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Venture Partners at CU 小蓝视频 bridged a historic investment gap to move a deep tech spin-off a step closer to the marketplace by awarding $100,000 in pre-seed funding to PrecisionTerra, founded by CEO Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan (alum, CU 小蓝视频 Physics). Gopalakrishnan went on to win $144,000 in additional funding for the company in the 2025 New Venture Challenge.

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The coolest technology in the universe

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 19:24:08 +0000

The coolest technology in the universe Daniel Corbin 鈥� Mon, 04/14/2025 - 13:24

Heather Hansen

Infleqtion鈥檚 star continues to rise as Colorado鈥檚 quantum hub grows. The company of firsts, spun out of CU 小蓝视频 as ColdQuanta, seems to be everywhere these days, including outer space, while commercializing pioneering research to address needs across several critical markets including positioning, navigating and timing, global communication security and efficiency, resilient energy distribution, and accelerated quantum computing.

Dana Anderson, Glenn L. Murphy Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Professor of Physics and JILA Fellow, 2024

It was decades ago but Dana Anderson (JILA, CU 小蓝视频 College of Arts and Sciences and College of Engineering and Applied Science) still recalls well the day his research took a major turn. 鈥淚 started to do atoms instead of photons,鈥� he said. While Anderson makes it sound like a subtle shift鈥揻ocusing on atoms and subatomic particles instead of particles of light (lasers)鈥搕hat move has contributed significantly to the present and future of quantum technologies worldwide.

Anderson, now Infleqtion鈥檚 chief technology officer, then began focusing on cold atom inertial sensing, a process in which ultra-cold atoms (cooled to near absolute zero) are used to precisely measure forces like rotation and acceleration. That unprecedented accuracy is based on leveraging atoms鈥� wave-like nature in a controlled quantum state. It was groundbreaking work also built on a strong foundation of quantum innovation at CU 小蓝视频 spanning decades and (up to that point) two Nobel Prizes.

That was the mid-1990s and, around the same time, Anderson鈥檚 JILA colleagues, NIST fellow Eric Cornell and CU 小蓝视频 physicist Carl Wieman, created a never-before-seen state of matter called the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), in which ultracold atoms coalesce into a single 鈥渟uperatom鈥� with uniform properties. They received the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics for that work, shared with MIT physicist Wolfgang Ketterle and 70 years after Albert Einstein predicted BECs could exist based on the work of Satyenda Bose. 鈥淏oy, that鈥檚 going to be useful,鈥� Anderson recalls thinking at the time, imagining BEC being used to dramatically boost the performance of various devices, including accelerometers, gyroscopes, gravimeters and magnetometers. 鈥淚 felt that it would change the world,鈥� he said.

Following the BEC breakthrough, the trio went on to guide cold atoms through hollow core optical fibers, leading to Anderson and Cornell鈥檚鈥渁tom chip鈥� work and Anderson鈥檚 group demonstrating the first ultracold atom chip 鈥減ortable vacuum system鈥� in 2004. Those innovative techniques created a controlled environment for Anderson and others to study and manipulate atoms, a critical step in developing technologies like atomic clocks, quantum sensors and quantum computers.

鈥淪lowly building the technology鈥�

Dana Anderson poses with a spectrum analyzer in a laboratory at JILA. Photo: JILA, 1980.

As a 鈥渂orn and raised physicist,鈥� said Anderson, he鈥檚 always looking for practical applications for cutting-edge science. 鈥淚鈥檓 an applied physicist, so I like to do things that are useful,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have to happen tomorrow but be useful sooner or later.鈥� In those earlier days of quantum research, making that transition meant landing grants from the U.S. Army and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). That funding, said Anderson, 鈥渁llowed us to focus on developing the technology and getting it out into the world.鈥� During that time, they solved many problems, said Anderson. 鈥淲e were struggling and making mistakes like gangbusters and trying this and trying that, and slowly building the technology,鈥� he said.

