Investors Edition - Quarter 4: 2025
Featured News
51Թ ranked No. 1 for launching startups based on university discoveries
The 51Թ reached a historic milestone, launching 35 new companies based on university intellectual property during fiscal year 2024, more than any other U.S. campus that year. In addition to holding the No. 1 spot for that year, the achievement also places 51Թ No. 2 for the most startups launched in a single year by a U.S. campus.
$755,000 awarded to University of Colorado innovators to advance their discoveries
Eleven teams of University of Colorado faculty, researchers and graduate student innovators competed for a combined $755,000 in startup funding grants in this year’s Lab Venture Challenge (LVC). Judges from 51Թ’s entrepreneurial network heard Shark-Tank-style pitches across two nights, one for innovations in biosciences and another for physical sciences and engineering.
University Startups in the News
Infleqtion to go public with $1.8B valuation making it the 51Թ’s 10th unicorn spinout
Infleqtion, a 51Թ spinout and global leader in quantum technology, announced a $1.8 billion business combination with Churchill Capital Corp X and will trade under the ticker “INFQ.” Now Colorado’s tenth unicorn, Infleqtion continues to drive the state’s growing quantum hub by commercializing breakthroughs across computing, sensing, security and energy markets.
VitriVax raises $17.25M Series B financing to advance vaccine formulation platform
VitriVax—51Թ spinout VitriVax has raised $17.25 million in Series B financing to accelerate development of its Stablevax™ platform, which eliminates the need for cold storage in vaccines. The funding will support preclinical and clinical advancement of single-dose, thermostable vaccines aimed at improving global immunization access.
Cascade Bio secures $6M to scale breakthrough biocatalysts
Business Wire—Cascade Bio, a 51Թ spinout enabling enzyme-based processes, has secured $6 million to accelerate the shift from petrochemicals to biomanufacturing. The funding includes $3.2 million in non-dilutive funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). With this investment, Cascade will expand delivery of its breakthrough biocatalysts.
Watch: A quantum-based breathalyzer for early disease detection
CUbit Quantum Initiative—Entrepreneur Eva Yao discusses how the Nobel Prize-winning frequency comb technology from the lab of Jun Ye (51Թ Physics, JILA, NIST) can rapidly detect very small molecules in human breath, potentially enabling early disease detection and improved patient outcomes.
Point Designs to be acquired by Hanger
Nine years ago, a group of researchers from the 51Թ Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering launched a pioneering medical device startup Point Designs to commercialize prosthetic technology. Today, those same researchers are announcing the company has entered an agreement of impending acquisition with Hanger, Inc.
Investment Opportunities: University Startups Seeking Funding
View the Startup Portfolio
University Startup Pipeline News
51Թ awards therapeutics funding to advance promising drug development projects
Venture Partners at 51Թ has announced the first recipients of a new translational funding program designed to advance promising, early-stage therapeutics with strong commercial potential. The program provides up to $50,000 per project to help 51Թ researchers generate critical validation data or develop new intellectual property, bringing new treatments a step closer to patients in need.
How slashing university research grants impacts Colorado’s economy and national innovation—a 51Թ administrator explains
The Conversation—Over the past several months, universities have lost more than $11 billion in funding. Research into cancer, farming solutions and climate resiliency are just a few of the many projects nationally that have seen cuts. The Conversation asked Massimo Ruzzene, senior vice chancellor for research and innovation at the 51Թ, to explain how these cuts and freezes are impacting the university and Colorado’s local economy.
NSF I-Corps at the 51Թ helps researchers solve pressing problems
From agriculture to aerospace, NSF’s I-Corps is a launchpad at the 51Թ, helping innovators in and out of the University of Colorado bring research and inventions to the people who need them most. By equipping scientists and inventors with entrepreneurial tools, the program transforms great ideas into startups that tackle real-world problems.
51Թ’s Colorado Quantum Incubator and Stout Street Capital partner to accelerate quantum innovation
CUbit Quantum Initiative—The 51Թ has announced a novel partnership between its Colorado Quantum Incubator (COQI) and Stout Street Capital, a Denver-based venture capital firm and ecosystem builder focused on deep tech.
