Polsky 10: UtilityInnovation Group acquired for projected $2.6B | Aura Life Science joins ISS accelerator | OrisDX launches first diagnostic product
| The Polsky 10 is a bi-weekly newsletter featuring 10 things to know from the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center. To get the Polsky 10 sent directly to your inbox every other Friday, sign up here >> 1 // Booth alum-founded UtilityInnovation Group is powering up with a projected $2.6B exit. |
| Through a keen focus on decarbonization, grid resiliency, and reliability in the face of constantly increasing digital demand, UtilityInnovation Group (UIG) is entering an exciting new chapter. Cofounded by Booth alum Joe Gammie, MBA ’21, the clean energy firm — which provides a wide range of services, from existing utility grid maintenance to entirely new microgrid solutions — is set to be acquired by Vertiv for approximately $1.45B in cash at closing, with up to another $1.15B tied to future performance. The deal reflects the growing importance of UIG’s technology as AI drives unprecedented demand for data center power. Its solutions help bring new power capacity online faster while giving utilities and large energy users greater control over how that power is generated, distributed, and managed. Together, these capabilities are helping solve one of the biggest infrastructure and sustainability challenges facing the AI boom. Read more now. |
2 // Taking biomanufacturing to new heights. |
| Alchemist Chicago startup and NVC ‘26 alum Aura Life Science is developing a cost-effective way to turn atmospheric CO2 into proteins. With $1.3M already raised since its launch, the company uses cyanobacteria — the blue-green algae you’d recognize from a pond — to work as microscopic factories, taking in light and carbon dioxide and turning them into the proteins and enzymes that go into medicines, food, and industrial products. By engineering the microbes’ circadian clock, Aura has boosted their protein output by up to 50x — making this carbon-negative manufacturing both efficient and cost-effective. Most recently, Aura was selected as one of eight companies to join the International Space Station National Lab’s 2026 Orbital Edge Accelerator, where the team will adapt its technology for use in space, generating new data that could further advance the platform on Earth. Closer to home, Aura joined Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory, a Department of Energy program that embeds a small cohort of founders in the lab with funding, facilities, and access to national lab scientists. Read more now. |
3 // “From sight to science.” |
| NVC ‘22 winner and George Shultz Innovation Fund recipient OrisDX is opening early access for Oro Lesion, its non-invasive saliva-based DNA test designed to help detect oral cancer at an earlier stage. Developed from UChicago research, the test uses next-generation sequencing and AI to identify molecular changes that may not yet be visible during a traditional visual-tactile exam, with 93% sensitivity and 99% specificity — a huge improvement over the current standard of care, where visual inspection leads to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary surgeries and only 20% of oral cancers are properly identified. Now, a simple two-minute oral rinse can be collected during a routine dental visit, with diagnostic DNA results delivered to providers within 14 days. Read more now. |
4 // The results are in: Polsky Small Business Growth Program alums are thriving. |
| The Polsky Center Small Business Growth Program supports local Chicago businesses through 30-week engagements with teams of UChicago graduate students who act as consultants, helping each business workshop its biggest challenges and develop the best strategies for growth. And through the years, it has quietly become one of the most impactful programs on Chicago’s South and West sides. Most recently, a number of alumni gathered to share a wave of milestones: a luggage line that sold out after a national television debut, two $1M grants, a $250K infrastructure award, and multiple businesses opening or eyeing new locations. Behind each headline is a business owner who came into the program with a small operation and a vision of something bigger — and left with sharper strategy, better resiliency, and the skills to execute. Funded by JPMorgan Chase and powered by UChicago students, the Small Business Growth Program is proving that with the right support, local businesses don’t just survive — they scale. Read more now. |
5 // Foxtrot advances its disciplined growth plan with two new Chicago stores. |
