Ascent Deep Tech Accelerator
An accelerator for research teams building deep tech startups coming out of the University of Colorado campuses in СÀ¶ÊÓƵ, Colorado Springs and Denver.
Deep tech startups, or new companies based on technological innovation in science or engineering, face unique challenges because of their disruptive nature, intensive research and development, and significant capital requirements. Ascent understands the needs and pathways for deep tech startups to find early success.
The Ascent Advantage
Leveraging ecosystem experts, a robust mentor networkÌýand Venture Partners at CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ staff, early-stage companies will accelerate their viability and traction over four months. Teams will work toward milestones focused on company formation, paths to market, entrepreneurial finance and fundraising, ultimately preparing them for a final pitch to a community of investors, entrepreneursÌýand industry experts at the Ascent Deep Tech Community Showcase.
The Ascent Impact
47
Companies graduated
$20M
Non-dilutive funding raised by Ascent companies
$41M
Seed funding raised from prominent venture capitalists
Companies have also advanced to notable accelerator and incubator startup programs such as NREL West Gate, Creative Destruction Lab, Techstars and Activate.
Ascent Benefits
Ascent teams will receive coaching toward milestones in four key areas:
Ìý
Company Formation
Incorporate your company, understand legal issues to watch for, build a successful team, and form a board.
Ìý
Path to Market
Create a communications strategy for talking to partners and investors, start forming a pilot program or industry partnership to take tech to market, and understand how to approach a product development partner.
Ìý
Entrepreneurial Finance
Learn about basic entrepreneurial finance and accounting, including basic financial statements and proformas.
Ìý
Fundraising
Understand legal details of outside investment, meet funders supporting startups through grants and equity investments, and perfect your pitch to investors.
Ascent Details
Dates
Feb.-June, 2025
Commitment
We expect this program to take 3-5 hours a week of your time.
- At least one team member is expected to attend every session
- Weekly check-ins with your Ascent mentor
- Monthly completion of in-program deliverables
Eligibility
- Teams are working to commercialize technologies based on engineering innovation or scientific discoveries
- Teams have disclosed an innovation to Venture Partners
- Teams have completed significant customer discovery in their target market, ideally through Venture Partners'ÌýNSF I-Corpsâ„¢ Hub West programs.
ApplicationÌýÌý
The application deadline for the 2025 cohort is closed. Join our newsletter to be notified about future Ascent opportunities. Sign Up for Updates
2025 Ascent Cohort
ArgiLur is a СÀ¶ÊÓƵ-based clothing company revolutionizing the fashion industry by offering carbon-sequestering clothing. Style and sustainability can go hand in hand, and we are committed to providing eco-friendly options for our customers.
Team:Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department), Founder and CEO
Industry Applications: Advanced Materials, Environment and Sustainability, Fashion and Design, Biotech
Contact: Maria Luisa Sánchez Montes, marialuisa.sanchezmontes@colorado.eduÌý
AtomTCAD provides precise and rapid thermal modeling of nanometer-scale semiconductors. Our software makes complex quantum physics simulations accessible. Leveraging AI, AtomTCAD enables chip designers and engineers to rapidly discover thermally optimal designs, empowering them to overcome heat challenges.
Team: Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences), Founder, Principal Investigator; Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Materials Science & Engineering Program), Research Engineer; Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Chemistry), Research Engineer; Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Chemistry), Research Engineer
Industry Applications: Aerospace, Advanced Materials, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, Research and Exploration
Contact: Sanghamitra Neogi,Ìýsanghamitra.neogi@colorado.edu
BoldRF is a spin-off from Microwave Research Lab at CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ,Ìýfocused on the efforts to commercialize innovative tunable active RF circulators that enable resilient analog self-interference features for in-band full duplex (IBFD) RF front-ends for communication systems, radar, electronic warfare, aviation direction finding.
