Illinois awards $7 million to four start-up incubators
The largest award went to EnterpriseWorks 2.0 at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for a new building at the Research Park in Champaign-Urbana.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity announced that $7 million in grant funding has been awarded to four entities through the Tech Incubator Enhancement Grant (TIEG) Program to support entrepreneurship and innovation in key growth industries around the state. These grant awards will strengthen the resilience of both existing and new startup incubators.
“Illinois has an unmatched spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship, and the Tech Incubator Enhancement Grants Program is helping channel that into world-changing advancements and sustainable economic growth,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Our technology incubators and start-up ecosystem are positioning our state as a powerhouse in the economy of tomorrow, and I am proud to be strengthening our investment in that future.”
The TIEG Program was designed to modernize and revitalize tech incubators across Illinois to meet the evolving needs of startups. This initiative aims to support the transformation of tech spaces, fostering an ecosystem of innovation, collaboration, and resilience.
- The largest award – $3 million – went to EnterpriseWorks 2.0 at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for a new building at the Research Park in Champaign-Urbana for start-up companies with an emphasis on laboratory and manufacturing commercial spaces for scaling companies, growing the capacity and capabilities.
- The second largest award – $1,811,907 – went to the 518 Collective at Carl Sandburg College for its new ag tech-focused incubator proposed for downtown Galesburg.
- SouthernTECH High-Tech Food Incubator at Southern Illinois University received $1,597,893 for a new food processing and manufacturing-based incubator that will provide a lineup of high-tech, energy-efficient, and future-proof kitchen equipment that will optimize operations for food entrepreneurs and start-ups.
- Finally, $590,200 was awarded to the DeepTech Innovation Lab at mHUB for capital improvements and equipment to serve as the foundation for a deep tech incubator space.
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