CU Startup News
Venture Partners at CU Boulder capped off its fifth Ascent Deep Tech Accelerator with the 2026 Ascent Deep Tech Community Showcase, where research-based startup teams pitched innovations originating from the University of Colorado to an audience of investors, entrepreneurs and fellow researchers. The showcase featured ventures developing breakthrough solutions in health, robotics, advanced materials and more.
Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA)—The presenting companies selected for the 2026 Rocky Mountain Life Sciences Investor & Partnering Conference feature close to 50 companies from Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West, including eight from CU Boulder.
The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) has announced that eight University of Colorado Boulder researchers and four startups received funding through the latest round of the Advanced Industries Accelerator Program. The awards, granted through the Proof of Concept and Early-Stage Capital and Retention programs, represent one of the university's strongest performances to date.
The University of Colorado Boulder has emerged as a leading hub for battery innovation, producing breakthrough research and a series of successful startups—including Solid Power, SiILion, Otoro Energy, Forge Nano and Mana Battery—that are advancing safer, cheaper and more effective energy storage technologies. The university’s unique combination of world-class researchers, entrepreneurial support and industry partnerships has helped transform laboratory discoveries into companies with significant economic and societal impact.
CIRES—Founded by Larisza Krista, senior research scientist in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), Helio Today builds on decades of space weather research to provide earlier, more reliable forecasts of solar eruptions and geomagnetic storms, helping industries protect critical infrastructure and reduce the multi-billion-dollar risks posed by space weather events.
Forge Nano, a University of Colorado Boulder spinout, has announced it will go public through a $1.6 billion blank-check deal, making it the 11th unicorn to spin out of CU Boulder.
The New York Times, WIRED, CU Boulder Today—A research team of scientists and engineers from the University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Colorado State University has developed a suite of therapies that prompt aging or damaged joints to repair themselves within weeks, according to animal studies. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has advanced the up to $33.5M project to its next phase, and the team has formed Renovare Therapeutics Inc. to move toward commercialization.
The University of Colorado Boulder and Techstars, the global startup accelerator and investor, have announced a strategic partnership to expand opportunities for founders and strengthen Colorado’s innovation economy.
Wall Street Journal—The second Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement targets vaccines, leading some investors to step back. In biotech investment circles, they are the ultimate contrarians: the venture capitalists who say now is the time to invest in vaccines. VitriVax, a CU Boulder spinout, raised more than $17.2 million in Series B financing in October.
Luminate—Empire State Development (ESD) announced the 10 startups chosen for round nine of the New York State-supported Luminate NY accelerator, investment fund and competition—two are CU Boulder startups.