Venture Partners at CU Boulder: News

Seven university companies pitched to investors during the Pandemic Hyper-Accelerator for Science and Technology (PHAST) Demo Day on Jan. 25, hosted by Venture Partners at CU Boulder and Rockies Venture Club (RVC).

More than 350 people—including investors and venture capitalists from across the nation—attended both online and in-person at The Rally Hotel in Denver. Venture expertise ranged from aerospace and big data to therapeutics and sustainability, all focused on improving tech and well-being across sectors.

Sixty-five licenses and options. Twenty new startups. $2.1B in capital raised by spinout companies. $3.7B in exits by our startups. When it comes to translating ideas into impact at CU Boulder, the tangible results from 2021 are eye-popping.

Solid Power, which previously received investments from Ford and BMW, raised $542.9 million by going public through a reverse merger with stocks now appearing on the Nasdaq exchange. The company’s solid-state battery tech promises to create lighter, safer and faster-charging batteries for electric vehicles.

Eleven university innovators pitched their innovations at Lab Venture Challenge (LVC), an annual funding competition hosted by Venture Partners at CU Boulder that accelerates commercially promising technologies accelerate into impactful business ventures.

Co-founded by CU Boulder professor Mike McGehee, Tynt has raised $8.5 million in seed funding to scale its reversible metal electrodeposition (RME) technology, which is used to create blackout windows that aim to increase home comfort, privacy and energy efficiency.

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

Aspero Medical received a U.S. patent for its planned medical device, a new balloon catheter for use in gastrointestinal endoscopies. The patent means Aspero can seek FDA approval this year and, if successful, commercialization in early 2022.

These highly competitive grant programs encourage research by small U.S. businesses with the aim of putting innovative products on the market. STTR also requires businesses to collaborate with nonprofit research institutions like CU Boulder.

Meati, which uses the roots of mushrooms to produce whole cuts, was founded in 2019 by Tyler Huggins and CTO Justin Whiteley, who met at CU Boulder while working toward their own PhDs. Whiteley specialized in materials, while Huggins was a former field biologist who discovered the power of mycelium.