Innosphere Ventures

We are beyond excited to share a major milestone for the CO-WY Climate Resilience Engine – the announcement of our grant winners! 🎉 This is a huge achievement, and we’re thrilled to finally reveal the incredible projects that will be shaping the future of climate resilience across Colorado and Wyoming. Over the past two months, the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine has been focused on identifying and supporting groundbreaking climate resilience projects across the region. This included launching the first round of investments in Research and Development and Translation/Startup projects with funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines program. Interdisciplinary, collaborative teams from across the region’s leading universities and startup companies answered the Engine’s request for proposals with an overwhelming and diverse range of climate resilience solutions. Governors Jared Polis of Colorado and Mark Gordon of Wyoming collaborated to announce the recipients of the inaugural grant program by the CO-WY Climate Resilience Engine. This partnership signifies a new phase in the joint efforts of the two states to create climate resilience solutions that safeguard communities, encourage innovation, and stimulate economic development. Thank you for your continued support as we drive innovation toward a more sustainable and resilient future! A huge congratulations to all of the winners! Check out the link below to read the official press release and learn more about the exceptional projects that have been selected. View the full list of winners here: https://lnkd.in/ds7u3GD9

Join us for an "Innovation After Hours" event in Boulder on October 10, 2024, as we explore the cutting-edge role of AI in drug discovery. Our expert panel features Joel Dudley, Partner at Innovation Endeavors, Doug Chapnick, Founder & CEO of BioLoomics, and Hannah Gordon, PhD, MSCI, Chief Product Officer at Enveda Biosciences. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how AI is revolutionizing the future of medicine!

The needs of our community have always driven Innosphere Ventures’ innovation strategy. We started as a nonprofit incubator 26 years ago, and in the time since we’ve made huge strides in our organizational structures to provide startups with resources they didn’t have access to previously. For instance: 🏢 13 years ago, we built our current facility to offer tech and biomedical startups access to office space and wet lab setups. 💲 8 years ago, we entered the Venture Capital space to fill a lack of early-stage institutional investors in the area. 📝 And more recently, we began offering grants as part of a wider marketplace solution for climate resilience startups looking for capital opportunities in the CO and WY region: NSF Engines: Grants (co-wyengine.org). At every stage of our development, we’ve looked to the needs of our community as our roadmap for our next offering. What’s best for the startups driving innovation has always been what’s best for us too, and we’re committed to bringing new resources to bear on their behalf. I’m excited to see where we’ll go next - and we’ll be listening to our community to help guide us.

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting an insightful discussion on Innovation in Colorado, featuring an exceptional panel of experts. A huge thank you to our panelists: Kishen Mangat from Boulder Ventures Timothy Jones from Innosphere Ventures Michelle Hadwiger from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade Bradley Cheetham from Advanced Space And a special shoutout to our fantastic moderator, Matias A. S. A. Sueldo! Here are a few key takeaways from the discussion: 💡 Funding Most innovation funding comes from outside Colorado, including federal support and coastal venture capital. While state government programs partially bridge this gap, there’s a growing need for more local funding sources, particularly at the early stage. We’re starting to see promising developments in our aerospace sector and believe we will see similar growth across other industries. 🎓 High-Quality Talent Colorado's unique lifestyle and meaningful work opportunities continue to attract young talent. However, we face challenges with a net outflow of residents, primarily due to cost of living and public safety issues. Addressing these concerns is crucial to retaining our competitive edge. 🌍 Ecosystem Our small but robust innovation ecosystem excels in early-stage commercialization and attracts significant outside dollars, especially from federal sources. By leveraging our strengths in clean energy, microelectronics, and aerospace, and exploring new frontiers like quantum technology, we can continue to drive innovation and growth. Thank you again to everyone who joined us and contributed to a vibrant discussion. Your insights and engagement are crucial as we work together to advance Colorado’s innovation landscape! A huge thank you to our sponsors who make these events possible. GOLD LEVEL SPONSORS Baird, BLUE ROOM, Douglas County & Wipfli SILVER LEVEL SPONSORS FirstBank, Greenberg Traurig, LLP & Johnson Storage & Moving Co. #Innovation #Colorado #EconomicDevelopment #VentureCapital #Tech #Startups #Community