Third Coast Foundry Celebrates Grand Opening, Showcases 40 Deep Tech Startups at Demo Day

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, along with the seven other university partners that make up Third Coast Foundry, marked the official launch of the new San Francisco-based innovation hub with a ribbon cutting and Midwest Deep Tech Demo Day.

Together, the events brought university leaders, founders, investors, partners, and sponsors together in San Francisco to celebrate the launch of Third Coast Foundry and showcase deep tech innovation emerging from the Midwest.

The ribbon cutting included leadership from each of the eight universities, as well as San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.

“Universities bring incredible energy,” said Lurie. “They bring new ideas and new people into our city. They strengthen the culture of innovation that has defined San Francisco for generations, and that is exactly what we want more of here in downtown San Francisco.”

“Third Coast Foundry is about creating new opportunities for university-backed founders and researchers from the Midwest to build relationships with investors and partners in the Bay Area,” said Samir Mayekar, managing director of the Polsky Center. “Our universities have deep research expertise, talented founders, and strong startup ecosystems. This shared San Francisco presence gives them another pathway to connect and grow.”

Later that evening, the Midwest Deep Tech Demo Day brought 40 startups in front of Bay Area investors at the INSEAD San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation. The event drew more than 200 attendees, including founders, partners, sponsors, and investors that collectively manage more than $110 billion in capital.

The startups that presented are backed by the eight Midwest universities that are part of Third Coast Foundry, including the University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon University, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, Purdue University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Washington University in St. Louis. They ranged technologies across advanced materials and manufacturing, cleantech and energy, semiconductors, robotics and spacetech, quantum, healthtech and medtech, AI, and more, and included ventures founded by students, alumni, faculty, and researchers.

“Tonight is the culmination of a shared effort to connect startups from the Midwest with the investors, customers, and networks that can help them scale,” said Mayekar to open the event.

Victoria “Vic” Woo of the INSEAD San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation welcomed attendees and emphasized the Midwest’s strength as a region known for building durable, high-growth companies.

“The Midwest is one of the most important regions in the U.S.,” Woo said. “It is filled with builders, entrepreneurs, and operators who build things that last and scale — and that’s exactly what we need today.”

“It’s not every day that eight universities come together like this,” he said. “We’ve come together with a deep spirit of cooperation because we know we can bring to the Bay Area a level of founder that you will be excited about.”

He also shared words of encouragement.

“To all the founders here, we’re so excited about what you’re here to pitch,” Alivisatos said. “I’ve been there myself. Sometimes you may need to give a few pitches, but we’re all behind you.”

Both events were part of a busy launch week of activities, giving a preview of what the new San Francisco hub is designed to make possible – connections between Midwest founders and the investors and partners needed to accelerate their growth.

“Third Coast Foundry was created to make these connections more consistent, more intentional, and more impactful,” said Mayekar. “These events show the strength of what our universities can do together — and the caliber of founders emerging from the Midwest.”

// Learn more about the startups that presented >>

For more information about how to get involved in the next Midwest Deep Tech Demo Day, contact Amelia Salter.