For Entrepreneurs
MATTER
Incubated by the City of Chicago and initially funded by the State of Illinois and area businesses, MATTER opened in February 2015 with 30 startup companies and a few programs, and has since grown to include hundreds of startup and growth stage companies from around the world, dozens of corporate partners and a diverse array of programs supporting healthcare entrepreneurship and innovation.
Today, our startups range from those that are barely more than ideas, to companies with millions of dollars in revenue and dozens of employees. Our partners represent every sector of healthcare. With MATTER’s non-profit and no-equity model as the foundation, our community is a neutral platform where entrepreneurs can come together with industry leaders, scientists and clinicians from across the globe to collaborate on developing next-generation healthcare and life sciences technologies.
Polsky Exchange
Operated by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Polsky Exchange is a 34,000 square foot startup hub featuring co-working space, a state-of-the-art Fabrication Lab, and a full calendar of programming and workshops designed to help entrepreneurs translate their ideas and technologies into startups.
Located on 53rd Street in Chicago’s vibrant, Hyde Park neighborhood, the Polsky Exchange acts as headquarters for thousands of startups, including the 15-20 companies accepted into the Polsky Incubator. More than 3,200+ members have access to a full suite of resources and activities offered at the Polsky Exchange. Membership is free to all UChicago faculty, staff, and students. Additionally, community-based entrepreneurs with no affiliation to the University of Chicago can become a member for a nominal monthly fee.
Falk Center for Molecular Therapeutics
The Falk Center for Molecular Therapeutics is a molecular biology-based drug discovery center of excellence within the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern Engineering. The Falk Center collaborates with industry partners, including the biotechnology company Aptinyx Inc.
There has never been a greater need for the development of new and effective medicines for the treatment of diseases. However, the costs for creating new drugs have skyrocketed and therapies for many diseases are not being developed because the patient population is too small to be profitable. A new organizational model is necessary to translate discoveries with therapeutic potential into clinically useful compounds. The Falk Center for Molecular Therapeutics is such a model.