We investigate the influence of government grants, venture capital (VC), and private equity (PE) funding on innovation in newly public firms. We examine innovation inputs (R&D), innovation outputs (patents), and the quality thereof (patent citations). We contribute to understanding of the mechanisms between government grants and subsequent VC and PE funding and innovation. We find that grants encourage VC funding but not PE funding. Grants and VC/PE funding are generally complements regarding innovation except grants substitute for VC funding on innovation inputs. Furthermore, we observe that the firm-level heterogeneity of VC/PEs significantly influences innovation in portfolio companies.
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