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The intermountain west innovation ecosystem came together at the fifth annual Destination Startup® showcase on Feb. 15 and 16, hosted by Venture Partners at CU �Ǹ�Թ�. In a highly competitive field, 21 university ventures from intermountain west research institutions were selected to present at the showcase.

The Research & Innovation Office has announced several leadership transitions within the campuswide Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, with Stan Hickory stepping into the role of director of the initiative, a position held by Chris Gustavson since 2019.

Commercialization activities led by Venture Partners at the �Ǹ�Թ� had an economic impact of $8 billion nationally and $5.2 billion in the state of Colorado over the last five years, according to a new report from the Leeds School of Business.

From Tech Transfer Central — Since launching its Licensing with EASE® express agreement for start-up entrepreneurs in 2018, CU �Ǹ�Թ� has seen its number of startups “increase dramatically,” according to Brynmor Rees, associate vice chancellor for research & innovation and managing director of Venture Partners.

Twelve teams of University of Colorado faculty, researchers and graduate student innovators competed for a combined $1.25 million in startup funding grants in this year’s Venture Challenge (LVC).

Vitro3D, a CU �Ǹ�Թ� startup pioneering volumetric 3D printing for life sciences, just closed its first investment round of $1.3 million. The hard-won vote of confidence from the investment community will allow the promising new venture to pursue ambitious technical advances while continuing to build critical business capacity. 

Deep tech cohort pitches progress after inaugural accelerator.

These grants will help companies accelerate their entry into Colorado's deep-tech industries and increase access to early-stage capital.

Delegates from Stockholm's KTH Royal Institute of Technology Innovation Office visited �Ǹ�Թ� to begin talks for future collaborations with not only CU �Ǹ�Թ�, but the Front Range’s premier research labs.

Mercure was described as a “revolutionizer” of the university’s process for transforming research at CU �Ǹ�Թ� into commercial applications. The former CU tech transfer director co-founded CU spinout Ball Aerospace, launching �Ǹ�Թ� into the pantheon of aerospace science and engineering.