Northwestern is creating a tech accelerator in Evanston that looks to grow startups led by the university's faculty.
The school announced Thursday that it's launching a tech accelerator in downtown Evanston with a $75 million investment, $50 million of which is coming in the form of funding from the state government and another $25 million from Northwestern donor Kimberly Querrey.
The space looks to boost startups led by Northwestern faculty in health, life sciences and other fields, providing companies with lab space, management training, networking and other resources.
The goal of the accelerator is to assist faculty in their quest to tackle challenging problems and help commercialize their scientific discoveries and projects. The school also operates The Garage, a space for student-led startups.
Located at 1801 Maple Ave. in Evanston, the accelerator will be named in honor of Querrey, a regular Northwestern donor and the chair of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Committee of Northwestern’s Board of Trustees. Querrey also helped fund the school's Biomedical Research Center in 2019. The state funding comes after the Illinois General Assembly appropriated $50 million for this project as part of the state’s 2022 capital budget.
Northwestern President Morton Schapiro said in a statement that the accelerator will "shine a spotlight on our cutting-edge research and innovation and help the University recruit top talent."
