US President Barack Obama's administration on Monday announced a new partnership with the private sector to encourage start-up firms and research into clean energy and new technologies. The initiative comes after Obama made encouraging American "innovation" a centrepiece of his annual State of the Union speech to Congress last week. He called for key investments in new research and clean energy to prevent the United States from falling behind other countries like China and India in an increasingly globalized world. Private companies are expected to match a 2-billion-dollar investment over the next five years by the Obama administration in the new "Startup America" fund, which would help budding new firms get off the ground. The effort will be headed by AOL co-founder Steve Case, marking Obama's latest shift to the political centre by enlisting members of the US business community to kick-start job growth in the country. "Entrepreneurs embody the promise of America ... (and) also play a critical role in expanding our economy and creating jobs," Obama said. The White House said Obama will also press for an end to capital gains taxes for key investments by smaller businesses and quickening the pace for patent applications by new firms.
