Building a Groundbreaking Innovation Pipeline

We achieve record-breaking results by equipping researchers to commercialize lab discoveries with real-world insights. Our programs and processes move at a rapid pace to introduce world-changing innovations from CU Boulder to market.

When it comes to translating ideas into impact at CU Boulder, the tangible results from 2021 are eyepopping, even record-breaking. Sixty-five licenses and options. Twenty new startups. $2.1 billion in capital raised by CU Boulder spinout companies. $3.7 billion in exits by our startups. We are incredibly proud of the “measurables” and the individual success stories of our inventors and startups. And these achievements tell just part of the story.

Our ambitions also include more expansive achievements like regional workforce development, job creation, economic impact and strengthening CU Boulder and its extended ecosystem as an innovation hub for the country and the world. That may sound like a lot, but these are benefits that the nation’s top universities can generate.

Programs we established in 2021 to accelerate commercialization of university technology exemplify how our ambitions extend far beyond campus. We have partnered with the Buff Venture Fund, a new venture capital fund focused on investing in companies spinning out from CU Boulder. The Ascent Deep Tech Accelerator, a partnership with Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), leverages our full ecosystem to accelerate progress for earlystage companies from the University of Colorado Boulder, Colorado Springs and Denver campuses. And, as part of a National Science Foundation initiative, we’re collaborating with seven research universities to form the I-Corps Hub West Region to help cultivate deep technology businesses in the Western United States.

Additionally, in partnership with local angel investing group Rockies Venture Club and OEDIT, we also launched the Pandemic Hyper Accelerator for Science and Technology (PHAST) to support the translation of these CU-developed, COVID-19 innovations into new businesses. We wrapped up 2021 by earning the Innovation Award from the Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU), an honor that recognizes CU Boulder’s continuous endeavor to be the top university for innovation. I hope this report will serve as a resource, outlining new ways we can work together to bring world-changing solutions from CU Boulder to the global community.

Thank you for your support and collaboration!