The leader of NCInnovation plans to leave after the end of the year, he told WRAL in an exclusive interview.

The group is an ambitious public-private partnership aimed at helping university scientists turn their research into job-creating private ventures. Research Triangle Park has been a key driver of the state's economy for decades, based on that same general principal, and NCInnovation aims to build on that model in other parts of the state.

CEO Bennett Waters has led NCInnovation through its effort to secure support from the private sector as well as the state government. He helped land tens of millions of dollars in private donations as well as a far heftier $500 million contribution from state taxpayers in 2023.

But now some Republican legislators are eyeing that $500 million wit

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