Accelerate Blue Foundry Expedites Startup Creation

8/13/2025

It all started with a question: is there a way to expedite the launch of University of Michigan innovations into startups that help solve some of society’s greatest challenges? The answer is “yes” as confirmed by the new Accelerate Blue Foundry program by Innovation Partnerships. 

“We’ve long recognized that beyond the startups we’re already creating, a large pool of high-potential U-M research discoveries remains untapped, waiting for the opportunity to be spun out,” said Dave Repp, director of ventures and managing director of the Accelerate Blue Fund. “Connecting the right entrepreneur with the right technology at the right time is often the missing – and most challenging – piece. So, we rethought our approach to ensure more of these promising innovations reach the world.”

This new program matches entrepreneurs with U-M technologies that have not yet been developed into a startup or licensed to another company. Once matched, project groups gain a mentor-in-residence through the Technology Transfer Talent Network (T3N) to guide them through the Foundry process with a goal of being invited to a pitch day where groups have the opportunity to pitch for the first time in front of an audience. 

The Foundry team began with 45 curated technologies to pair with an entrepreneur, and more than 100 people applied to be considered for the program. After a review and vetting process by the Foundry team, as well as conversations between potential entrepreneur and researcher teams, 27 matches were made.

Matched researchers and entrepreneurs worked together to develop a pitch deck and vision for their companies. Along the way, some teams exited the Foundry process as expected, recognizing that timing, team, or technology readiness weren’t quite aligned for the rigors of the program.

Ahead of pitch day, each team had the opportunity to practice and refine their pitches in collaboration with the T3N mentors-in-residence. This provided teams the chance to receive wide-ranging feedback and insights on what to evolve ahead of pitch day. 

“This process has been seamless – from the introduction to weekly touch bases to development of our pitch,” said Duxin Sun, Charles R. Walgreen Jr. Professor of Pharmacy, professor of pharmaceutical sciences and associate dean for research in the College of Pharmacy. “I am pleasantly surprised this program has worked so well; it has exceeded my wildest expectations.”

Pitch day was on May 15, 2025, with 11 teams invited. Upon completing their pitches in front of a group of startup investors the teams participated in a Q&A session.

“The Innovation Partnerships team prepared us very well for pitch day with good feedback at the dry run,” said Scott Hotz, an entrepreneur who participated in the Foundry. “Being able to participate in pitch day was awesome and meant you were pitching with real consequences. We’ve been incredibly busy since pitch day with lots of exciting activities on the horizon. I would absolutely recommend the Foundry to other entrepreneurs and look forward to participating again myself in a future cohort.”

Teams that progressed past pitch day have an opportunity to license the technology and receive Seed investment of at least $50,000 from the Accelerate Blue Fund. 

The Foundry program set out to explore the idea of expediting startup creation and found that it is possible. It successfully helped bridge the talent gap and utilized U-M’s portfolio of high-potential, licensable innovations. 

The Foundry will launch a second cohort later in 2025. For more information, visit https://innovationpartnerships.umich.edu/accelerate-blue-foundry/.