The Department of Mechanical Engineering has been the start of many听successful businesses. Our entrepreneurs include听current students, alumni听and over 10 current faculty members. Businesses founded by members of our community span a variety of听industries,听developing everything from artificial muscles to safer, more efficient batteries听to apparel made with additive manufacturing to snowboards, shoes and longboards.
In 2015, Forbes Magazine ranked CU Boulder as the 18th most entrepreneurial across universities. CU Boulder continues to lead in this area with听roughly 180 inventions and 51 deals across campus each year and 25 startups formed over the past three years.
Mechanical engineering听entrepreneurs have been supported at CU Boulder with programs, mentorship and resources, such as the New Venture Challenge, Catalyze CU and Venture Partners, the technology transfer office. For a complete list of entrepreneurial spaces, workshops and more, be sure to check out the听campus-wide听Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative.
Interested in learning more? Check out a few of our ME-affiliated entrepreneurs below and stop by our ME founders hallway in the mechanical engineering wing!
Traditional robots lack the flexibility and dexterity needed to maximize their potential. Artimus Robotics听has taken inspiration from nature to develop strong, flexible, adaptable materials for use in developing the听next generation of robotic technology.听
Over 90% of balloon endoscopy procedures lead to an incomplete听diagnosis. Aspero Medical's AP鈩� Balloon Overtube increases the听balloon endoscopy success rate by delivering up to 2.5x more听traction than existing balloon endoscopy systems.
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The US consumes over 95 quadrillion BTUs of energy each听year. Berrendo is working to shift how that energy is听produced and reduce the associated environmental听impacts by providing development services to build听utility scale wind farms in areas that have great听renewable resources that have never been captured.
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Mexican food should be fresh, healthy and vibrant. Carmen鈥檚 Salsa provides unique听authentic salsas and moles handmade in Colorado.
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The perfect snowboard isn鈥檛 one-size-fits-all. Donek designs and听builds custom snowboards that are handcrafted for maximum fit,听quality听and performance.
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Current methods for monitoring brain activity for patients听with epilepsy are often highly invasive. FieldLine is听developing magnetic imaging technology with small,听low-power, high-precision quantum sensors that allow听for non-invasive, real-time imaging of brain activity.
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Nano-material coatings can change the behavior of surfaces in听valuable ways. Forge Nano creates solutions to enable fast and听affordable atomic level coatings and surface engineering.
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Controlling your longboard can be challenging. KOTA听Longboards are easier and more fun to ride by design.听Through careful engineering of the materials, geometry,听and manufacturing process, these boards are tuned for听enhanced turning performance and improved ride.
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There is an urgent need to find a low-cost solution to monitor the听vast oil and gas infrastructure across the US. LongPath Technologies听uses CU-developed nobel-prize-winning lasers to effectively monitor听and locate gas leaks from 2 miles away.
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Automated manufacturing has become听more common in today's world, and unique听materials open doors to new technologies.听Lupine labs combines cutting-edge manufacturing听techniques with material science听to create smart manufacturing tools for next
generation medical device technologies.
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Partial hand amputation presents unique challenges for prosthetic design.听The Point Digit is a functional, durable product that allows patients with听MCP level amputation to regain critical hand function.
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Lung injury causes over 80,000 deaths annually听in the USA. Respirogen Oxygen Microbubbles听are a novel therapy for oxygen delivery in听critical patients.
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Most runners only replace their shoes when they听become painful. ShoeSense allows runners to avoid听injury and achieve peak performance by notifying听them when their shoes are ready to be replaced.
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Our society is heading towards an electric-mobility future and batteries are听at the center of that revolution. Solid Power provides high-performance听and highly manufacturable all solid-state batteries.
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Successful businesses are driven by purpose and creativity. TBD Innovation uses a strong foundation in technology, business听and human-centered design to help their clients create remarkable products.
Note: The pictured image is from a consulting project for .
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The apparel industry produces 150 billion garments every year,听while roughly 30% are burned or destroyed without ever being听sold. Unspun's mission is to radically change this process through听an automated and additive robotic manufacturing process, creating听custom-fit apparel on-demand based on 3D body scans.
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Uncontrolled movement of helicopter hoist and sling load systems is a serious risk to emergency rescues. Vita Inclinata is working to develop disruptive, autonomous solutions to end all helicopter search and rescue accidents due to uncontrolled cable motion.
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Weather affects the daily operation of听people and businesses, yet is unpredictable.听WeatherCloud offers real-time ground听weather intelligence through a forecast听engine and sensor technology to enable听navigation of adverse weather conditions.
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Mission critical applications require a consistent power source. Xtreme Power Conversion manufactures听uninterruptible power supplies that provide industrial, data center, and retail clients with a reliable, high-quality source of backup power.
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