Record 35 CU Boulder startups launched last year

The University of Colorado Boulder launched a record 35 startup companies derived from university inventions and groundbreaking research in fiscal year 2023-24. This is up from its previous record of 20 launched in fiscal year 2020-21 and places it among the most prolific single-campus institutions nationwide in startup creation.
Venture Partners, the university’s commercialization arm, has been pivotal in transforming the university’s groundbreaking research into real-world impact.

“This record-breaking milestone reflects years of strategic investment in entrepreneurship,” said Bryn Rees, associate vice chancellor for innovation and partnerships. “At CU Boulder, our goal is to create ventures with lasting impact, and we measure our success by the societal and economic benefits they deliver.”

The 35 startups span diverse industries from clean energy to biotech, bringing together the resources and expertise to address global challenges. The innovators include Mana Battery, which develops sodium-based batteries for sustainable energy storage, Flari Tech, leveraging Nobel Prize-winning technology to detect diseases via breath analysis, and Vitro3D, pioneering volumetric 3D printing for life sciences. Additionally, Mesa Quantum is pioneering next-generation atomic clocks and quantum sensors, showcasing the cutting-edge innovations emerging from CU Boulder.

“These innovative companies are tackling global challenges with sustainable and impactful solutions, setting a new standard for university-driven entrepreneurship,” said CU Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz.

The university prioritizes the experience and development of the startup founders — the faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students who created the inventions. Venture Partners provides new founder resources from idea to launch, including training, funding, mentorship and long-term support, to drive innovations in an approach that is very similar to how traditional venture capital hubs like Silicon Valley and Boston work.

Additionally, CU Boulder’s commercialization activities had an economic impact of $8 billion nationally and $5.2 billion in Colorado from 2018-2022, according to a 2022 report from the Leeds School of Business, a four-fold increase in impact since the previous report published in 2019.