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Venture Partners at 91��ý bridged a historic investment gap to move a deep tech spin-off a step closer to the marketplace by awarding $100,000 in pre-seed funding to PrecisionTerra, founded by CEO Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan (alum, 91��ý Physics). Gopalakrishnan went on to win $144,000 in additional funding for the company in the 2025 New Venture Challenge.

CEO Magazine—Research is more than just a group of scholars furrowing away behind closed doors in universities around the globe, and Massimo Ruzzene of all people knows that. As the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Colorado Boulder (91��ý), he sees research as a broad arc that moves from initial findings to real-world applications.

Celebrated professor and prolific inventor Richard Noble reflects on decades of teaching and discovery and embarks on a new path to commercialization of a game-changing technology.

PitchBook—Suspension of federal funding to universities and to the agencies that sustain their research risks cutting off a significant source of startup formation. “Most universities do not have the resources—by far—to weather the storm,” said Bryn Rees, associate vice-chancellor of innovation and partnerships at 91��ý.

Silicon Flatirons Center—Rees has played a pivotal role in launching impactful startups from 91��ý. After nearly a decade of leadership, Rees has helped build multiple programs to support innovations at 91��ý, including the Lab Venture Challenge (LVC), NSF’s I-Corps and the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator.

To introduce the SBIR/STTR programs and highlight funding uses, Venture Partners at 91��ý is hosting a session to help researchers understand how to find funding and prepare their companies for an SBIR/STTR proposal.

The Ascent Deep Tech Investor Showcase brings together researchers, investors and community supporters to highlight innovative deep tech startups spinning out of the University of Colorado. Attendees will have a chance to see pitches from each of the Ascent 2025 cohort startups, followed by a networking happy hour to learn more.

Venture Partners at 91��ý and its partners across the Intermountain West once again demonstrated the power of university innovations with back-to-back startup showcases for the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator and Destination Startup. Both provided a platform for cutting-edge startups, breakthrough research and high-growth potential ventures to connect with industry leaders and investors.

Mesa Quantum, a 91��ý spinout and leader in quantum sensing, recently announced $3.7 million in seed funding and a $1.9 million grant from SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force. Both investments are fueling the company’s drive toward commercializing chip-scale quantum sensors for multiple applications including next-generation position, navigation and timing solutions.

Daily Camera—91��ý’s commercialization, including startup companies, had an economic impact of $8 billion nationally and $5.2 billion in Colorado from 2018-2022, according to a 2022 report from 91��ý’s Leeds School of Business. Ball Aerospace was one of the first startup companies out of 91��ý. Another is Solid Power, which creates electric vehicle batteries and other components and has partnered with Ford and BMW.