Corporate Collision: Bridging the Gap Between Corporates and Startups
The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in March hosted Corporate Collision at TechNexus, bringing together more than 120 startup founders, innovation leaders, investors, and subject-matter experts to explore pathways for impactful collaboration.
The annual event provides a unique platform for corporates to engage directly with top emerging startups from the Polsky Center’s flagship science accelerator programs—Duality, Transform, and Resurgence—while also hearing from peer organizations about their innovation priorities and current challenges.
The evening kicked off with a dynamic panel discussion, “From Investment to Impact: Structuring Corporate-Startup Partnerships for Success,” featuring Matt Marrone, shareholder, McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd; Chris Sipos, lead analyst, United Airlines Venture; and Jenna Leigh Glass, managing director, Trade – Export Controls & Sanctions, KPMG. Erin Martell, director of venture investments at TechNexus Venture Collaborative, moderated.
Together, the group unpacked case studies and best practices for navigating complex IP landscapes, managing risk, and aligning incentives to drive successful, long-term collaborations between corporates and startups.
“We deeply value our longstanding partnership with the Polsky Center and their commitment to empowering startups,” said Marrone. “At McAndrews, we believe that intellectual property is one of the most critical assets a startup can protect early on—it lays the foundation for future growth, investment, and collaboration.”
Following the panel, attendees split into breakout sessions to hear from startups across the quantum, cleantech, and data science and AI space.
Corporates also took the stage to share more about their innovation needs, from aviation sustainability and healthcare solutions to next-gen semiconductors and digital transformation. Among the participants were United Airlines, LanzaTech, Kyocera Ventures, PsiQuantum, Google, Allstate, i.c. Stars, University of Chicago Medicine, JP Morgan Chase, IBM, Boeing, and AbbVie.
The evening concluded with a vibrant networking reception, giving startups and corporates the chance to continue conversations sparked earlier in the program. Participants also had the opportunity to book follow-up meetings, explore partnership ideas, and find alignment on shared challenges and goals.
The event was made possible thanks to support from sponsors McAndrews, Held & Malloy and TechNexus.
// To learn more about partnership opportunities with the Polsky Center’s startup accelerators or to participate in future events, please reach out to our team at polskycenter@uchicago.edu.