Venture Funding: A Key Gap in Commercializing Deep Tech National labs can provide a pipeline for new deep tech companies, but the lack of visibility, remote location and at times conservative culture limit the opportunity. Despite the promise of programs like Activate and other initiatives aimed at supporting deep tech entrepreneurs (e.g., NSF I-corps), it is evident that there is a large funding gap for these types of ventures, especially at the early stage. This is particularly evident when focusing on locations that are outside of the traditional innovation hubs like Boston and San Francisco. Leveraging additional private capital to be funneled into early-stage deep tech ventures is therefore critical for the development of the sector. Programs like SBIR and other funding schemes can support some of the activities but venture funding is necessary to enable companies to advance and scale faster.
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Deep Tech Entrepreneurship: From Lab to Impact
