Date:

12/17/2024

Yale’s Top Innovation Stories from 2024

We reflected on the impactful innovation stories we shared this year, showcasing the incredible impact made by Yale’s innovation and entrepreneurship community in 2024. From advancing human health to addressing climate challenges and building new technologies, these stories exemplify the collective drive of Yale’s innovation community to create meaningful solutions for the world’s most pressing issues.

Thank you to the many Yale schools, programs, and collaborators across Yale, New Haven, and the state of Connecticut who made these stories possible.

Do you have a favorite Yale innovation moment from this year? Share it with us: yaleventures@yale.edu.

Celebrating Yale Entrepreneurs

Cambium Carbon Names to Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2024

Time | October 2024

Cambium partners with local arborists and municipalities to take fallen trees, which would typically meet an environmentally unfriendly end (dumped in landfills or burned), and upcycle them into carbon-negative construction materials.

Cambium is co-founded by Ben Christensen (FES) and Marisa Repka (FES).

Quantum Yale winners with check Yale Team Wins Quantum UP! Challenge, Paving the Way for Connecticut’s Quantum Future

Time | November 2024

A multidisciplinary team of Yale students emerged as winners at the Quantum UP! Challenge, a first-of-its-kind effort by QuantumCT to engage students from across Connecticut in discussions around a future shaped by quantum technologies. The competition, running from September 24 and culminating on November 1 at UConn’s School of Business in Hartford, brought together over 100 students from seven colleges and universities to help chart a path for Connecticut’s quantum economy.

Tsai CITY Annual Report cover Tsai CITY Annual Report 2023-24 Highlights Student Impact

Tsai CITY | August 2024

Throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, Tsai CITY enabled remarkable growth and achievement in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship for Yale students. The Tsai CITY annual report details the key milestones, initiatives, and stories that underscore their commitment to nurturing the next generation of student leaders and changemakers: “At Tsai CITY, we encourage students to explore their passions, collaborate across disciplines, and engage in innovative problem-solving to advance new ideas.”

Jinali Mody Recognized as one of Vogue Business 100 Innovators for 2024

Time | October 2024

Jinali Mody, founder of Banofi Leather, was named to the Vogue Business 2024 100 Innovators: Sustainability thought leaders. Banofi Leather aims to provide a guilt-free and cruelty-free alternative to traditional leather that looks, feels, and smells the same. The venture upcycles crop waste and provides additional income to farmers, contributing to environmental protection and community well-being.

Student Innovation Stories:

Yale Alumni Entrepreneurs in the News:

Lab to Impact: Yale Faculty Innovation

17 Recognized With Yale Innovation Faculty Award

Yale Ventures | November 11, 2024

Yale University has recognized seventeen scholars with Yale Faculty Innovation Awards for 2024. The recipients were honored for bringing their discoveries to market, translating their research into transformative new ventures. The annual Yale Faculty Innovation Awards recognize the exceptional contributions of faculty investigators whose inventions were licensed to new startup companies during fiscal year 2024.

Yale Life Sciences PitchFest Showcases Groundbreaking Research and Innovation

Yale Ventures | December 6, 2024 Pitchfest 2024

From novel therapeutic treatments for obesity and endometriosis to a simulated psychedelic immersive experience to treat depression and a unisex non-hormonal contraceptive, the 2024 Yale Life Science PitchFest showcased Yale's most promising life science innovations from 34 Yale faculty-led teams. The event, held on December 5, served as the semifinals for the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale, drawing in over 500 attendees to witness Yale’s most promising translational research in therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health.

Yale Spinout Modfi Biosciences Acquired by Merck

Yale Ventures | October 23, 2024

Modifi Biosciences, a Yale University spinout company formed in 2021, has developed a novel class of small molecules that target cancer cells lacking expression of a key DNA repair protein called O6-methylguanine methyl transferase (MGMT). Modifi Biosciences announced that the company has been acquired by Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, for $30 million upfront.

'Map of Life' Team Wins $2 Million Prize for Innovative Rainforest Tracking

Yale News | November 19, 2024

Map of Life team Map of Life Rapid Assessments (MOLRA), an international research group led by Walter Jetz, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and director of the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, has placed second in XPRIZE Rainforest, a $10 million global competition to find the most innovative technology for exploring Earth’s biodiversity.

AbbVie Pays $65M For Options on Yale Biotech Spinout EvolveImmune's T-Cell Engagers

Fierce Biotech | October 31, 2024

illustration of T-Cell Engagers EvolveImmune’s platform builds CD2 costimulation into T-cell engagers. As well as binding to the tumor antigen and T-cell receptor complex, like a standard bispecific, EvolveImmune’s molecules engage CD2 on T cells. AbbVie has opened its bet on EvolveImmune’s ability to crack the puzzles with $65 million upfront. The deal features up to $1.4 billion in aggregate option fees and milestones, plus tiered royalties on net sales.

