Partners, a state-sponsored early-stage investor, will increase the amount of money it will provide next year to winners of a start-up program at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Center for Innovation, Penn and Ben Franklin said Wednesday.

Three finalists in this year's DevelUPmed contest, designed to help Penn research commercialize medical device inventions, received $5,000 for initial prototyping. The winner, to be announced Thursday at the Pennovation Center, in Grays Ferry, will received $50,000.

For next year's program, Ben Franklin has agreed to provide up to $50,000 for four finalists that meet its investment criteria.