UChicago’s Polsky Center Celebrates Three Startup Exits in Two Months

Three startups supported by the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation – NowPow, Pyxis, and Explorer Surgical – announced exits in just two months. Startup exits mark a critical new phase for a company, typically through an initial public offering (IPO) of stock, a merger, or an acquisition, where early investors see a return on their […]

Northwestern plans multimillion-dollar technology accelerator

Northwestern University announced today it will create a multimillion-dollar technology accelerator in downtown Evanston to support startup companies led by Northwestern faculty in health, life sciences and related fields, amplifying scientific discovery and innovation by supplying the laboratory space, networking opportunities and management training necessary to address the world’s biggest problems. The collaborative space will […]

 Chicago startup Rheaply raises $2.2M from Microsoft climate fund, MIT

Rheaply, a Chicago startup that specializes in recycling and sourcing unused items, has raised new funding from Microsoft and MIT. The startup, led by CEO Garry Cooper, landed $2.2 million from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund and MIT Solve’s investment arm, Solve Innovation Future. Founded in 2015, Rheaply has set out to strengthen the “circular economy,” a term […]

UIUC launches new innovation project 

The University has chosen to fund an innovation project selected from the Investment for Growth Program that aims to foster connections between industry partners, faculty and students. The Hub for Brand Innovation and Advertising Technology is a new initiative launched in collaboration with the Department of Advertising and the Siebel Center for Design and Technology Services at Illinois. “The […]

UI, IBM announce $200 million Discovery Accelerator Institute

IBM and the state of Illinois are partnering with the University of Illinois to invest $200 million over 10 years in a new Discovery Accelerator Institute. The Grainger College of Engineering hopes to launch the new institute this fall, Dean Rashid Bashir said. “We look forward to working with them to develop this new model of […]

University of Chicago to fund quantum technology start-ups

The University of Chicago, which is already planning to build a quantum internet, has launched a programme to fund quantum technology start-ups. The new venture, called Duality, wants to help up to 10 quantum start-ups a year to grow their businesses in the Chicago area. It has allocated a minimum $20 million investment over the […]

University of Chicago’s Polsky Center Launches New Deep Tech Accelerator

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago has launched the Compass, a first-of-its-kind deep tech accelerator program for early-stage startups and technologies created by researchers at the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Participants gain access to world-class resources over the six month program with the goal of being […]

UIC Innovation Fund to support commericialization of UIC-based technologies

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Innovation (OVCI) is proud to announce the creation of the UIC Innovation Fund to support the commercialization of technologies developed by faculty, staff and students at UIC. The new UIC Innovation Fund will combine oversight of the Chancellor’s Translational Research Initiative (CTRI) and the Proof of Concept (POC) […]

Illinois Innovation Network announces seed funding recipients

The Illinois Innovation Network on Monday awarded seed grants to teamsthat will use collaborative research to improve nutrition, turn trash into usable products, explore urban-rural connections, and enhance agricultural practices.  The funding is part of IIN’s Sustaining Illinois program, which is designed to increase collaborative research among the state’s public universities, focusing on the economy, health, and […]