Investors Edition - Quarter 2: 2025
This quarterly edition of The Insider from Venture Partners at CU Boulder delivers upcoming investment opportunities, networking events and top headlines for startup investors. View past editions or change your subscription.
Featured News
5 CU Boulder startups to watch in 2025
CU Boulder Today—When it comes to putting science into action, last year was one for the record books. From July 2023 to June 2024, CU Boulder helped to launch 35 new companies based on research at the university—a big tick up from the previous record of 20 companies in fiscal year 2021.
Alum Sristy Agrawal leads CU Boulder startup Mesa Quantum to success
Mesa Quantum, a CU Boulder 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.
CU Startups in the News
Local tech startup ExoPower aims to power commercial robots
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel—Brandon Regensburger, founder and CEO of ExoPower, a CU Boulder startup, is developing a technology that can wirelessly charge robots as they move and work. He has set up shop in the Grand Junction Business Incubator Center, where he continues developing technology he has worked on for years as a graduate student at CU Boulder and Cornell University.
Rentschler, Aspero Medical awarded $4.5M for endoscopy advancement
CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science—It’s been six years since the launch of startup company Aspero Medical, co-founded by Professor Mark Rentschler of the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering. The company has seen great success, including the development of a medical device designed to enable more efficient procedures in the small bowel region.
Artimus Robotics wins UK ARIA award to accelerate the development of dexterous robotic hardware
PR Newswire—Artimus Robotics, a CU Boulder startup and leader in artificial muscle technology, announced £1.5M funding from the UK government's Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA). This contract will enable crucial advancements in Artimus Robotics' core soft actuation technology and support deploying this technology into dexterous manipulators in collaboration with the University of Bristol.
Sustainable spinouts: innovation in action
Coloradan Magazine—CU Boulder’s researchers are bringing innovations out of their labs and into companies that have real-world impact. The university is a national leader and spinout powerhouse, launching 35 companies in fiscal year 2024 and over 100 since 2016, according to Bryn Rees, associate vice chancellor for innovation and partnerships.
CU Startup Pipeline News
Expanded opportunities for innovation and partnerships at CU Boulder
The CU Boulder Research & Innovation Office (RIO) announced a targeted realignment in November to enhance strategic integration across key areas and best position RIO to serve the university's growing research and innovation needs. The shift focused on RIO’s internal organization and operations and was designed to support long-term growth, collaboration and impact.
CU Engineering advances innovation through startup success
CU Boulder College of Engineering & Applied Science—The College of Engineering and Applied Science continues to establish itself as a leader in innovation, with 22 startups emerging from its research labs in the past fiscal year. This achievement reflects the college's commitment to translating transformative research into solutions that address real-world challenges.
‘A broader impact’: CU Boulder startup culture brings life-changing technology to Colorado
Daily Camera—CU Boulder’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 CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. Ball Aerospace was one of the first startup companies out of CU Boulder. Another is Solid Power, which creates electric vehicle batteries and other components and has partnered with Ford and BMW.