UChicago Launches Accelerator for Data Science and Emerging AI Startups

[ad_1]

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Data Science Institute at the University of Chicago today announced the launch of Transform, a new startup accelerator focused on game-changing data science and artificial intelligence technologies.

Housed within the new Deep Tech Ventures initiative at the Polsky Center, Transform will provide full-spectrum support, including access to business and technical education, industry mentorship, venture capital connections, and funding opportunities, to phase-in initial using advances in data science and AI.

In its first year, Transform targets two cohorts of up to 10 companies each. Startups accepted into the accelerator will receive approximately $250,000 in total investment, including $25,000 in funding, use of UChicago computer resources, credits for Amazon Web Services and Google for Startups, workspace at Polsky Exchange on Chicago’s South Side, and access to industry mentors, technical advisors, and student talent from the University of Chicago’s Department of Computer Science, the Data Science Institute (DSI), and the Chicago Booth School of Business.

Applications for the inaugural Transform cohort expire on January 25, 2023, an extension from the original January 20 deadline. Applicants should focus on data-driven technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, data engineering, data analytics, healthcare and biotechnology applications, cybersecurity, IoT, climate technology and environment, blockchain, social impact, transportation, fintech, transportation, agriculture, and others.

The Polsky Center continues to provide unparalleled support to early-stage startups, and the Transform accelerator is no different, said Dan Sachs, executive director of Polsky Deep Tech Ventures. We are confident that data science and AI startups can accelerate their ability to bring innovations to market with venture capital connections and funding opportunities from the Polsky Center. And our partners at the university’s Data Science Institute can provide deep, focused technical guidance and access to industry-specific mentors who we know are invaluable resources for today’s entrepreneurs.

Data science and artificial intelligence are two of the most transformative technologies of this century, with the potential to revolutionize virtually every industry and field of study. The University of Chicago is at the heart of these scientific innovations. Over the past five years, the Departments of Computer Science and Statistics have added more than 40 new faculty, most of whom specialize in AI, machine learning, data science and data engineering. The Data Science Institute, launched in 2021, realizes the University’s bold and innovative vision of data science as a new discipline, seeding interdisciplinary research, forming partnerships with industry, government and social impact organisations, and supporting the holistic data science education.

At the University of Chicago, we are privileged to push forward the frontiers of computer research and data science in a community of world-leading experts in economics, biological and physical sciences, law and public policy, and other fields, said Michael J Franklin , Co-Faculty Director of the Data Science Institute, Liew Family Chair of Computer Science and Senior Advisor to the Provost for Computation and Data Science. This fertile intellectual landscape is the perfect environment to found new businesses that apply the latest breakthroughs in data science and artificial intelligence for vital opportunities across all industries.

The city of Chicago also has a growing reputation for tech entrepreneurship. In 2021, Chicago-based venture capital firms raised more than $5.7 billion, while nine Chicago-based companies surpassed the unicorn valuation level by more than $1 billion, the third-most total top of the country. Chicago’s tech ecosystem also leads the nation in diversity, with 34 percent of Chicago startups run by women and 26 percent of the tech workforce identifying as Black or Latinx more than three times the national average.

Transform will use a proven formula developed by Duality, the nation’s first quantum science and technology accelerator operated out of Polsky Center and the Chicago Quantum Exchange. Since its launch in April 2021, Duality has supported 11 quantum-focused startups in two cohorts, with member firms successfully securing government funding and industry buyouts. In May 2022, Duality member Super.tech founded by UChicago computer science professor Fred Chong and PhD student Pranav Gokhale was acquired by global quantum leader ColdQuanta.

Startups under the Deep Tech Ventures program will have access to various funding mechanisms. Deep Tech Ventures plans to raise a $25 million external venture fund in 2023 to support deep tech startups seeking early stage and Series A financing. As part of Deep Tech Ventures, Transform will help up to 20 startups all year to grow their businesses in the Chicago area. The program is open to all members of the Chicago tech community and not limited to UChicago-based startups.

Transform offers a robust combination of resources, training and funding that will provide invaluable support to the tech startup community, said Shyama Majumdar, director of Transform. I am very excited about the mentorship program and the world-class student talent we are able to offer from the Chicago Booth School of Business and the Data Science Institute. We have a pool of fantastic mentors ready to roll up their sleeves and work with teams.

We are looking for early-stage startups that combine technological innovation and a creative product idea with market potential and societal benefits, said Dan Nicolae, Data Science Institute co-faculty director and statistics professor , human genetics, medicine, section of genetics Medicine and College. The mission of the Data Science Institute is to develop data science as a new emerging discipline, from education and basic research through interdisciplinary application and entrepreneurship. Transform reinforces this vision, creating the unique opportunity to translate fundamental discoveries in data science and artificial intelligence into technologies that address the most important real-world challenges.

A version of this story was published in the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship Innovation.

[ad_2]