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Fourteen teams of University of Colorado entrepreneurs, faculty researchers and graduate student innovators will compete for a combined $1.25 million in startup funding grants in this year’s Lab Venture Challenge (LVC) Showcases. Judges from Venture Partners at CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ’s entrepreneurial network will hear Shark Tank-style pitches across two nights, one for innovations in biosciences and another for physical sciences and engineering.

CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Today—CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ researchers attracted a record $742.2 million in fiscal year 2023–24 for studies and initiatives that, among other things, could lead to an end of osteoarthritis, better space weather predictions and a more climate-resilient American West.

The Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator pairs seasoned entrepreneurs with university technologies to bring those breakthroughs to market in response to urgent societal needs. Embark has launched its second Entrepreneurs in Residence cohort and will provide Intellectual Property rights, salary support, grant funds and investor introductions to launch startups with real-world impact. 

CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Today—CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Chancellor Justin Schwartz announced that Massimo Ruzzene, vice chancellor for research and innovation, will begin reporting directly to him, effective Aug. 30. Ruzzene currently reports to Provost Russell Moore, the chief academic officer of the campus.

The University of Colorado is a proud partner of the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine (CO-WY Engine), one of ten inaugural awardees under the National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines initiative. The CO-WY Engine announced the launch of its use-inspired and translation grant opportunities to accelerate the research, development and commercialization of innovations into tangible products, services or solutions that address climate resiliency. Selected projects will receive funding from $250,000 to $750,000.

CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Today—Elevate Quantum, of which CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ is a key partner, announced today that it has received a Tech Hub Phase 2 implementation award from the Department of Commerce, unlocking more than $127 million in new federal and state funding.

Venture Partners at CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ is proud to unveil Sophia, the university's new portal for university innovators—a sophisticated tool designed to streamline and enhance the innovation disclosure process for inventions and copyrighted materials.

CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Today—Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ushered in a new bill to support the state’s rapidly growing quantum industry. Polis signed the bill from the top floor of the JILA Tower, one of the epicenters of quantum research on campus, with a view of the Flatirons in the background.

Now in its second year, the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator, offered by Venture Partners at CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ, matches business minds outside the university with breakthrough inventions created within its walls and provides funding for those

2023 was another tremendous year for innovation at the University of Colorado ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ. Campus researchers and inventors created a strong crop of 162 breakthrough technologies this past year. These spanned the breadth of CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ’s research expertise, with innovations in climate tech, biotechnology, quantum science, optics and aerospace, to name a few. CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ's commercialization arm, Venture Partners at CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ, supports a groundbreaking pipeline translating research into real-world impact, as highlighted in their 2023 Annual Report.