George Shultz Innovation Fund
The George Shultz Innovation Fund provides up to $250,000 in investment funding for early-stage tech ventures coming out of the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab, and the Marine Biological Laboratory.
To date, the Innovation Fund has invested in more than 80 companies. Notable companies launched with the fund’s support include ExplORer Surgical, acquired by Global Healthcare Exchange; Super.Tech, acquired by ColdQuanta; OrisDx, which won the 2022 New Venture Challenge; Flow Medical, which recently secured $5 million in seed funding; and Alnair Therapeutics, which closed an oversubscribed $1+ million pre-seed funding round.
The core mission of the Innovation Fund is to help scientific founders turn their innovations into ventures that advance cutting-edge technologies, generate significant financial returns, and create lasting impact for humankind.
Key Dates and Deadlines
Applications are currently closed.
Application and Eligibility
The George Shultz Innovation Fund is a seed fund where successful applicants share several traits, including:
- A committed team
- Strong evidence of market need
- A clear plan for using the investment to tackle milestones and attract further funding
- A current faculty, student, or staff member on the founding team from the University of Chicago, Argonne National Lab, Fermilab, or Marine Biological Laboratory
What makes a successful application?
The George Shultz Innovation Fund looks for projects with a high likelihood of commercial viability and significant potential for impact. Past successful applicants have shared the following characteristics:
- Committed team with dedicated technology and business founders
- Significant technical milestones have been achieved
- The technology is demonstrably better/different than what is already available.
- The value proposition of the technology has been validated with end customers
- The work to be funded will likely lead to outside funding, customers, or other engagement.
What information about my technology should I disclose?
Your application will be held in confidence. However, some members of our review committee are private investors with no formal affiliation with the University. If some element of your technology may be patentable but has not yet been patented, please email polskylicensing@uchicago.edu to connect with the technology commercialization team at the Polsky Center to discuss before submitting.
About George Pratt Shultz
George P. Shultz was a former Chicago Booth professor and dean whose distinguished career spanned government, business, and academia. He left a lasting mark on Chicago Booth as a professor, dean, mentor, and institutional leader.
In 2018, the Polsky Center renamed its Innovation Fund in his honor following a $10 million gift from longtime friend and mentee Mary A. Tolan, MBA ’92, to recognize his lifelong commitment to thoughtful problem-solving, public service, and practical innovation.