University of Michigan Launches Accelerate Blue Foundry to Advance Innovation

The University of Michigan Ann Arbor Innovation Partnership has launched a new program called Accelerate Blue Foundry. It is designed to connect university technology entrepreneurs to launch startups with seed investment funding.

The university says The Foundry is a one-of-a-kind program that seeks “the best entrepreneurial talent across the country to accelerate the startup path and foster the creation of new businesses that have the opportunity to solve the world’s great problems.”

The application deadline for the program is December 1, and there is an opportunity to receive an initial investment of $50,000 to $250,000 from the Accelerate Blue Fund.

Visit here to apply for the Accelerate Blue Foundry program.

The program is designed to bridge the gap between startup founders and some of the most promising innovations coming out of University of Michigan research. The program, which connects talented entrepreneurs with Unified Messaging technologies, is expected to accelerate the path to startups.

Selected entrepreneurs will be introduced to UM technologies and develop a proposal for financing. From December 16 through late March or early April 2025, entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to engage with inventors to gather technology background materials and receive ongoing mentorship and support from the Innovation Partnerships Ventures and Licensing teams as they develop funding proposals.

The program will culminate with a selection day where projects will be pitched to the Innovation Partnerships team and investors with the goal of licensing the technology and receiving an initial investment of $50,000 to $250,000 from the Accelerate Blue Fund.

Accelerate Blue Fund, launched in October 2019, is an early-stage venture capital fund focused on investing in UM-licensed startups.

The key responsibilities of the selected entrepreneurs will be:

• Evaluate the technology and develop a plan for commercialization and financing.
• Provide leadership to the startup at the executive level.
• Collaborate with the university researchers who developed the underlying technology.
• Perform early startup tests on the path to commercialization.
• Go through regular checkpoints with the UM team.
• Entrepreneurs will not receive direct compensation for their work.

UM officials say they expect that out of a possible 50 partner projects, only 15-20 will be selected to compete for the opportunity to launch with funding on Selection Day. Those not selected may have the opportunity to continue incubating their businesses with support from Innovation Partnerships for a future startup.