Venture Partners News
Ascent helps founders of deep tech startups refine their business models, secure funding and accelerate toward market readiness. Through intensive mentorship, investor exposure and tailored workshops, participants gain the resources and connections to transform high-impact research into scalable companies.
CU Boulder researchers continued to deliver meaningful, positive outcomes in the university's public research mission through strong results in fiscal year 2024–25. Highlights of their work include big innovations in quantum technology, improving our understanding of space weather, and enhancing environmental resiliency.
CU Connections—The University of Colorado system generated $12.2 billion in economic impact across Colorado last year, highlighting CU’s growing role in the state’s economy through education, research, innovation and health care, according to a new economic study. This is growth of more than half a billion dollars over 2024.
CUbit Quantum Initiative—The University of Colorado Boulder has announced a novel partnership between its Colorado Quantum Incubator (COQI) and Stout Street Capital, a Denver-based venture capital firm and ecosystem builder focused on deep tech.
Eleven teams of University of Colorado faculty, researchers and graduate student innovators competed for a combined $750,000 in startup funding grants in this year’s Lab Venture Challenge (LVC). Judges from CU Boulder’s entrepreneurial network heard Shark-Tank-style pitches across two nights, one for innovations in biosciences and another for physical sciences and engineering.
From agriculture to aerospace, NSF’s I-Corps is a launchpad at the University of Colorado Boulder, helping innovators in and out of the University of Colorado bring research and inventions to the people who need them most. By equipping scientists and inventors with entrepreneurial tools, the program transforms great ideas into startups that tackle real-world problems.
Fast Company—Ignition Schools awards recognize the colleges and universities shaping future entrepreneurs and innovators, representing the diversity of education approaches that will be needed to prepare the next generation of disrupters to prevail.
As a researcher, creator or inventor at the University of Colorado, your work has the potential to change the world. Protecting these innovations may be necessary to ensure that they reach their full potential, benefiting society while securing recognition and opportunities for you.
Eleven teams of University of Colorado entrepreneurs, faculty researchers and graduate student innovators will compete for a combined $750,000 in startup funding grants in this year’sÌýLab Venture Challenge (LVC) Showcases at the Dairy Arts Center. Judges from Venture Partners at CU Boulder’s entrepreneurial network will hear Shark Tank-style pitches across two nights, one for innovations in biosciences and another for physical sciences and engineering.
Join the Center for Translational Funding for a series of engaging lunchtime sessions designed to demystify the landscape of non-dilutive funding opportunities that support the journey from lab to market. For faculty, postdocs, PhD students and startup teams who want to learn how to secure early-stage funding to commercialize research, build ventures and scale innovation.