In 2007, Anderson made the first critical leap from lab to market when he founded ColdQuanta with the goal of streamlining devices for BEC experiments using the technology discovered at CU. After receiving a $100,000 proof of concept investment from what was then the CU Technology Transfer Office (now Venture Partners at CU 小蓝视频), ColdQuanta earned contracts from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Josh Bennett, assistant director of licensing at Venture Partners, now manages much of the university鈥檚 portfolio of quantum technologies, and he sees Infleqtion鈥檚 success as key to both advancing quantum research worldwide and paving the way for new quantum spinouts from CU. 鈥淪ince they were the first real quantum company out of Colorado to translate their research into a commercial entity, and they鈥檝e become a leader globally in their research and in their work, I think it鈥檚 fair to say that without Infleqtion (or ColdQuanta), we wouldn鈥檛 be seeing all these other quantum spin-outs in the last two, three years,鈥� he said.

Infleqtion laid the groundwork for several other CU 小蓝视频 quantum companies now working with Venture Partners, including Icarus Quantum, Flari Tech and Mesa Quantum. Today, through Venture Partners (the commercialization arm for CU 小蓝视频, CU Denver鈥檚 physical sciences and UCCS), the entrepreneurs behind these startups have myriad programs to help get their ventures off the ground.

But what is "commercialization?"

Explore the Path to Commercialization

What distinguishes Infleqtion today, said Scott Sternberg, executive director of the CUbit Quantum Initiative, is their ability to combine the capabilities of quantum phenomenon with highly engineered platforms that focus on customer usability. 鈥淚nfleqtion embodies the vibrant campus efforts to support the translation of fundamental discovery towards product realization and company growth,鈥� said Sternberg. 鈥淲e are fortunate to have such a great company, forged here in 小蓝视频, that now leads the international quantum community.鈥�

Beyond proving that quantum tech can lead to a compelling business entity, Infleqtion blazed the trail to Colorado becoming a national quantum hub, said Bryn Rees, associate vice chancellor for innovation and partnerships. He points to Anderson鈥檚 important role in boosting Elevate Quantum, a consortium of over 120 quantum-focused organizations in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico. 鈥淸Infleqtion] has become an international quantum success and sensation,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey're now a big-time player.鈥�

Inflection points

Anderson recalls well how most people responded when he first started pitching the concept of commercializing quantum tech. Looking back on his first quantum-related NSF proposal nearly 20 years ago, he said, 鈥淣ow those [concepts] seem right in the thick of things but back then most people said, 鈥楾his is too unrealistic鈥�. That鈥檚 what it was like.鈥� Anderson knew that he was on the fringe, especially at a time when most people still used flip phones. 鈥淲e were crazy people that were really gung-ho, and yet, we certainly didn't have a good business 鈥榮tory鈥�,鈥� said Anderson. 鈥淏ut I just believed that quantum was going to be important.鈥�

Now quantum technology promises to revolutionize industries from computing, healthcare, defense, energy, finance and beyond. Building on decades of research from Anderson and others, Infleqtion is driving advances in that burgeoning ecosystem. The company now offers quantum hardware and software products鈥攆rom quantum clocks and sensors, positioning components and glass cells containing cold atoms to quantum computers and quantum-enabled, AI-driven software.

Several years ago, Anderson famously took ultracold atoms (around 10 million of them) out of the lab and onto his own plane, to test the robustness of his team鈥檚 magneto-optical trap. Not long after that, it was deployed by NASA for use on the International Space Station, making it what could be called the 鈥榗oolest鈥� tech in the universe. 鈥淲hen we commercialized a Bose Einstein condensation machine鈥� including making things very small,鈥� said Anderson, 鈥淣ASA noticed and said, 鈥楲et's put it up into space鈥�. And that was terribly important for our growing up.鈥�

Research labs and commercial entities worldwide are now using Infleqtion鈥檚 products to generate high-value information and improve reliability and performance in quantum computing. Customers and collaborators include the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, the Japanese Moonshot Program, the UK鈥檚 National Quantum Computing Centre and the Defense Cyber Marvel 3, a global cyber defense competition..

