Innosphere, Colorado’s leading technology incubator with headquarters in Fort Collins and an office in Denver, has announced a merger that will take place with the Boulder-based Innovation Center of the Rockies (ICR), where ICR will become part of Innosphere’s 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Innosphere’s Board of Directors approved the merger on Thursday night, and is looking forward to combining the two organizations to bolster Innosphere’s statewide incubator program dedicated to innovation and supporting great startups in Colorado’s advanced industry sectors.
“The sole focus of our merger is to enhance services and programs for both entrepreneurs and our University partners, and to drive economic impact for the State of Colorado,” said Mike Freeman, Innosphere CEO. “This merger strengthens Innosphere’s mission of being Colorado’s leading science and technology incubator, and provides the vehicle to continue the outstanding work of ICR into the future.”
Through the merger, Innosphere builds stronger relationships with the City of Boulder, the University of Colorado Boulder Technology Transfer Office, and the Colorado School of Mines Office of Technology Transfer. This complements Innosphere’s existing partnership with Colorado State University and Colorado State University Ventures, and positions Innosphere to provide coordinated services to University partners. “Our partnership with three of Colorado’s major research universities provides an effective pathway to bring University innovations to market,” said Eric Gricus, ICR Executive Director. “The merger with Innosphere will deepen and expand our entrepreneurial toolkit and strengthen our commercialization capabilities.”
Innosphere’s new Boulder office will provide a home base for supporting Boulder-based entrepreneurs, including Innosphere’s existing client companies. The merger also expands the industries Innosphere supports, as it brings ICR’s extensive Natural & Organic expertise to the program. “I’ve been very impressed with the programs and staff at Innosphere,” said Gricus. “We are looking forward to applying Innosphere’s best in class programs and services to our clients and partners.” Innosphere’s incubation program focuses on ensuring companies are investor-ready, raising capital, connecting companies with experienced advisors, making introductions to corporate partners, and exit planning.
With Innosphere’s stronger presence in Boulder, they now work closely with four cities in supporting economic impact through job creation and entrepreneurship: City of Fort Collins, City of Loveland, City of Denver, and City of Boulder. “These relationships make it possible to support entrepreneurs throughout the entire Front Range, and all of Colorado,” said Freeman.
For more information contact Innosphere CEO, Mike Freeman, at [email protected] or 970.818.7736.
About Innosphere:
Innosphere is a non-profit technology incubator accelerating the success of high-impact science and technology startups. Innosphere has physical locations in Fort Collins, Denver, and Boulder, Colorado to support entrepreneurs building potential high-growth companies in the industries of energy and advanced materials, life sciences, digital health, enterprise software, hardware, and natural and organic foods. Innosphere’s incubation program focuses on ensuring companies are investor-ready, connecting them with experienced advisors, making introductions to corporate partners, and exit planning. Once accepted into the program, companies receive customized development plans and ongoing support to ensure they’re getting the know-how to raise the right kind of capital, and all the resources to grow –– exponentially. innosphereventures.org