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George Shultz Innovation Fund Awards $250K to Parasol Medtech and Signl

June 17, 2026

The George Shultz Innovation Fund has selected two University of Chicago startups, Parasol Medtech and Signl, for an investment of $250,000 each. This year’s finals marked 15 years of the George Shultz Innovation Fund. Over that time, the fund has invested $10.4 million in 83 startups, which have raised more than $327 million in follow-on...

University of Chicago and Station F Launch New Summer Startup Internship Program in Paris

June 15, 2026

Twenty-five UChicago students will work with 16 French technology startups through a new program connecting Chicago and Paris innovation ecosystems The University of Chicago and Station F, widely regarded as the world’s largest startup campus, have launched a new summer internship program that will place 25 UChicago undergraduate students with 16 French technology startups in...

40 Startups to Present at Midwest Deep Tech Demo Day in San Francisco

June 9, 2026

The inaugural Deep Tech Demo Day in 2025, held at Pear VC in San Francisco. The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation today announced the 40 startups from leading Midwest universities presenting at the upcoming Midwest Deep Tech Demo Day, taking place June 23 at Third Coast Foundry in San Francisco. The event will showcase...

Record-Breaking $435,000 Awarded at 19th Annual Global New Venture Challenge; Phinorm, Morton Labs Tie for First Place

June 5, 2026

Phinorm provides on-device drone detection software for defense sensors, while Morton Labs is building computational infrastructure to accelerate fusion energy research. The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation today announced the winners of the 19th Annual Global New Venture Challenge (GNVC), where a record $435,000 was awarded to ventures led by Chicago Booth Executive MBA...

Rattan L. Khosa Took a Risk to Build Something New and Now Helps NVC Founders Do the Same

May 28, 2026

Rattan L. Khosa speaks to the students at SeedCon 2025. As part of the NVC@30 celebration, Rattan L. Khosa, ’79, reflected on his entrepreneurial journey, his connection to Booth, and why helping aspiring founders take the leap into entrepreneurship has become so meaningful to him. When University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumnus Rattan...

Global New Venture Challenge Announces 7 Finalists Competing for Investments

May 20, 2026

2024 GNVC Winner Investable Seven teams have been selected for the 19th annual Global New Venture Challenge (GNVC) finals, taking place on Friday, June 5. The GNVC is a track of the New Venture Challenge dedicated to Chicago Booth’s Executive MBA students worldwide. It debuted in 2008 to accommodate the growing entrepreneurial aspirations of Booth’s Executive MBA students on...

The Polsky Center Announces the Inaugural AI Research Commons Midwest Fellows Program Cohort

May 19, 2026

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation today announced the inaugural cohort of startups selected to participate in the AI Research Commons (ARC) Midwest Fellows Program, a highly selective initiative designed to support inception-stage artificial intelligence companies emerging from leading Midwest research universities. Launched in collaboration with the AI Research Commons (ARC), Microsoft, and NVIDIA, the program...

From Mississippi to the Last Frontier: Ben Frazer’s Path to ETA in Alaska

May 18, 2026

Growing up in a small town in Mississippi, entrepreneurship was close to home for Ben Frazer, MBA ’25. His father founded a business in 2000, and from an early age Frazer developed an appreciation for the independence and responsibility that came with running and operating a company. “I grew up in a tight knit community...

The Cofounder Test Too Many Startups Skip

May 12, 2026

The following article was written by Ale Breuer, clinical assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and originally published in Crain’s Chicago on April 20. More than 23% of cofounders are gone by year three. Not because the idea failed — because the partnership did. That number should unsettle every founder currently shopping...