Infleqtion is also now participating in the first round of the U.S. Department of Energy鈥檚 (DOE) newly formed Quantum & Space Collaboration. The collaboration aims to use quantum tech to move the needle forward in national security, energy/sustainability and economic interests.

Infleqtion's cloud-based quantum matter machine, 鈥淎lbert, named TIME's Best Inventions. Photo: TIME, 2022

In 2022, ColdQuanta adopted the trade name Infleqtion to mark the company鈥檚 transition from research and development of quantum technology to deploying it for commercial uses. The company has now been through two successful rounds of funding, most recently raising $110 million in its Series B round in 2022. TIME magazine also named the company鈥檚 cloud-based quantum matter machine, dubbed 鈥淎lbert,鈥� as one of its 2022 Best Inventions. Infleqtion鈥檚 software platform recently secured a $1.15 million DOE grant, paving the way for energy-efficient computing.

Of all its latest advances, Anderson is most enthusiastic about Oqtant, a first-of-its-kind quantum innovation platform launched last year that democratizes quantum discovery and invention by giving researchers, innovators and students access to quantum matter via BECs where they can create, manipulate and study quantum phenomena鈥攁nd all they need is internet access. 鈥淚鈥檓 extremely excited about Oqtant,鈥� said Anderson. 鈥淓veryone having the building blocks of our universe at their fingertips points us toward a new age of exploration and discovery.鈥�

Anderson is gratified to see that he and his colleagues' own 'eureka' quantum moments of long ago are finally being realized on a larger scale. Infleqtion鈥檚 readiness to meet that new understanding and demand has meant quantum leaps in the company鈥檚 recent growth. 鈥淲e knew that BEC was going to be big, and we鈥檙e seeing that now,鈥� he said.

What can we do together?

Find partners and opportunities for your innovation

Explore investing in and partnering with CU researchers

Explore our startups portfolio

Explore our technology portfolio

Infleqtion鈥檚 star continues to rise as Colorado鈥檚 quantum hub grows. The company of firsts, spun out of CU 小蓝视频 as ColdQuanta, seems to be everywhere these days, including outer space, while commercializing pioneering research to address needs across several critical markets including positioning, navigating and timing, global communication security and efficiency, resilient energy distribution, and accelerated quantum computing.

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The internal hardware of Infleqtion's neutral atom quantum computing platform. Photo: Infleqtion, 2025.

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The internal hardware of Infleqtion's neutral atom quantum computing platform. Photo: Infleqtion, 2025.

Find the market for your innovation

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 22:06:23 +0000

Find the market for your innovation Daniel Corbin 鈥� Tue, 04/08/2025 - 16:06

Could your research, invention or creative idea make an impact beyond the academic world? The National Science Foundation鈥檚 I-Corps^TM programs offer the ideal starting point. Designed to help those new to commercialization explore the market potential of their innovations, I-Corps serves as a practical and accessible first step for anyone looking to translate their discoveries into real-world solutions.

Why start with I-Corps?

Ready to go further?

Protect your discoveries before you publish them: Your discoveries could have far-reaching impacts while securing recognition and opportunities for you.

Fund your research or creative work through commercialization: transform your ideas into real-world solutions鈥攚hile securing funding to advance your work.

For some, commercialization can feel far removed from their academic goals. But what if the process aligned with your mission to create a meaningful impact? The NSF I-Corps program provides a structured, supportive pathway for exploring how your innovation could address real-world challenges鈥攚ith no prior entrepreneurial experience.

CU 小蓝视频 is a national leader in the NSF I-Corps Hub: West Region, a collaboration with universities across the West, including University of Southern California, University of California, Los Angeles, California Institute of Technology, University of California (Riverside and Santa Barbara), University of Colorado 小蓝视频, Colorado State University, University of Utah, Colorado School of Mines, University of New Mexico.

