Second cohort represents significant growth as non-profit scales breakthrough technology commercialization program

OAKLAND, CA, September 16, 2025 – LabStart, a leading non-profit bridging laboratory research and market-ready technology, today announced 24 entrepreneurs selected for its 2025 fellowship program. The cohort represents significant growth from the organization's inaugural program and spans advanced energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and infrastructure innovation.

Through LabStart's two-phase fellowship, entrepreneurs participate in a 4-month Discovery Phase, which provides $6,000 in funding and training to identify emerging lab technologies. Fellows who graduate the Discovery phase will be eligible for the 12-month Launch Phase with up to  $100,000 in milestone-based funding to further build their companies.

"Twenty-four passionate entrepreneurs are ready to transform breakthrough technologies from America's research labs into market realities," said Deepa Lounsbury, CEO of LabStart. "This growth demonstrates both the urgent need for technology transfer and the incredible talent ready to commercialize frontier innovations."

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Meet the fellows here.

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The expanded cohort is enabled by strategic partnerships with corporate foundations, including HPE Foundation and Salesforce Foundation, plus collaborations with national laboratories NREL, Sandia, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and more, providing fellows unprecedented access to breakthrough technologies. This cohort also features a specialized group focused on data center sustainability, supported by forward-thinking partners including Equinix Foundation and the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation. This initiative brings together the urgency of climate action with the potential of American innovation.

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Proven Impact Drives Growth

LabStart's inaugural cohort launched 12 companies, with half securing follow-on investment. The success validates LabStart's approach to matching frontier technologies from U.S. labs and universities with talented entrepreneurs.

The 2025 fellows began their Discovery Phase in September. Select teams will move to the Launch Phase starting January 2026. Applications for the 2026 cohort open early next year. 

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Supporting American Innovation 

LabStart’s growth demonstrates the value that catalytic capital brings to technology development. With over 30,000 technologies in U.S. national laboratories and research institutions ready to be commercialized, there is enormous potential for continued expansion of this validated model.

Corporate foundations, philanthropists, and impact investors interested in supporting American technological leadership are invited to explore partnership opportunities with LabStart. Strategic funding enables the organization to welcome more entrepreneurs while enhancing comprehensive support services that transform federal research investments into market-ready companies. Visit labstart.co to learn more. 

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About LabStart

LabStart is a non-profit organization that unlocks breakthrough technologies by empowering entrepreneurs to transform innovations from America's research labs and universities into market realities. Through its fellowship program, LabStart provides catalytic funding, expert mentorship, and direct pathways to commercialize frontier technologies, cultivating a new generation of innovators driving America's economic competitiveness and technological leadership.