Building national success in the entrepreneurship space doesn’t happen overnight, but the Technology Entrepreneurship Office’s (TEO’s) steady investment in NSF I-Corps™ program participation has certainly yielded results in 2025. I-Corps is an immersive program that aims to train entrepreneurs, translate technologies, enable positive economic impact, and nurture an innovative ecosystem.
In the UW System, UW–Madison and TEO have facilitated a rise in overall I-Corps participation in 2025, serving over 500 participants across 16 events, three cohorts, and five National Teams. Local team participation throughout the UW System also increased in 2025, with the first two cohorts alone supporting 36 teams and 97 participants from seven campuses—up from 24 teams, 58 individuals, and just two campuses in 2024.
Two of the UW–Madison National I-Corps ELs have been selected for the Early Entrepreneur in Residence (EEIR) program in the newly established Badger Tech Foundry. This complementary program provides training and hands-on development for the strategic development of serial entrepreneurs. It caps participants’ startup experiences, training, and commercialization preparation at UW–Madison before they fully enter the market as newcos.
The Plan Your Impact program was created as another follow-on option for National I-Corps Teams, which covers 12 weeks of advanced entrepreneurial topics. It focuses on the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in tough tech commercialization, including business fundamentals, intellectual property & licensing, company formation, fundraising, team building & governance, and pitching. The first PYI cohort convened in January and will meet until April.
The I-Corps mentorship network grew and improved along with participation. TEO developed a mentor video, guide, and process for orientation and development that streamlines effective support. The network now includes mentors from the Great Lakes and other National Hubs, and UW–Madison I-Corps instructors teach for other Hub members and Great Lakes programs. Progress was also made on the Badger Intel-JIT Mentor Matching Platform—the team produced a whitepaper, completed alpha testing, and applied for funding. An AI coaching platform for lagging teams was assessed as an option moving forward.
Market success for I-Corps participants continued in 2025. Startup companies led by past UW I-Corps ELs saw significant funding, totaling more than $12m. Ubicept, specializing in single-photon imaging and perception, was co-led through UW–Madison I-Corps by Andreas Velten in 2019 and received $8m in funding in 2025. Galasys, featured in last season’s TEO newsletter, is a product of the 2023 I-Corps cohort and received $185k in funding in 2025. SixLine, Alithic, Flux XII, Ninjas Printing, and Dirac Labs are other notable mentions as successfully funded startups from 2025.
Overall, the UW System and UW–Madison specifically have had a fruitful year of I-Corps with the help of TEO. If you are interested in outreach events or joining the next cohort, keep an eye out for announcements on how to get involved in 2026—we’d love to see you there!
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Written by: Bri Meyer