As part of I-Corps Hub West, CU 小蓝视频 (through Venture Partners at CU 小蓝视频, part of CU 小蓝视频鈥檚 Research & Innovation Office) offers hands-on regional I-Corps programs open to researchers, faculty, students and staff from any discipline or institution.

That programming begins with the introductory three-week Starting Blocks Customer Discovery Workshop and advances through the four-week Research-to-Market (R2M) Customer Discovery Program. Teams are then primed to pursue the National I-Corps Teams Program, where they can win a $50,000 grant.

Through I-Corps, you will:

Conduct customer discovery to understand market needs and pain points.
Assess the commercial potential of your idea in a supportive environment.
Develop the commercialization mindset needed to move your innovation forward.

Real results, real impact

I-Corps has helped countless entrepreneurs and nontraditional innovators take their first steps toward commercialization. Participants leave with a clearer understanding of their innovation鈥檚 market potential and a roadmap for next steps, whether that means pursuing funding through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs or the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), applying for the National I-Corps program where teams can further advance their innovation and win $50,000, or connecting with industry partners for licensing opportunities.

CU 小蓝视频 companies like PAGE Technologies, Mesa Quantum and Vitro3D began their journey with customer discovery and market validation鈥攅ssential skills gained through I-Corps programming.

How I-Corps fits into the path to commercialization

I-Corps and Venture Partners empower CU innovators to take the lead in translating their discoveries into real-world applications, providing guidance and opportunities to support your journey, whether you want to launch a startup, collaborate with industry or license your technology.

Entrepreneurship isn鈥檛 for everyone. Venture Partners can also help connect you with industry partners or experienced entrepreneurs who can drive commercialization forward on your behalf鈥攅nsuring that your discoveries make an impact without requiring you to leave academia.

Whether your journey leads to licensing agreements, starting your own venture or collaborations with entrepreneurs, Venture Partners helps ensure your success.

Take the first step today

Your work at CU could be the foundation for the next groundbreaking innovation. NSF I-Corps and Venture Partners are here to help you explore your innovation鈥檚 potential. With no prior experience required and a supportive, inclusive environment, there鈥檚 no better way to begin your journey.

Learn more and apply to the I-Corps program here. Whether you鈥檙e ready to disclose an innovation or simply want to explore the possibilities, I-Corps is your stepping-off point for turning ideas into impact.

What can we do together?

Find partners and opportunities for your innovation

Explore investing in and partnering with CU researchers

Explore our startups portfolio

Explore our technology portfolio

Could your research, invention or creative idea make an impact beyond the academic world? The National Science Foundation鈥檚 I-CorpsTM programs offer the ideal starting point.

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Photo: Elliot Strand, co-founder of PAGE Technologies

From research to impact: Massimo Ruzzene

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 17:13:45 +0000

From research to impact: Massimo Ruzzene Daniel Corbin 鈥� Tue, 04/08/2025 - 11:13

CEO Magazine鈥擱esearch is more than just a group of scholars furrowing away behind closed doors in universities around the globe, and Massimo Ruzzene of all people knows that. As the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Colorado 小蓝视频 (CU 小蓝视频), he sees research as a broad arc that moves from initial findings to real-world applications.

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Richard Noble bridges the gap between research and industry

Daniel Corbin Leonard — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 19:08:21 +0000

Richard Noble bridges the gap between research and industry Daniel Corbin 鈥� Thu, 04/03/2025 - 13:08

Heather Hansen

Celebrated professor and prolific inventor Richard Noble reflects on decades of teaching and discovery and embarks on a new path to commercialization of a game-changing technology.

Growing up the eldest of seven children, in a family of modest means, Richard Noble learned how to work together with his siblings and how to be independent and persistent鈥攕kills he鈥檚 relied on throughout his life. 鈥淭o succeed, you have to be willing to persevere; you don鈥檛 give up,鈥� said Noble, research professor of chemistry (CU 小蓝视频 Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences).

