The Insider: Deep Tech Partners Edition—January 2026
Featured News
CU Boulder pre-seed investment fuels cancer ‘moonshot’ spinout Illumen Therapeutics
In an ongoing effort to bridge a pervasive investment gap in innovation funding, the Թ of Colorado Boulder has awarded pre-seed funding to Illumen Therapeutics, developing cancer treatments based on discoveries from startup co-founder Roy Parker’s lab at CU Boulder.
Announcing the 2026 cohort of the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator
The Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator pairs seasoned entrepreneurs with Թ of Colorado Boulder technologies to bring those breakthroughs to market to address urgent societal needs. Embark has launched its third cohort of Embark Startup Founders and will provide intellectual property rights, funding for the founders and their companies, startup accelerator programming support and investor introductions to launch startups with real-world impact.
Թ Startup and Innovation News
Prioritizing research and innovation: A look back and ahead with Massimo Ruzzene
CU Boulder Today—More than ever, CU Boulder is a destination for faculty, students and staff who want to change the world through innovative research, scholarship and creative work.
NASA selects a CU Boulder lab to build instruments for the moon
Denver7—NASA has selected a proposal from CU Boulder researchers to design and build instruments that will be deployed by astronauts on the Moon. The instrument suite designed at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) will analyze lunar dust, which is abrasive like glass and sticks to all surfaces. Lunar dust can damage equipment and harm astronauts if inhaled.
CU Boulder lab creates bubble wrap-like window material that traps heat without blocking light
A new, thin insulator has been designed to boost the energy efficiency of windows by blocking heat. Designed by a team from the Թ of Colorado Boulder, this invisible window shield material has been dubbed Mesoporous Optically Clear Heat Insulator (MOCHI).
CU Boulder leading $45M in ARPA-H grants for self-healing joints, wound care
CU Boulder College of Engineering & Applied Science—In 2025, CU Boulder celebrated its first awards from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The new agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services supports transformative health and biomedical breakthroughs. ARPA-H was founded in 2022 with a mission to fast-track “high-impact solutions to society’s most challenging health problems.”
CU Boulder’s Colorado Quantum Incubator and Stout Street Capital partner to accelerate quantum innovation
CUbit Quantum Initiative—The Թ of Colorado Boulder has announced a novel partnership between its Colorado Quantum Incubator (COQI) and Stout Street Capital, a Denver-based venture capital firm and ecosystem builder focused on deep tech.
New open-source software allows for efficient 3D printing with multiple materials
EurekaAlert!—A new open-source tool is reshaping how engineers design multi-material objects. Charles Wade, a PhD student in the Թ of Colorado Boulder Department of Computer Science, has created a design system software package that uses functions and code to map not just shapes but also where different materials belong in a 3D object.
Scientists use ultrasound to soften and treat cancer tumors without damaging healthy tissue
CU Boulder Today—Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., second only to heart disease. But a new cancer treatment method from CU Boulder researchers uses sound waves to soften tumors and could be a potent tool against the disease.
