The Insider: Investors Edition - Quarter 1: 2026
Featured News
Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder pre-seed investment fuels cancer ‘moonshot’ spinout Illumen Therapeutics
In an ongoing effort to bridge a pervasive investment gap in innovation funding, the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ has awarded pre-seed funding to Illumen Therapeutics, developing cancer treatments based on discoveries from startup co-founder Roy Parker’s lab at Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder.
Announcing the 2026 cohort of the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator
The Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator pairs seasoned entrepreneurs with Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ technologies to bring those breakthroughs to market to address urgent societal needs. Embark has launched its third cohort of Embark Startup Founders and will provide intellectual property rights, funding for the founders and their companies, startup accelerator programming support and investor introductions to launch startups with real-world impact.
Investment Opportunities: Deep Tech Startups Seeking Funding
University Startups in the News
Agami Zero breaks through with magnetic hydrogen advance
Renewable And Sustainable Energy Institute—A startup team led by RASEI Fellow Oana Luca, called Agami Zero, has just secured seed funding after winning the 2025 Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØLab Venture Challenge. Their winning idea? A new way to produce hydrogen fuel more efficiently, a key mechanism for decarbonizing our energy economy.
Arpeggio Biosciences raises $20M in latest offering
BizWest—Arpeggio Biosciences, a University of Colorado startup that works in the development of pharmaceuticals, has raised about two-thirds of what it expects to collect in its latest investment offering.
OEDIT announces grants to University of Colorado startups and researchers in the advanced industries
OEDIT—The Global Business Development division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade announced that five companies based on innovations from the University of Colorado and one Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØresearcher have been awarded Proof of Concept and Early-Stage Capital and Retention grants through OEDIT’s Advanced Industries Accelerator Program.
A window underground: New sensors measure emissions from soil in real time
Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder Today—A team of Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ researchers is making reliable, inexpensive and easy-to-deploy sensors that monitor soil in real time and have formed a new startup, Tierra Metrics.
Flari Tech clinches $400,000 DARPA MTO Pitch Day award
DARPA—Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder startup Flari Tech was selected as a winner in DARPA’s Spark Tank competition, securing $400,000 in funding and direct engagement opportunities with program managers as it advances its next-generation technology.
Think Bioscience raises $55M in oversubscribed Series A
PR Newswire—Think Bioscience, a Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder biotechnology spinout focused on unlocking elusive drug targets, has raised $55M in an oversubscribed Series A. Returning investors include AV8 Ventures, Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØInnovations and Buff Gold Ventures.
University Startup Pipeline News
Prioritizing research and innovation: A look back and ahead with Massimo Ruzzene
Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder Today—More than ever, Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder is a destination for faculty, students and staff who want to change the world through innovative research, scholarship and creative work.
Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder joins Medtronic in strategic partnership to drive breakthrough health innovations
Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder Today—The University of Colorado (CU) and Medtronic, a global leader in health care technology, have entered into a strategic research agreement to accelerate the development of transformative health technologies. Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØwas selected from a nationwide search for its strength in advancing disruptive innovation.
NASA selects a Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder lab to build instruments for the moon
Denver7—NASA has selected a proposal from Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder researchers to design and build instruments that will be deployed by astronauts on the Moon. The instrument suite designed at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) will analyze lunar dust, which is abrasive like glass and sticks to all surfaces. Lunar dust can damage equipment and harm astronauts if inhaled.
Ventures putting people first at Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder
The Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ actively incubates and supports nonprofit and for-profit ventures with broad societal impact, from far-reaching educational and wellness tools to vaccine accessibility and water security.