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In the past year alone, 91ɫ�� spun out 20 new “deep tech” businesses from its research labs. At the same time, as we reflect on our progress as an Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) University, we are careful not to lose sight of the very personal stories that are contained within the metrics of economic impact.

“Rather than just focusing on intellectual property and IP transactions, we are putting our effort and our resources toward developing entrepreneurs and helping them build businesses," says Brynmor Rees, assistant vice chancellor for innovation at 91ɫ�� and managing director for Venture Partners.

Startup company founders who commercialize 91ɫ��’s research innovations will be getting a boost in 2022. Ascent, a startup accelerator specifically created for 91ɫ�� innovators, will help founders launch their companies, raise investment capital, and gain market and partnership traction.

With a new, $15 million dollar award announced by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on August 25, engineers and scientists from top research universities across the Western United States—including 91ɫ��—will form a new consortium, the I-Corps Hub West Region, to help advance new technologies and incubate emergent companies that can move breakthrough discoveries from the lab to the marketplace.

A detailed article on Venture Partners' “hyper-accelerator” program—Pandemic Hyper-Accelerator for Science and Technology (PHAST)—appears in the July issue of Technology Transfer Tactics. PHAST leverages Economic Development Administration (EDA) funding while also rapidly bringing innovative solutions to market. That program is now beginning to bear fruit, with a first cohort of startups preparing for an inaugural Demo Day scheduled for January 2022.

SBIR and STTR grants are highly competitive programs that encourage research by small U.S. businesses with the aim of putting innovative, profitable products on the market. The STTR program also requires small businesses to collaborate with nonprofit research institutions such as 91ɫ��.

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) today named the 91ɫ�� (91ɫ��) as one of six university finalists for its ninth annual Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) University Awards.

Venture Partners at 91ɫ��—the university's commercialization arm—has launched the Pandemic Hyper Accelerator for Science and Technology (PHAST) to support the translation of CU-developed, COVID-19 innovations into new businesses. Crucial to PHAST's programming is the partnership formed with local angel investing group Rockies Venture Club (RVC), as the program requires participants to complete RVC's 1-week HyperAccelerator. PHAST is taking applications through May 21.

Register now to attend the biggest Destination Startup® yet, from February 16-18, 2021. Twenty-five startups from 10 different universities across six states in the Rocky Mountain region will showcase their technologies, drawing investors from around the world.

Dipika Singh got her first taste of commercialization in 2012–13 when she and her supervisor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center developed a proprietary medium for freezing neurons. At the time of her invention, Singh was 25 and deciding whether to pursue a PhD or explore the business side of biotech. She earned an MBA at the 91ɫ��. While there, she did an internship at the university’s tech transfer office. Seven years later she is a senior licensing officer at the university.