Roberts Innovation Fund to Support Inventions in AI, Quantum, Water

Yale Engineering | March 2024

New methods to purify our water, advance quantum computing, democratize artificial intelligence, and deliver life-saving drugs are just some of the projects funded by the 2024 Roberts Innovation Fund Awards, providing $1 million in accelerator funding to support 10 new inventions led by faculty from Yale’s School of Engineering & Applied Science.

2024 Faculty Accelerator Funds

Yale Spinout Spotlights

Faculty Spinout Milestones

YALE's INVESTMENTS in Innovation

New Wave of Quantum Physics, Engineering, & Materials

Yale News: Jim Shelton | October 2, 2024

Y yale quantum groundbreaking ale has begun construction on the Physical Sciences and Engineering Building (PSEB), the centerpiece of a major 16-acre development on Science Hill designed to advance research in quantum science, materials science, and engineering. The $1.5 billion project will create over 630,000 square feet of space for collaboration and specialized research, including a geothermal energy system and state-of-the-art labs. This initiative aims to position Yale as a leader in quantum research, foster innovation in the region, and support the university's sustainability and climate goals. The development also includes significant collaboration with local state partners.

Empowering students and faculty to bring innovative ideas into the world

Yale News | June 2024

Tsai CITY entrance Under President Salovey, Yale’s innovation ecosystem has grown to touch every part of campus and has strengthened connections with New Haven. Promoting entrepreneurship’s potential to bring research insights to bear on global challenges has imbued Salovey’s tenure as Yale president since its earliest days. During his inauguration speech, Salovey emphasized the importance of innovation, asking, “How can we create a local ecosystem that supports entrepreneurs?”

‘Full steam ahead’: Yale research as engine of innovation

Yale News: Jim Shelton | August 15, 2024

Mike Crair portrait in a lab In a Q&A, Michael C. Crair, Yale’s vice provost for research, discusses Yale’s ongoing research enterprise and the role of federal funding for basic research: “We’re making huge investments into our infrastructure for quantum research, primarily with the new Physical Sciences and Engineering Building that will continue to transform Science Hill. We are also making significant investments for new and renovated buildings on lower Hillhouse Avenue for Yale Engineering [Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science], in the medical school, and other areas of campus.”

Yale Announces $150 Million to Support Leadership in AI

Yale News | August 28, 2024

Yale Schwarzman Center at night Yale University has announced a significant $150 million investment over the next five years to support AI research, education, and infrastructure. This funding aims to expand AI capabilities across the campus, enabling faster, scalable research breakthroughs. Key areas of focus include the development of advanced computing infrastructure, secure access to generative AI tools, recruitment of AI-focused faculty, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.

Additional stories

A Connected Ecosystem

Yale Innovation Summit 2024 Brings Together Yale & CT Innovation Ecosystem

Yale Ventures | June 2024

The 2024 Yale Innovation Summit stood drew more than 2,200 innovators to Yale for two days of engaging programming including: "The 2024 Yale Innovation Summit drew investors, and industry leaders from around the world to New Haven, connecting Yale innovators with the people, ideas and capital to help them succeed,” said Josh Geballe, Managing Director, Yale Ventures. The summit featured an impressive lineup of keynote speakers, including Dr. Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation; Emmett Shear, co-founder of Twitch and former interim CEO of OpenAI; Tom Steyer, author, climate activist, and investor; Matt Truppo, Global Head of Research Platforms and Computational R&D at Sanofi; Calida Jones, Co-Founder and Managing Collaborator of Creative Evolutions, and many others. Appropriately, Governor Ned Lamont chose the Yale Innovation Summit’s opening ceremony to announce the creation of the Innovation Clusters Program in Connecticut to support growth in cutting-edge industries in the state.

Yale Tech Tank: A new home for testing amphibious robots, other innovations

Yale News | May 2024

On Yale’s West Campus, a specialized 20,000-gallon tank allows the testing of robotics and other marine-based technologies under tightly controlled conditions. Although the tank is managed by Yale Engineering, it will be open to researchers in all fields, both at Yale and beyond. The tank is the latest development in Yale Engineering’s commitment to robotics, an initiative that has doubled the number of faculty focusing on robotics at the school.

Yale Climate Ventures Featured at Climate Week NYC

Yale Ventures | September 2024 Yale founder presenter

Nine of Yale’s promising climate tech companies came together at the Yale Climate Ventures Showcase during Climate Week NYC to present their groundbreaking solutions for a more sustainable future.

Hosted in collaboration with Yale Planetary Solutions, Tsai CITY, Yale CBEY, and Yale Ventures, the event highlighted the importance of innovation in addressing the climate crisis.

Hacking Preventive Medicine at the 2024 Yale Healthcare Hackathon Hosted by Yale CBIT

Yale Ventures | January 2024

Over 200 students from 20 academic institutions came together to innovate around the theme of preventive medicine. Under the guidance of 35 expert mentors, students, clinicians and industry participants worked tirelessly to develop novel solutions and present their ideas. This event marked the 11th annual Yale Healthcare Hackathon, organized by the Yale Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology (Yale CBIT), held from January 26th to 28th, 2024. The event proved to be a resounding success.

Additional Stories: