Meet the Inaugural Alchemist Chicago Cohort

Alchemist Accelerator and the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation are thrilled to announce the inaugural cohort of Alchemist Chicago.

Alchemist Chicago Cohort 1 is made up of 27 startups representing over 10 cities and more than five countries with founders from global universities, including UChicago, Columbia, Georgia Tech, MIT, and Yale. The startups were chosen for their potential to advance distinctive, science-based innovation into industry and markets across the US from a wide range of deeptech verticals, including AI, biotech, cleantech, data analysis, and quantum computing.

“Alchemist Chicago represents a defining moment for the region’s innovation landscape, ” said Samir Mayekar, managing director of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. “Our partnership with Alchemist and additional recent collaborations and investments have created the ideal environment for startups to thrive here in the Midwest, and we can’t wait to see what this inaugural cohort will achieve.”

Founders will receive customized coaching and mentorship from domain experts, including entrepreneurial training from experts at the Chicago Booth School of Business. Teams will also have the opportunity to connect and onboard talent from the top-ranked business school.

“We received a record number of applications, more than 400 — an incredible testament to the growing momentum in Chicago’s innovation ecosystem. Even more exciting is the diversity of sectors represented, with startups spanning advanced materials, food and ag tech, biotech, and beyond,” said Shyama Majumdar, senior director, science accelerators and investments, Polsky Center.

Among other benefits are access to Google, IBM, and Microsoft resources, along with the opportunity to receive up to $50,000 in investment and connection to both UChicago’s and Alchemist’s extensive founder and investor networks.

“I’m thrilled about the quality and potential of the inaugural cohort of Alchemist Chicago. In today’s noisy world, it’s inspiring to see distinctive deep-tech founders pushing the boundaries of what’s possible—building science-driven solutions to real, persistent problems,” said Ian Bergman, partner and managing director, Alchemist.

Alchemist Chicago Cohort 1:

• ADDD // ADDD analyzes offline customer behavioral data and offers the world’s first AI-based effectiveness measurement solution for offline advertising.
• Amplify Dynamics // Amplify Dynamics is pioneering ultrasound-powered filtration technology that transforms purification across industries.
• AnharmoniQ // AnharmoniQ is building the critical hardware backbone for large-scale quantum computing.
• Aura Life Science // Aura Life Science turns pollution into value with a photosynthetic biomanufacturing platform that transforms CO2 into essential ingredients, materials, and medicines—slashing production costs while combating climate change.
• Blisstech Co., Ltd. // Blisstech is an award-winning medical device company specializing in smart pressure ulcer prevention and patient monitoring systems.
• Bluana Foods // Bluana Foods is an innovative company specializing in the production and distribution of plant-based sashimi-grade fish fillets with an innovative approach that centers on a high-moisture extrusion process using molecular gastronomy principles applied at an industrial scale.
• EcoGrains // EcoGrains develops patented waste-to-fuel biotechnology that helps airlines meet their net-zero goals by converting agricultural waste into sustainable aviation fuel, reducing emissions by up to 80%.
• Etat’H Solide Inc. // Etat’H Solide develops EcoFoam and EcoMold technologies that lighten plastic parts by up to 40% without losing strength.
• Florence Quantum Labs // Florence Quantum Labs unites the field of quantum biology and quantum information science for breakthroughs in bioagriculture, drug discovery, bioremediation, and biomaterials.
• FUELWELL corp // FuelWell Corp is a U.S.-based cleantech startup developing a patented retrofit technology that optimizes fuel combustion in internal combustion engines.
• Hermetiq // Hermetiq accelerates development cycles by providing intelligence for developers to debug builds.
• K1 Semiconductor // K1 Semiconductor is a deep-tech company pioneering a semiconductor wafer-splitting platform technology that enhances the efficiency and economics of advanced chip manufacturing.
• Legion Space // Legion Space is turning satellites into autonomous teammates by bringing the first “app store” for space, no ground stations needed.
• Luce Labs // Luce Labs is building the world’s first AI-powered precision agriculture platform designed for optimizing flavor. 
• Naycel Systems // Naycel is transforming America’s energy future by converting natural gas into two critical resources: battery-grade graphite and clean hydrogen — at a fraction of the energy cost of mining or synthetic production.
• PeraWatt // PeraWatt is an advanced materials startup developing next-generation magnetic materials to dramatically improve energy efficiency in power-hungry systems.
• Popper Power // Popper Power transforms streetlights into smart, V2G-enabled EV chargers with battery storage and grid intelligence—providing cities and utilities affordable, scalable, and equitable curbside charging.
• QDIR, Inc. // QDIR is enabling exquisite thermal sensing at the edge of battle and manufacturing by bringing F35 quality infrared sensors to small drones at small drone prices.
• QodeX Quantum // QodeX Quantum provides quantum-native AI models and a platform to train and deploy them at scale – faster, cheaper, and beyond classical limits.
• Qoro Quantum // Qoro Quantum develops the network stack for scalable, distributed quantum computing. With software that automates how quantum programs are prepared, optimized, and executed across heterogeneous hardware — from CPUs and GPUs to quantum processors — making it easy for researchers and enterprises to run quantum workloads efficiently at scale.
• Qualz.ai // Qualz.ai transforms the way businesses understand their customers by offering a platform that uses AI to conduct in-depth interviews and analysis, providing companies with actionable insights within a week.
• quasi ai // Quasi ai is radically accelerating CFD simulations by combining the power of Quantum Computing with Machine Learning, specifically leveraging Physics-Based AI models.
• Quantum Research Sciences // Quantum Research Sciences designs, develops, and delivers quantum software.
• Slideflow Labs // Slideflow Labs, a University of Chicago spinout, is an integrated hardware-software AI platform for hospitals, pharmas, and biotechs to develop precision oncology biomarkers.
• SQK INC // SQK Inc. is a US–Canada–Korea deep-tech startup developing quantum–AI hybrid computing solutions for precision medical imaging and related applications.
• ThunderGraph // ThunderGraph is building AI-native digital threads to facilitate engineering orchestration for complex projects in the physical world.
• Uptempo Global Inc. // Uptempo Global’s core strength is AI-driven localization for multilingual content across diverse formats—text, audio, video, animation.

Alchemist Accelerator and the Polsky Center announced the launch of Alchemist Chicago in July of this year. This first-of-its-kind collaboration combines the strengths of Alchemist’s global network and track record of launching category-defining B2B startups with the University of Chicago’s world-class research, national lab affiliations, and commercialization expertise.

As part of the Polsky Center’s Alchemist Chicago initiative, the University of Chicago partnered with IBM to support the ecosystem of startups developing quantum software and algorithms for applications that could soon unlock quantum computing’s potential. The selected software startups will receive cloud access to IBM’s cutting-edge quantum computing resources, world-class technical expertise, and workshops, with the opportunity for venture funding from IBM.

The Polsky Center also has collaborated with the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) to help Korean startups enter the U.S. market. Per the partnership, four KOSME startups were accepted into Alchemist Chicago: ADDD, Etat’H Solide, Uptempo Global Inc, and Blisstech.

// Visit www.alchemistaccelerator.com/alchemist-chicago to learn more about the program.