Team: Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering), Co-Founder, CEO; Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering), Co-Founder; Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Lockheed Martin Engineering Management Program), Head of Business; Ìý(undergraduate student, CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Leeds School of Business), Business Strategist; Ìý(undergraduate student, CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering), , Industrial MentorÌý
Industries: Aerospace, Hardware and Instrumentation, Information Technology, Quantum, Research and Exploration, Smart Cities
Contact: Laila Fighera Marzall, laila.marzall@colorado.edu
Colexible Technologies develops cutting-edge flexible electronics. Our devices replace traditional rigid circuit boards and solid metallic wires with flexible polymers and liquid metal, offering unparalleled stretching, bending, and durability.Ìý
Team: , CEO, Founder (fmr. CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Embark Entrepreneur in Residence); , VP of Product; Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering), Principal Investigator, Lead Advisor
Industry Applications: Advanced Materials, Hardware and Instrumentation, Robotics, Sensors, Medical Devices, Manufacturing
EerDx uses earbud sleep diagnostics to transform the diagnosis and treatment of the 100 Million Americans with sleep disorders, starting with drug and cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia.
Team: , CEO, Co-Founder; , CTO, Co-Founder; Jianliang Xiao, Principal Investigator, Advisor (CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering)
Industry Applications: Sensors, Health and Wellness, Medical Devices, Diagnostics
Contact: Bart Emery, bart@eerdx.com
Endios Bio is developing breakthrough therapeutics for rare neurodegenerative diseases by targeting the newly discovered impacts of the gene peg10, which was recently linked to ALS and Angelmans and has druggable potential.
Team: Ìý(fmr. CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Embark Entrepreneur in Residence)
Industry Applications: Biotech, Health and Wellness, Therapeutics, Diagnostics
Contact: Wendy Overton, wendy.overton@endiosbio.com
IntraLumenusÌýis revolutionizing interventional endoscopy with its single-use flexibleÌýrobotic endoscope. Offering unparalleled precision, stability and control,Ìýour device reduces technical complexity and procedure times, enabling more endoscopists to perform advanced procedures, all while improving patient outcomes.
Team: Ìý(Alum: , CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Business), CEO, Co-Founder; Mark Rentschler (CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering), Principal Investigator
Industry Applications: Biotech, Health and Wellness, Robotics, Medical Devices, Hardware and Instrumentation
Kitsune Bio develops shape-shifting cyclic peptides that penetrate cells and adhere to targets more effectively. Our platform creates therapeutics that go beyond antibodies and small molecules, offering new treatment options for difficult diseases and improving the standard of care.
Industry Applications: Health and Wellness, Biotech, Therapeutics
Team: Ìý(Alum: CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Biochemistry), CEO; , COO; Michael Stowell (CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Molecular Cellular & Developmental Biology), CTO; Thomas Fallon, Advisor
Contact: Makenna Morck, makenna@kitsunebio.com
LEVL is a cutting-edge biotech company dedicated to advancing human health and extending longevity through advanced nutraceutical synergies. Our mission is to translate the latest breakthroughs in aging science into practical, effective solutions that seamlessly integrate into everyday life.
Team:Ìý(fmr. CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Embark Entrepreneur in Residence), CEO, Co-Founder; , CSO, Co-Founder; Tom LaRocca, CRO, Co-Founder (fmr. CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Integrative Physiology)
Industry Applications: Health and Wellness, Biotech, Therapeutics
Contact: Kylen McClintock, kylenmcclintock@gmail.com
OsmoPure Technologies develops high-performance membranes for ultrapure water production in aerospace, electronics, and energy applications. Our membranes remove more contaminants, last longer and use less energy while meeting strict purity requirements and lowering chemical demand.
Team:Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Chemical and Biological Engineering), CEO; Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering), CTO; Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering), CSO
Industry Applications: Aerospace, Advanced Materials, Environment and Sustainability, Cleantech
Contact: Kian Lopez, Kian.lopez@colorado.edu
We combine low-cost sensors with continuous models of the agricultural nitrogen cycle. We envision a world where digital twins of farms inform farmers and land managers in real time to reduce excess fertilizer use, cutting costs, pollution and emissions to build more resilient farming systems.
