Annual Report 2025

Letter from the Managing Director

At Yale, curiosity, creativity, and ideas converge to set new paths for research and discovery that will benefit humanity. Through Yale Ventures, Yale faculty and scholars are expanding the boundaries of knowledge to shape our future. 

Yale President Maurie McInnis, BA, '90 MA, '96 PhD

At Yale Ventures, we believe that great ideas have the power to change the world. In 2025, we continued to build the infrastructure, community, and resources that help Yale innovators translate discovery into impact. From breakthroughs in health, quantum, planetary solutions and AI, we saw the tangible results of innovation done in service to society.

As you explore this report, you’ll see the amazing breadth of research, entrepreneurship and discovery coming from Yale faculty, students and staff and how Yale is increasingly recognized as a catalyst for new innovations that are improving the world around us. Thank you for being part of this journey. 

Josh Geballe   

Managing Director, Yale Ventures
Senior Associate Provost for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Yale University

Entrepreneurial Activity

Invention & Patent Activity

Innovation Ecosystem

ACCELERATOR FUND

The Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale

Accelerating the translation of early-stage life science research into impactful products and life saving solutions. 

FY25 also marked a milestone in company formation. Seven new ventures were launched by Yale investigators around Blavatnik-funded technologies, forming founding teams, licensing Yale intellectual property, and initiating fundraising efforts. The following section highlights those companies that have publicly launched, signaling real-world progress toward patient impact.

As the biotech funding landscape continues to shift—demanding more de-risking before traditional venture capital engages—non-dilutive, strategic funding plays an increasingly critical role. The Blavatnik Fund continues to meet this challenge by not only providing capital but also equipping academic founders with tools, guidance, and industry feedback to accelerate translational success. 

ACCELERATOR FUND

The Roberts Innovation Fund

Accelerating the engine of innovation at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science. 

During the summer, a cohort of 3 full-time Yale students joined to work with the Roberts Innovation Fund team to support each Roberts project with market sizing, competitive landscape mapping, and go-to-market strategy. Together, they help de-risk early-stage technologies and prepare them for a potential launch into a market.

In addition to funding, mentorship, and support from student associates, Roberts awardees also receive access to cloud computing resources, including credits from Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google—unlocking the infrastructure needed to scale AI-enabled innovation across projects.

This past year marked significant growth for the Roberts Innovation Fund team and increasing real-world impact as technologies supported by the Fund advanced toward market. 

ACCELERATOR FUND

The Colton Center for Autoimmunity at Yale

Advancing innovative and translational research in autoimmune and allergic diseases.

This year’s community-building efforts include hosting a showcase at the Yale Innovation Summit and establishing the Colton Associates internship program, which engaged 6 entrepreneurial students in FY2025 in hands-on operational and educational activities.

Looking ahead, the Center will continue to invest in translational projects with strong potential for IP development and venture creation. Plans include expanding collaborations with peer Colton Centers at New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Tel Aviv University, and strengthening partnerships with industry. Focus areas will include lupus and lupus nephritis, fibrosis, autoimmune skin inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases, and gastrointestinal inflammation—advancing the Center's mission to bring innovative therapies to patients in need. 

INNOVATION CENTER

The Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology (CBIT)

Catalyzing innovators across Yale’s campus to make novel healthcare solutions in data science, diagnostics, and devices a reality.

Since 2014, The Yale Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology (CBIT) has worked collaboratively with students and faculty across Yale to accelerate discoveries in biomedical and healthcare technology, including digital health, healthcare data, diagnostics, and medical devices. In 2025, CBIT convened two of Yale’s signature healthcare innovation events—the Yale Healthcare Hackathon and Clinical Pitch Night—while continuing to advance early-stage innovation through the Rothberg Build Fund and Catalyzer Prize at Startup Yale.

NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS

STUDENT INNOVATION 

The Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale

Inspiring students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to seek innovative ways to solve real-world problems.

The 2024–2025 academic year was full of momentum at Tsai CITY. In our eighth year, we saw students pack workshops, pitch bold ideas, and team up through our venture programs like never before. Across our five innovation pathways, we blended programming, mentoring, funding, and community to help turn sparks of curiosity into ventures with real-world impact. 

[Tsai CITY] is designed to work for you, rather than for some other external metrics. It's this space where, if I need inspiration, I can come to a talk. If I need some advice, I can ask to be connected with a mentor. If I need someone to listen to me. I can come to the space and see a friendly face and share what I'm working on. 

—Nataliia Nevinchana (SOM ’27) 

NEWS & HIGHLIGHTS

FACULTY PROGRAMS

Venture Lab

A Yale innovation platform empowering faculty entrepreneurship with curated resources, executive mentorship, and end-to-end commercialization tools. 

Venture Lab is Yale’s innovation platform dedicated to supporting faculty entrepreneurs across disciplines and at every stage of venture development. Powered by Yale Ventures’ Entrepreneurs and Executives in Residence (EIRs), the Lab offers targeted programs, executive mentorship, business analysis, and resources to help founders advance toward key milestones. Current offerings include Venture Lab Workshops and the NSF I-Corps Customer Discovery program, with additional initiatives continually expanding the platform. In 2025, Venture Lab will launch the Venture Lab Canvas—an interactive, guided platform that maps commercialization pathways and serves as a centralized hub for resources, case studies, and funding opportunities, further empowering Yale innovators to translate their ideas from the lab to the marketplace. 

amplifyHERscience

OUR WORK

The Corporate Strategy & Engagement Office (CSEO) continues to serve as Yale’s primary driver of deep, strategic partnerships with industry. In FY25, CSEO advanced a robust portfolio of alliances, strengthening relationships with key alliance partners, including AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim, while expanding new collaborations through programs such as the Yale Planetary Solutions Catalysts Consortium.

CSEO also played an active role in Yale’s participation in large-scale, multi-institutional initiatives such as QuantumCT, helping to secure corporate commitments and convening events that brought together more than 100 leaders from industry, academia, and government. Additional efforts included managing the CZ Biohub New York program, stewarding relationships with companies like FedEx through the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture, and advancing Yale Engineering’s corporate engagement strategy.

As a convener and facilitator, CSEO organized science days, symposia, and site visits that brought Yale faculty together with industrial scientists and executives to explore collaborative opportunities across disciplines. CSEO launched a new faculty education series, branded RAISE for Realizing Academic-Industrial Strategic Engagement, with two sessions that brought industry panelists from pharma to discuss their approaches to external innovation with faculty.

HIGHLIGHTS

Yale Ventures takes the lead on building and nurturing a thriving ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship across Yale. This year we expanded our events and increased our outreach, engaging with greater numbers of Yale and Connecticut innovators. We welcomed over 6,500 people—innovators, investors, and industry partners, to engage with the Yale innovation community through a range of events and programming. 

Each year we host some of Yale's biggest innovation events, including the Faculty Innovation Awards, Yale Life Science Pitchfest, and the Yale Innovation Summit. Additionally, we launched new events such as the Yale Founder Matchmaking event and Clinical Pitchfest welcoming and connecting students and faculty across Yale’s campus to launch, partner, and accelerate their ventures.

OUR WORK

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

FEATURED EVENT

Yale Innovation Summit

Yale’s premier innovation event—where discovery meets capital, science meets startups, and partnerships spark real-world impact.

SUMMIT NEWS

With deepest thanks to the volunteer mentors, investors, industry partners, service providers and other collaborators who come together to support the Yale innovation community, and to our faculty and students who inspire us every day.