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This program is Part 3 in our

Tech Venture Program

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Tech Venture Accelerator

Sept. 13, 2024 - Feb. 28, 2025

The NYU Tech Venture Accelerator (TVA) is the third phase of the three-part NYU Tech Venture Program. TVA builds on where NSF I-Corps leaves off and helps NYU teams launch scalable startup ventures based on their research. By the end of the program teams will be challenged to secure customer pilots, generate revenue and prepare them for SBIR/STTR funding and/or raising venture capital. TVA provides $50,000 in grant funding, along with mentorship from startup founders and venture capital investors, workshops in startup best practices, pro-bono legal support and other perks.

Application Deadline

The next Tech Venture Accelerator begins in September ’24 and the ventures have already been selected. If you’re interested in participating in the ’25-’26 cohort, sign up for a Tech Venture Program info session.

Who Can Apply?

Teams of faculty, postdocs, PhD students & researchers from any NYU school or college
Teams seeking to commercialize NYU life science, physical science, computer/data science or engineering research
Teams that have a lab prototype and are ready for commercial/test bed pilots

Benefits

$50,000 in non-dilutive grant funding
1:1 coaching & mentorship from deep tech startup experts, founders & investors
Hands-on training in evidence-based startup best practices
Legal counsel, cloud computing, banking & more

Success Stories

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Vital Audio makes quality healthcare more efficient, affordable, and universally accessible through voice-based cardiac monitoring.

Nyamitse-Calvin Mahinda

Co-Founder & CEO

(Tandon '23)

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Portable Diagnostic Systems's Integrity-1 Analysis System was designed to detect over 100 different substances simultaneously, allowing practitioners to build comprehensive test menus.

Glennon Simmons

Co-Founder

(Dentistry)

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ViBILLER aims to develop technology to measure group engagement and emotional arousal in real time and in naturalistic settings like live concerts and performances.

Dana Bevilacqua

Co-founder

(GSAS '17)

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Provides a cost effective chemical path to manufacture sustainable nylon.

Daniela Blanco, PhD

Co-Founder

(Tandon '21)

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What You Can Expect

Upon completion of I-Corps, teams are eligible to apply to TVA, a 6-month startup accelerator to support teams’ efforts to launch products and services into the market and begin revenue generation. Participating teams receive a $50,000 grant from NYU, pro-bono legal services, cloud computing credits, commercial banking, SBIR/STTR consulting, accounting/bookkeeping services, discounts and more.

Location: All sessions take place at the Leslie eLab on NYU’s Washington Square campus, with remote participation available to those living out of state.
Times: Sessions take place on Fridays, approximately every other week from mid-September through February.
Goals by end of program: TVA teams can expect to have an incorporate their venture, validated a scalable business, have customer pilots in place and/or generating revenue, and will be well positioned for SBIR/STTR grant funding and/or to raise its first pre-seed venture round.

Eligibility Requirements

TVA is open to any NYU research faculty or researcher-led teams who have completed NSF I-Corps or equivalent, are ready to launch a commercial venture based on their research that:

Consist of two or more faculty, postdocs, PhD students & researchers from any NYU school or college. Non-NYU cofounders are welcome to join NYU led-teams.
Have two or more team members that can participate in all program sessions, events and meetings.
Seek to commercialize life science, physical science, computer/data science or engineering research developed at NYU.
Possess technology that has achieved proof of concept or working prototypes that can be deployed in a customer pilot by the end of the program.
No prior business or startup experience is necessary.

Selection Criteria

In short, we are looking for teams that meet the following criteria:

NYU Research: TVA is for teams ready to launch a commercial venture based on faculty-led research developed at NYU.
Lab Prototype: A lab prototype has been completed and is ready to be validated in an external environment, or via commercial pilots.
Initial Use Case Validated: Via I-Corps, you have validated the initial market use case with customers, and deeply understand the customer’s workflows, decision-making processes and ecosystem.
Regulatory: You have a preliminary understanding of the regulatory requirements to bring the solution to market for your initial use case.
Competitive insulation: Project teams have evaluated competitive technologies and businesses, and believe their solution is differentiated and has defensible IP.
Scalability: The business and technology have the ability to scale to potentially provide broad societal and commercial impact, and attract VC investors.
Team of Two+: Teams of 2 or more may consist of NYU faculty, researchers, graduate students or research staff. Their must be at least one NYU founder that was materially involved in the research in question.
Interested in Starting a Startup: The funding, training and mentorship provided is to assist NYU researchers in launching a startup venture. If you’re just looking for additional research funding for your lab, this is not the program for you.
Committed: We are looking for teams that are ready to commit now to 100% participation in all programs, activities and events in the TVA.
Compliance with NYU policies: You’re in good standing in terms of protecting and use of IP with NYU TOV.

Not sure if this is for you? Come in and meet with a member of the Entrepreneurial Institute team members or attend an Info Session to learn more.

Benefits

Participating in the Tech Venture Accelerator offers numerous benefits, including:

Grant Funding: Teams receive up to $50,000 in milestone-based grant funding to launch their ventures.
Training & Guidance: Participants receive training to refine and validate their business model from startup experts, entrepreneurs and investors.
Networking w/ Investors & Founders: Participants have the opportunity to meet deeptech startup founders and investors, gaining valuable insights and networking connections that can be beneficial for future endeavors.
De-Risk Your Startup: TVA helps teams systematically de-risk their venture by gathering evidence to make business decisions improving the likelihood of bringing their innovations successfully to market.
Saving Time & Resources: Speed is essential, but so is moving in the right direction. TVA helps teams refine and validate their assumptions before they launching saving value time and resources. Failing early and small, to avoid big failures downstream.
Improve Your Odds Securing SBIR/STTR: SBIR grants are specifically aimed at funding innovative R&D by startups that can lead to the development of new products, processes or services for potential commercialization and use by the government. TVA is purpose built to help you transition from research to commercial development. Participating teams also receive $2,000 in credits to be used with our consultant in support of their SBIR/STTR application.
Set Up for Fundraising Success: Investors don’t invest because you need money, but rather so they can make money! TVA systematically helps founders design, build and lunch venture scale business worthy of venture investment.