Launched in 2019, Compass is the Polsky Center’s deep tech accelerator program dedicated to supporting faculty and researchers from UChicago, Argonne, and Fermilab working on a startup.

The goal of Compass is to help startups get investor ready in six months. Participants get guided support from the Polsky Center and world-class business training and expertise from the Booth School of Business.

So far, 11 companies supported by Compass have raised or are on track to raise $8.21 million in funding with $650,000 invested from the Polsky Center’s George Shultz Innovation Fund.

Apply for Cohort 5, which kicks off on June 30, 2022, and concludes December 8, 2022. The application deadline is Monday, February 28 at 10 a.m. CT.

Eligibility //
Early-stage ventures, IP, technologies, and inventions created by faculty and researchers at the University of Chicago ventures affiliated with Fermilab, Argonne, and the Marine Biological Lab.
Priority will be given to technologies or startups that demonstrate:

• Target Application:  Selected an initial application of focus, if a platform technology
• Customer Segment Selection:  Conducted customer discovery and/or an assessment of market fit, ideally through the Polsky I-Corps program
• Team Members:  At least two or more team members committed to technology commercialization, such as research staff, Ph.D. students, Postdoc, etc.