The Insider: Deep Tech Partners Edition—February 2026
This monthly edition of The Insider from Venture Partners at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ delivers upcoming events, opportunities and top headlines for industry partners, entrepreneurs and business community members.
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Featured News
ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ joins Medtronic in strategic partnership to drive breakthrough health innovations
ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ Today—The University of Colorado (CU) and Medtronic, a global leader in health care technology, have entered into a strategic research agreement to accelerate the development of transformative health technologies. CU was selected from a nationwide search for its strength in advancing disruptive innovation.
The University of Colorado Ascent Deep Tech Accelerator announces 2026 cohort
The University of Colorado's Ascent Deep Tech Accelerator has announced its 2026 startup teams. The selected companies span a wide range of disciplines, reflecting the depth and breadth of innovation emerging from CU’s research enterprise.
University Startup and Innovation News
Destination Startup announces startups across the region to present at annual showcase
Destination Startup brings groundbreaking startups built on novel discoveries from top national labs and universities together with investors from throughout North America to catalyze real-world impact. This showcase demonstrates a powerful way to invest in and get funding for innovative research and translate it into impactful business ventures.
Physicists create a new kind of time crystal that humans can actually see
EurekAlert!—In a new study, physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have used liquid crystals, the same materials that are in your phone display, to create such a clock—or, at least, as close as humans can get to that idea. The researchers aren’t the first to make a time crystal, but their creation is the first that humans can actually see, which could open a host of technological applications.
Donated blood has a shelf life. A new test tracks how it's aging
ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ Today—University of Colorado researchers have developed a fast, easy test that could help blood centers and hospitals monitor the quality of stored red blood cells. The palm-sized, chip-based device uses surface acoustic waves to assess cell aging, with the goal of improving transfusion outcomes and better allocating high-quality blood to patients.
Think Bioscience raises $55M in oversubscribed Series A
PR Newswire—Think Bioscience, a ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ biotechnology spinout focused on unlocking elusive drug targets, has raised $55M in an oversubscribed Series A. Returning investors include AV8 Ventures, CU Innovations and Buff Gold Ventures.
Physicist Jun Ye named to Quantum 100 list
ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ Today—UNESCO named physicist Jun Ye to its Quantum 100 list—a catalogue of some of the top leaders around the world in the rapidly growing field of quantum science.
University Opportunities and Events
More Opportunities and EventsIn Case You Missed It
- Destination Startup announces startups across the region to present at annual showcase
- Thermonat makes nanoscale thermal prediction practical for real-world chip design
- Colorado’s life sciences ecosystem raised $3.2B in 2025
- Announcing the 2026 cohort of the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator
- Tech company makes breakthrough discovery that could boost EV performance
- LeCun calls LLMs a dead end, but two CU Denver researchers offer a revolutionary way forward
- ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ pre-seed investment fuels cancer ‘moonshot’ spinout Illumen Therapeutics
- WATCH: ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ researchers studying pythons to develop weight loss treatment
- Physicist Jun Ye named to Quantum 100 list
- Ventures putting people first at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ
- NASA selects a ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ lab to build instruments for the moon
- ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ lab creates bubble wrap-like window material that traps heat without blocking light
- Prioritizing research and innovation: A look back and ahead with Massimo Ruzzene
- Scientists use ultrasound to soften and treat cancer tumors without damaging healthy tissue






