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Fourteen teams of University of Colorado faculty, researchers and graduate student innovators competed for a combined $1.25 million in startup funding grants in this year’s Lab Venture Challenge (LVC). Judges from 91��Ƶ’s entrepreneurial network heard Shark-Tank-style pitches across two nights, one for innovations in biosciences and another for physical sciences and engineering.

LVC supports CU projects that address a commercial need, have a clear path to a compelling market and have strong scientific support.

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Through LVC, top innovators from 91��Ƶ, Denver and Colorado Springs compete for grants of up to $125,000. LVC supports projects that address a commercial need, have a clear path to a compelling market and have strong scientific support. The LVC grants are funded by the , as well as Venture Partners at 91��Ƶ and the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund. Ten awards were granted this year for a total of $1,250,000.

This culminating event for these groundbreaking teams showcased the university’s initiative to support innovators from discovery to economic success. LVC is run by Venture Partners at 91��Ƶ, the university’s commercialization arm and central resource for researchers who wish to translate their work into impactful business and social ventures. As part of the LVC program, all the competitors worked with Venture Partners to protect their innovations and practice their funding pitches for business audiences. LVC awardees will continue to work and collaborate with Venture Partners on their path to commercialization.

“At this early stage, funding is essential, but can be a challenge to obtain,“ said Joshua Bennett, director of LVC and senior licensing manager at Venture Partners. “All of these teams have promising innovations ready to launch new businesses. LVC is a unique opportunity for those innovators to receive that vital funding, and we’re proud to work with the State of Colorado to make it happen..”

To date, LVC has funded over 117 projects through 64 new deep-tech startup companies; collectively, these companies have raised over $349 million in follow-on financing.

Applications for the next LVC will open in July 2025.

This year’s LVC was additionally made possible by , , and .

2024 Physical Sciences $125,000 Winners

EcoValeric Innovations

EcoValeric's invention is an electrochemical process that converts biomass-based levulinic acid into 4-hydroxyvaleric acid (HVA), a versatile intermediate for producing biodegradable plastics, biofuels and green solvents. This scalable, renewable process reduces reliance on fossil fuels while enhancing sustainability.

•   (91��Ƶ Embark EIR): CEO, LVC Pitch Presenter
•   (91��Ƶ Chemical and Biological Engineering): PI
•  : CTO

Mode-Locked Laser Technology

This groundbreaking mode-locked laser technology overcomes the limitations of existing systems and is suitable for harsh environments. These systems excel in applications that require the best phase noise performance in a small and efficient device. Applications include PNT and RF instrumentation.

• Thomas R. Schibli (91��Ƶ Physics): PI, LVC Pitch Presenter
•   (Alum: 91��Ƶ Business): Business Development
• : Product Design, Advanced Manufacturing

OsmoPure Technologies

OsmoPure is introducing a membrane for ultrapure water production tailored to the stringent demands of electronics, aerospace and green hydrogen sectors. The technology uses distillation driven by pressure, rather than heat, to produce high-purity product water with ten times higher energy efficiency.

•   (PhD student, 91��Ƶ Chemical and Biological Engineering): CEO, LVC Pitch Presenter
•   (91��Ƶ Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering): Principal Investigator (PI)
•   (PhD candidate, 91��Ƶ Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering): Director of R&D

WHISPER Energy

 is a wireless, battery-free sensor platform for smart buildings. It uses machine learning to cut energy consumption by 30%+, providing real-time data to optimize energy use and reduce emissions. Developed with a $2 million ARPA-E grant, it advances zero emissions economically and efficiently.

•   (91��Ƶ 2023 Embark EIR): Co-Founder and CEO
• Gregor P. Henze (91��Ƶ Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, RASEI): PI and Co-Founder
•  : Technical Lead and Advisor

Tierra Metrics

Tierra Metrics' novel high-spatial density sensor innovation will enable real-time characterization of the soil nitrogen cycle which will help growers, land managers and others to improve efficiency and profitability, as well as improve soil health and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

•   (91��Ƶ Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering): PI, LVC Pitch Presenter
•   (91��Ƶ Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering) Chief Engineer
•  : Co-Founder
•  : Co-Founder

2024 Biosciences $125,000 Winners

Codebreaker

Codebreaker is building a platform for generating variant genomes at scale in an AI framework that drives variant genome design and machine learning to generate significance maps broadly across human disease and drug response.

•   (BioFrontiers Institute: PI, LVC Pitch Presenter
•  : CEO
•  : CTO
• : KOL-Collaborator

Flari Tech

Flari Tech is building a laser-based breathalyzer to detect lung cancer noninvasively and rapidly with high sensitivity. Powered by CU's Nobel Prize-winning optical frequency comb, it would empower healthcare providers, patients and researchers in lung cancer prevention, treatment and monitoring. Read more about Flari

•   (91��Ƶ 2023 Embark EIR): CEO, LVC Pitch Presenter
•   (91��Ƶ Physics, ): PI
•   (PhD candidate, 91��Ƶ Physics, JILA): Technical Lead
•   (PhD student, 91��Ƶ Physics, JILA): Research Assistant

Kitsune Bio

Kitsune Bio enhances the structural adaptability of cyclic peptides, improving their ability to bind, inhibit and access challenging intracellular targets. This unique platform unlocks new opportunities for treating complex diseases and improving patient outcomes.

•   (91��Ƶ Embark EIR): CEO, LVC Pitch Presenter
•   (91��Ƶ Embark EIR): COO, LVC Pitch Presenter
• Michael Stowell (91��Ƶ Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology): PI

IntraLumenus

Let’s never cut open a patient again. IntraLumenus is a treaded robotic capsule endoscope that travels through the colon under its own power, provides localization and mapping, and dual channel tool access, enabling colorectal procedures to be performed intraluminally, or from within the colon.

•   (91��Ƶ Embark EIR): CEO, LVC Pitch Presenter
•   (91��Ƶ Paul M. Rady Mechanical Engineering): PI

SteriO3

Peroxide Enhanced Germicidal Irradiation (PEGI) provides rapid, low-resource sterilization of microbial contaminants. With adaptable configuration capabilities, PEGI will be engineered into compact, portable units for low-temperature sterilization of surgical equipment, including 3D-printed implants.

•  (91��Ƶ Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering): Principal Investigator (PI), LVC Pitch Presenter
•  : CEO
•   (91��Ƶ Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering): Chief Scientific and Project Advisor

Vesicle Therapeutics

The Vesicle team is developing a proprietary STAT3 isoform-selective antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) using novel thiomorpholino chemistry (TMO) for the treatment of head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer type, with a low survival rate due to poor responsiveness to treatments.

•   (91��Ƶ Biochemistry): PI, LVC Pitch Presenter
• Donna Peak: CEO
•  : COO
• Gan Zhang: CTO
• Marvin H. Caruthers (91��Ƶ Biochemistry): Collaborator

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