Several decades later, what 鈥榮ticking with it鈥� looks like for Noble is nearly 50 years teaching, close to 90 patents, hundreds of publications, millions of dollars in research funding, dozens of technologies licensed鈥攁nd too many honors and awards to catalog including CU 小蓝视频 Inventor of the Year (2008), Dean鈥檚 Performance Award for Research (2013), Institution of Chemical Engineers Innovator of the Year (2013) and North American Membrane Society Fellow (2018).

Today, Noble is an internationally recognized leader in using novel membrane and thin-film materials. For decades, his lab has been experimenting with how ionic liquids (liquid salts), liquid crystals and electric and light energy can selectively separate components鈥搃n mixtures, membranes or even micro-scale devices. Harnessing these materials may have a broad range of potential applications, including nano-filtration (specifically treating 鈥榮pent鈥� water from fracking), 鈥榣ab on a chip鈥� devices and gas separation.

The CO₂ problem

How to separate carbon dioxide (CO₂) from other mixed gases, in particular, has been on Noble鈥檚 mind for a very long time. Extracting CO₂ from the air is challenging because the gas is highly diffuse, spreading rapidly and mingling readily with other gases. Currently, sequestering CO₂ traditionally involves chemical absorption, a process in which gases are sent through liquid amines (derivatives of ammonia), which trap the gas. In addition to the toxic and corrosive nature of amines, this separation technique is generally costly and energy-intensive.

Despite the many hurdles to sequestering CO₂, it鈥檚 important to Noble for a couple of reasons. Separating CO₂ from natural gas increases its heating value as well as the safety and efficiency of transporting it by preventing corrosion in pipelines (due to the acidity of CO₂) and issues during natural gas liquefaction in which CO₂ may crystallize. Removing CO₂ from natural gas before it鈥檚 burned can also lower its overall emissions.

Successfully separating and storing CO₂ could also play a key role in mitigating climate change. CO₂ is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that is supercharging climate change. According to the NOAA Global Monitoring Lab, carbon dioxide alone is responsible for about two-thirds of the total heating influence of all human-produced GHGs. Trapping CO₂ before it鈥檚 emitted from the flues of large industrial plants鈥攍ike cement and coal-burning power plants鈥攃ould make a major dent in worldwide CO₂ emissions.

The 鈥榡ust right鈥� path to commercialization

Over his career, when Noble has considered what he wants the overall impact of his many innovations to be, he鈥檚 clear: 鈥淚鈥檓 an engineer, I want to know at the end of the day that somebody鈥檚 going to value what I do, that it鈥檚 useful. I鈥檓 always moving toward application,鈥� he said. To that end, CU 小蓝视频 has licensed intellectual property for some of his inventions to companies large and small, including several of his membrane technologies. Over the years, he鈥檚 also considered spinning off a company to build his own business around some of his inventions.

For Noble, who is also a former director of the NSF Membrane Applied Science and Technology (MAST) Center, there were advantages and disadvantages to each approach. Licensing in the traditional way meant researcher and customer came together generally through sponsorship or an applied research project鈥攇reat for the time-crunched professor but lacking some of the impact Noble wanted. At the other extreme was launching a startup, which meant finding capital, customers, the right team and the time to cultivate each鈥攁 combination requiring business prowess that, he said, was not his strength. 鈥淎 long time ago, I realized that I don鈥檛 have good business sense,鈥� said Noble, 鈥淏ut I wanted to find the people that knew the business so that they could take what I made and know how to do that part of it successfully.鈥�

Recently, Noble chose a different path that represents a shift in licensing at the university, according to Marta Zgagacz, senior director at Venture Partners at CU 小蓝视频.

Early this year, several of Noble鈥檚 patents based on ionic liquid membrane technologies used for carbon capture and separation were optioned by startup incubator High Tech XL, which builds fast-growing, deep-tech companies focused on changing the world. Membranes are an attractive tech for removing CO₂ from mixed gases because, structured and charged in the way Noble has devised, they are more productive and have a longer lifespan with a smaller cost and footprint than traditional techniques. Noble plans to join the new startup as a technical advisor.