| As the latest chapter of NVC ‘13 alum Foxtrot’s story continues to unfold, leadership is making sure a tightly buttoned strategy informs all growth decisions. “We want to find great submarkets, great local communities,” Foxtrot’s COO recently remarked. “That’s where we want to place any further growth.” Of the 11 stores that Foxtrot has opened since returning to business, the vast majority have been re-openings. Now with two new stores set to open — including one in the popular Lakeview neighborhood that the team has been eyeing for two years — the curated corner store is dedicated to maintaining this carefully measured pace of growth moving forward. Read more on where Foxtrot hopes to go from here. |
6 // From first down to startups. |
| For SNVC alum Tim Vestuto, MBA ’26, two years at Chicago Booth meant doing a little bit of everything: earning his MBA, playing college football at 27, pursuing a consulting career, andlaunching a startup. After an injury ended his football career at Butler University, Vestuto never expected to play again — until his time at Booth gave him the chance to return to the field while exploring new opportunities off of it at the same time. He played in the 2024 season, even scoring two touchdowns in one game, while balancing classes and his work with SNVC ‘25 alum Cothera, an AI companion-style chatbot for mental health. While his startup team didn’t win that year, the experience inspired him to launch his current venture, After Hours — a community-building startup working to bring affordable, alcohol-free social events to Chicago and Atlanta coffee shops. Read more now. |
7 // Building the network behind the quantum revolution. |
| Duality cohort 2 startup and George Shultz Innovation Fund recipient memQ is working to tackle one of quantum computing’s biggest hurdles: connecting individual quantum processors into larger, distributed systems capable of solving the most complex problems. Most recently, memQ cofounders Manish Singh, PhD ’22, and Sean Sullivan joined the Lab Rats to Unicorns podcast to dig deep into the science and entrepreneurship behind building this kind of quantum infrastructure. The pair discuss memQ’s unique approach to quantum networking, the challenges of moving the technology from the lab toward real-world applications, and what it will take to build a truly interconnected quantum ecosystem. Tune in now. |
8 // A startup idea worth sinking your teeth into. |
| What if you could refresh the same toothbrush year after year without ever replacing the whole thing? That simple question, sparked by a toothbrush that one UChicago alum named Merox (María Benítez de Lugo Casucci, SM ‘26) bought in Italy in 2018 that she still uses today, became the inspiration for LOOP. Today, the Build Summer Accelerator alum is working to reimagine one of the most routinely discarded products in our bathrooms. Its first product is a reusable aluminum toothbrush handle with interchangeable heads for brushing, flossing, and tongue scraping — reducing plastic waste while making sustainability part of an everyday routine. “We believe sustainable habits don’t need to be a sacrifice,” Merox said in a recent interview with the Physical Sciences Division at UChicago. “You can build a beautiful object, creating a type of relationship with that object that doesn’t feel disposable. It becomes something people actually want to use.” Read more now. |
9 // The Quantum Leap Challenge Institute gets renewed with a $37.5M investment. |
| The NSF has officially renewed the UChicago-led Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Quantum Sensing for Biophysics and Bioengineering (NSF QuBBE) with a $37.5M, five-year investment. These new funds will support the further advancement of quantum sensors for biology and medicine, bringing together quantum experts, engineers, scientists, and physicians to develop the kinds of tools that are capable of measuring molecular and cellular processes that conventional techniques can’t easily access. Building on breakthroughs from its first phase — including fluorescent proteins that can function as quantum bits and could enable sensors to be genetically expressed inside cells — NSF QuBBE’s next phase will focus on turning these discoveries into practical applications for studying biological systems. Read more now. |
10 // A sweet spot worth fighting for. |
| Small Business Growth Program alum Brown Sugar Bakery has been a favorite Chicago mainstay for more than two decades. And as founder Stephanie Hart confirmed after her bakery was burglarized for the second time since July, “We’re not going anywhere.” A well-loved fixture of Chicago’s South Side community, Hart continued, “We’re going to conquer this. I don’t want to see anybody go. What I want to see is more businesses come to 75th Street.” Since growing from a neighborhood bakery into a nationally shipping brand, Brown Sugar Bakery has weathered plenty of challenges. While the break-in will incur a significant cost to repair, Hart is laser-focused on moving forward and continuing to invest in her community. Read more now. |
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