HighWire Press Moves Out of Stanford and Becomes an Equity-funded “Inc.” | The Scholarly Kitchen

" ... What is more unusual in our space is when a university, a library or non-profit spins off a for-profit company. There are many successful non-profit and university publishers and many of them also have successful digital publishing initiatives. Some have been true innovators in moving scholarly communication online over the past two decades. Unlike other digital ventures at universities or non-profits, the number of scholarly publishing ventures that were spun off during the past two decades amounts to a very short list. Bucking this trend is now HighWire Press, who announced Friday that it would become HighWire Press Incorporated and spin out of the Stanford University Library, which has been its organizational home since HighWire’s founding in 1995. While this is by no means the first technology transfer out of a university to an independent company, and Stanford University is both prolific and has an enviable track record of success in these undertakings, the transition of HighWire Press from an initiative of the library to a new corporate identity is one worth taking note of in our community. The press release describes a 'significant equity investment to support its strategic growth from Accel-KKR, a leading technology-focused private equity firm.' As such, Accel-KKR will become a majority stakeholder in the new HighWire Inc, with Stanford University’s investment arm, the Stanford Management Group, retaining a significant minority stake in the newly independent venture ..."