Noble arrived at that 鈥榡ust right鈥� space between research and development thanks to new opportunities through Venture Partners鈥攁nd his own enthusiasm. At Zgagacz's urging in 2022, Noble teamed up with the Venture Partners licensing team to join the Starting Blocks Customer Discovery Workshop, offered as part of the National Science Foundation I-Corps鈩� Hub: West Region.

But what is "commercialization?"

Explore the Path to Commercialization

Over those few weeks, Noble gained a deeper understanding of the commercialization process and got to test his ideas with potential customers. 鈥淭his evolution of Venture Partners has allowed academic people like myself to do the 鈥楻鈥� of R&D, and to find others who can do the 鈥楧鈥� whereas when I first started [at CU], that was a black hole,鈥� said Noble.

Zgagacz describes this new route as a new path for commercialization, one that combines elements of partnership with existing companies and launching a startup without researchers having to drive company formation. 鈥淪ome inventors or researchers might not be interested in starting a company or in being in partnership with an existing company, so they might be discouraged from talking to us,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut not everyone has to jump on that entrepreneurship wagon. There鈥檚 a third way of doing this, even if you don鈥檛 think your technology is ready for that.鈥�

Zgagacz emphasized that there are many promising technologies being developed at CU 小蓝视频, with inventors at all stages of their careers, and she wants them, like Noble, to find a home with Venture Partners. 鈥淗opefully, other inventors, other researchers, other PIs will see his story, and it will resonate with them as a potential path,鈥� she said.

In mid-2024, Noble took part in Venture Partners鈥� Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator, which matches entrepreneurs with breakthrough innovations. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really good to educate faculty on what it really takes,鈥� said Noble. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a point where you have to let go and realize that different expertise is needed.鈥� While Noble鈥檚 tech didn鈥檛 match during that Embark round, High Tech XL started showing interest around the same time and Noble and Venture Partners were ready. After a series of conversations, it was clear that the startup lab and Noble made a great match.

The importance of curiosity and community

A key mindset to experimentation that has served Noble well throughout his lengthy career鈥攁nd that he recommends to his students鈥攊s a willingness to try anything. 鈥淚 usually start with a crazy idea,鈥� he said, 鈥淚 tell them, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know if it鈥檒l work or how it鈥檒l work, but it鈥檒l be new and different, so let鈥檚 just try it and see what happens.鈥� As a scientist, you may not get the result you鈥檙e looking for immediately, but success by increments is still success. 鈥淪tudents have to trust and believe that doing this is going to lead to some positive outcomes, and it does,鈥� said Noble. 鈥淪ometimes things went one way or the other way, but there鈥檚 a culmination and they see the evolution of knowledge and realize that this was something worth doing.鈥�

That thinking is how Noble went from trying many different approaches to carbon separation over decades to where he is now. 鈥淧eople have been working on this thing for 50 years, and nobody鈥檚 come up with a really good way to do it,鈥� said Noble. 鈥淏ut I thought, 鈥榃e should be able to make a material that has really high productivity and works for a long time.鈥� And what we have now has immense potential.鈥�

Another key lesson Noble teaches his students is the importance of working as a team to drive successful innovation. 鈥淵ou really have to be curious, you have to take risks, and you have to develop trust amongst the people you鈥檙e going to work with,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just one person generating things and then making the ultimate decisions. [Innovation] requires a cooperative approach to moving forward. It's a community.鈥� Noble acknowledged the many fruitful partnerships he鈥檚 had over the years, including those with long-time collaborator Doug Gin, who passed away last July.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be very satisfying for me, and all the people that have worked with me over the years to see something that we worked on become commercial while making a quantum improvement in that technology area,鈥� said Noble. 鈥淏ecause that鈥檚 what this is鈥揳 real game changer.鈥�

What can we do together?