The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Data Science Institute at the University of Chicago today announced a new partnership with AI Research Commons (ARC) to identify and support high-potential, early-stage artificial intelligence startups emerging from Third Coast Foundry universities.
Third Coast Foundry is a new San Francisco–based hub designed to strengthen the collective presence of Midwest research institutions in one of the world’s most active venture ecosystems. Announced earlier this month, partner institutions include Carnegie Mellon University, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, Purdue University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Washington University in St. Louis.
Together, these institutions represent one of the most concentrated and research-intensive AI talent ecosystems in the United States, with leadership across machine learning, foundation models, robotics, healthcare AI, materials discovery, energy systems, and enterprise applications.
“Universities are producing extraordinary advances in artificial intelligence, but too often there is a gap between research and real-world impact,” said Michael Franklin, Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor, senior advisor to the provost for computing and data science, and faculty co-director of the Data Science Institute. “Partnerships like this help close that gap by giving founders the resources and connections they need to turn breakthroughs into companies.”
ARC is a collaborative platform designed to support early-stage AI companies emerging from leading research institutions, providing structured selection, mentorship, cloud infrastructure support, and curated investor access to help founders accelerate commercialization and scale transformative AI technologies.
Through this partnership, ARC will work alongside university innovation and entrepreneurship teams across Third Coast Foundry institutions to identify leading AI startups and provide a structured pathway for growth. University partners will collaborate with ARC on candidate identification, technical diligence, and founder support to ensure that the highest-quality teams are selected.
“Midwest universities pioneered the early internet, and now they lead foundational AI research,” said Ajay Singh, cofounder, AI Research Commons. “We are excited to partner with these exceptional university startups on their entrepreneurial journeys.”
Selected companies will receive:
As part of the initiative, University of Chicago student interns will work directly with participating startups. The program will include undergraduate and MBA students participating in full-time summer internships. Students will support startups on projects ranging from market research and product strategy to business development and commercialization planning.
“Midwest universities have always produced world-class AI research and talent,” said Vijay Reddy, general partner, Mayfield AI. “This partnership gives founders the infrastructure, mentorship, and investor access they need to turn breakthrough ideas into enduring companies.”
The initiative is designed to lower infrastructure barriers for university spinouts and connect Midwest AI founders directly to national capital networks.
“This partnership reflects our commitment to translating frontier AI research into venture-scale companies,” said Samir Mayekar, managing director, Polsky Center. “By bringing together these leading Midwest institutions and AI Research Commons, we are strengthening the region’s AI commercialization pipeline and ensuring founders have access to the infrastructure, mentorship, and investor networks required to scale.”
"We are excited to support this initiative and help more university-founded AI startups turn strong research into real-world impact. Through Microsoft for Startups, we are proud to provide promising founders with the technology, technical guidance, and go-to-market support they need to build fast, scale smart, and sell more,” said Bakari Brock, GM director of global partnerships.
The program will begin identifying startups in spring 2026, with selected teams announced in early summer for the program kickoff. For university-based founders interested in the program, please provide a short statement of interest >> by May 1.
About the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago is the University’s hub for venture creation, startup acceleration, and commercialization support. The Polsky Center designs and delivers programs that help founders build, launch, and scale transformative ventures across industries, with deep expertise in early-stage company formation, investor readiness, and innovation ecosystem partnership development.
About the Data Science Institute
The Data Science Institute (DSI) executes the University of Chicago’s bold, innovative vision of Data Science as a new discipline. The DSI seeds research on the interdisciplinary frontiers of this emerging field, forms partnerships with industry, government, and social impact organizations, and supports holistic data science and AI education.
About AI Research Commons
AI Research Commons (ARC) partners with first-time research founders at inception, helping transform breakthrough ideas into enduring AI companies. Founders collaborate with a tight-knit, trusted network of operators, researchers, and investors—ranging from pioneers behind GPT and GANs to Fortune 500 CXOs and early backers of companies like Together, Reflection, Covariant, Inception Labs, Sambanova, Adept, Rivos, Nuvia, Modular, and more.