Not yet announced · Not yet announced
The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is the University of Chicago’s hub for entrepreneurship education, venture creation, and technology commercialization, housed at the Chicago Booth School of Business but open to students, faculty, researchers, and Chicago-area entrepreneurs across the university. Established in 1998 and endowed in 2002 by University of Chicago trustee and Booth alumnus Michael Polsky, the center’s flagship program is the Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, New Venture Challenge, a year-long accelerator launched in 1996 that now runs five tracks for Booth, undergraduate, Executive MBA, alumni, and social-impact founders. Its alumni include Grubhub, Braintree, and Simple Mills. The center also co-leads Duality, a quantum-startup accelerator run with the Chicago Quantum Exchange, co-hosts Alchemist Chicago with Alchemist Accelerator for deep-tech founders, and licenses University of Chicago research through its technology-transfer office. Accepted startups typically receive a SAFE-based investment tied to their award; support also includes the 34,000-square-foot Polsky Exchange co-working space and a Fabrication Lab for prototyping. The Polsky Center ranks 7th on the 2026 TIME and Statista list of America’s Best Incubators and Accelerators.
Frequency
1x/year
Duration
Varies by program — 2 to 9 months
Investment
Undisclosed — SAFE-based prize investment; $2.1 million awarded across New Venture Challenge finalists in 2026
Equity
Undisclosed
Program fees
Undisclosed
Where
USA
Sectors
Sector Agnostic
Stages
Idea/Pre-Team, Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
Eligibility
• Deep-tech partner programs such as Duality and Alchemist Chicago are open to founders without a University of Chicago affiliation
• New Venture Challenge tracks are split by audience: Booth MBA students, undergraduates, Executive MBA students, alumni, and social-impact ventures
• Stage varies by track, spanning early-idea coursework through alumni ventures raising institutional rounds
Selection process
• New Venture Challenge applicants submit a feasibility summary and progress through fall-to-spring coursework to finalist pitches
• Finalists pitch to a judging panel for a share of the annual prize pool
• Deep-tech partner programs run phased selection, narrowing an initial cohort to a smaller final group
Benefits
• A $20 million Innovation Fund that invests directly in early-stage ventures from the university ecosystem
• Access to the 34,000-square-foot Polsky Exchange co-working space and a Fabrication Lab for prototyping
• Mentorship from the Polsky Council of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and private equity investors, plus Entrepreneur- and Investor-in-Residence programs
• Technology licensing and IP support through the center’s tech-transfer office for university-affiliated research
• Access to partner accelerator tracks, including Duality for quantum startups and Alchemist Chicago for deep-tech founders
Notable alumni
Network
Steve Kaplan, faculty director; Samir Mayekar, Associate Vice President and Managing Director of the Polsky Center; Michael Polsky, namesake donor and Invenergy founder; Chicago Quantum Exchange, Argonne National Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and P33, Duality co-partners; IBM, Duality quantum computing partner; Alchemist Accelerator, Alchemist Chicago partner; Hyde Park Angels and the Booth Angels Network, investor partners; Kauffman Foundation, founding supporter
Portfolio
600+ startups graduated through New Venture Challenge tracks since 1996; the center’s tech-transfer office has licensed 600+ university technologies to date
Funds raised
New Venture Challenge alumni have raised more than $2 billion in funding and reached more than $11 billion in mergers and exits since 1996; more than 600 startups have graduated through its tracks, with 200+ still active
🕐 Sep 2026
Report an issue