Team: Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering), Chief Engineer; Ìý(CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering), Co-Founder; , Co-Founder; , Co-Founder
Industry Applications: Environment and Sustainability, Cleantech, Food and Agriculture, Hardware and Instrumentation, Sensors, Information Technology, Software, Manufacturing, Research and Exploration, Smart Cities
Contact: Taylor Sharpe, taylor.sharpe@colorado.edu
ZentusAI optimizes wind farm performance through AI-driven wake steering control (WSC). Our deep learning models predict how turbine yawing impacts power output, adapting in real-time to site-specific wind conditions to maximize efficiency and asset performance.
Team: , CEO, Co-Founder (CU СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering)
Industry Applications: Environment and Sustainability, Cleantech
Contact: Aoife Henry, Aoife.henry@colorado.edu
Ascent Deep Tech Community Showcase
The Ascent Deep Tech Community Showcase brings together researchers, investors and community supporters to highlight innovative deep tech startups spinning out of the University of Colorado. Attendees will have a chance to see pitches from each of the Ascent 2025 cohort startups, followed by a networking happy hour to learn more.
Check back soon for information about the 2026 Ascent Deep Tech Community Showcase. Sign Up for Updates
Past Ascent Cohorts
âš These company names and descriptions reflect their status at the time of graduation from Ascent and may not represent their current state.
Canndoers'ÌýHemp-Derived Cannabinoid library offers a revolutionary approach to wellness, providing natural relief from chronic pain, anxietyÌýand sleep disturbances. Harnessing the healing power of cannabinoids, their meticulously crafted products target inflammation, epilepsyÌýand addiction with unparalleled efficacy. With a diverse range of applications, from skincare innovations to neurological support, their offerings stand at the forefront of wellness innovation, providing tangible solutions to pervasive health challenges. By embracing the science-backed benefits of hemp-derived cannabinoids, individuals can embark on a journey towards vitality and fulfillment, elevating their well-being with Canndoers' premium formulations.
An innovative mobile application that uses native digital sensors and machine learning strategies to build personalized digital mental health models for users—their mental health fingerprint. Personalized models guide app functions that monitor daily mental health, generate wellness notifications to users and members of their communityÌýand provide evidence-based digital therapeutics that are customized for users, improving mental health at scale.
EndoGuard is a coating around stents that uses a combination of nano and bioactive materials to help mitigate conditions that re-narrow blood vessels. Coaterra's technology augments existing products in the market by minimizing damage to blood vessels on deployment and maximizing surface-to-surface contact of the stent to blood vessels to induce natural healing. Further, the coating is tuneable, opening the platform up for use in many applications.
Entangl3d is developing strong bioadhesive hydrogels that can seal off wet tissues and mechanically support them after surgical procedures. The platform technology improves the strength of 3D -rinted hydrogels to the level of casted materials and enables energy-free curing at room temperature. The team isÌýpursuing applications in the spine, heartÌýand defense sectors.
Green Steel Environmental provides patented and patent-pending products for wastewater treatment plants to clean wastewater and renewable natural gas in an economical and environmentally positive way. TheyÌýupcycle an industrial by-product, use it to sequester important nutrients from renewable natural gas and wastewaterÌýand recycle those nutrients as fertilizer.
Mach Electric produces carbon fibers through a process that directly sequesters waste gas CO2 from industrial sources. As Mach Electric’s proprietary process is 30% more thermally efficient than the current state-of-the-art process for producing carbon fiber, their end product promises to be both cost-competitive and carbon-negative.
Sodium-based batteries have the potential to displace lithium-ion batteries in a variety of applications based on their promised low costs and abundant supply chain, but have been