Hyde Park Labs, UChicago Science Incubator Add to Growing Ecosystem for Founders on the South Side

The University of Chicago has leased more than 150,000 square feet of space in Hyde Park Labs to conduct research and collaborate with industry. Photo by Anne Ryan.

The University of Chicago this week celebrated the opening of Hyde Park Labs and its new UChicago Science Incubator — advancing the University’s long-term vision to bring world-class research, entrepreneurial activity, and community impact to Chicago’s South Side.

Hyde Park Labs is a 300,000 square foot commercial laboratory building developed by Trammell Crow Companies and Beacon Capital Partners near the University of Chicago’s campus. The facility is designed to foster collaboration between academic researchers and industry partners.

The University has leased 4.5 floors within Hyde Park Labs to house the UChicago Science Incubator as well as researchers from the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Biological Sciences Division.

The UChicago Science Incubator enables early-stage science and technology startups to translate ideas into commercial opportunities. Photo by Anne Ryan.

The UChicago Science Incubator — a partnership between UChicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Portal Innovations — occupies nearly 20,000 square feet within Hyde Park Labs, providing lab space, equipment, and technical support for early-stage companies in areas such as life sciences, quantum technology, AI, and climate solutions.   

Additionally, the building will house IBM’s Quantum System 2 and IBM researchers affiliated with the National Quantum Algorithm Center. It also hosts the Southside STEM Station, a new hub on the ground floor offering free, hands-on science programs for students and families in surrounding neighborhoods.

Suites and additional floors are available for industry partners to establish a presence – facilitating connections to highly educated talent as well as the exchange of scientific ideas and expertise between faculty and industry scientists and accelerated product development.

Expanding Resources and Impact

President Paul Alivisatos called the project’s launch a “waypoint” in UChicago’s broader effort to link research and economic growth. Photo by Anne Ryan.

University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos called the grand opening a milestone – and noted that continued investment will be made in the South Side innovation ecosystem.

Nadya Mason, Dean of the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Interim Vice President for Science, Innovation, and Partnerships, echoed the importance of the building for the University and community.

“This building represents not just much-needed space but also opportunity to extend our ecosystem and impact,” she said.

Dean Mason stressed the importance of connections that will be made with researchers throughout the building, specifically between UChicago researchers, startups in the UChicago Science Incubator, and IBM quantum researchers.

By situating researchers alongside entrepreneurs, industry partners, and collaborators from across disciplines, the University is deepening the connections that turn groundbreaking ideas into real-world impact.

“We are going to be taking the best scientists, but also the most entrepreneurial, and putting them together with the Polsky Center and partners from the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering,” said Mark Anderson, Dean of the Biological Sciences Division and Pritzker School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs. “Something good will happen when we put entrepreneurial-minded people together in the right place and with the right programs.”

Dean Anderson added that the new building will enable the Biological Sciences Division to increase collaboration, and “to see new partnerships, launch startups, attract venture capital, and to grow faculty size and disciplinary diversity.”

“Increasingly in biology and medicine and throughout the University, [researchers] aren’t just interested in fundamental understandings of how the world works, but how do we make those understandings touch the human experience,” he said. 

A Complete Ecosystem for Founders

Advancing innovative ideas and technologies from the University of Chicago ecosystem to the world is the mission of UChicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

The Polsky Center’s Samir Mayekar speaking at the grand opening. Photo by Anne Ryan.

“This building is going to be a key enabler of us bringing great science to market,” said the Polsky Center’s Managing Director Samir Mayekar, noting that there is a “new reality possible here for founders.”

That new reality is a complete environment for launching startups – the space, mentorship, and community they need just steps from campus. It also includes access to various funding opportunities, including Harper Court Ventures, a recently-launched $25 million deep tech fund dedicated to investing in startups from the University ecosystem.

“You can walk to campus and use shared equipment; You can hire interns and employees; You can get computing time [on the IBM quantum computer]; You can get support from the Polsky Center; You can get funding from our new venture fund; You can get on the train and meet any customers that you have in Chicago and be downtown in 13 min,” said Mayekar, “That’s what is possible because of this.”

John Flavin, founder and CEO of Portal Innovations, added, “This is a special place that will attract a diverse and dynamic set of visionaries.”

Among these visionaries, the CTO of memQ, the first startup tenant in the UChicago Science Incubator, Sean Sullivan noted that the space fills a crucial gap in Chicago’s startup ecosystem.

“This space provides lab space and facilities for companies like ours,” said Sullivan, specifically calling out the resources and specialized equipment needed, as well as the strong talent pipeline from the University.

“We are also super fortunate to be located here on the South Side of Chicago, which has really become the nexus for quantum technology in the U.S.,” added Sullivan. “We want to be located here close to our partners. I think it’s really important for creating a robust startup ecosystem in Chicago.”