TE 598 | Accelerating Deep Tech Enterprises
Course Overview
Want to develop a viable and feasible business model that leverages your technology? Commercialize your innovations with this academic-based startup accelerator! The application window for Spring 2026 is closed.
This academic-based startup accelerator will mentor teams in the process of commercialization. Projects will typically originate from university- or government-funded research but can come from viable deep tech anywhere within the academic ecosystem.
This program will explore principles of building a valid business model including customer discovery, building a team, lean startups, minimum viable product, competition, intellectual property, revenue models, operations, business risks and analogues, market research, raising capital, and marketing.
Coaching will be provided by entrepreneurs and academics with experience in founding and funding successful technology companies.
The program will provide teams over $50,000 in funding to accelerate building their businesses. As part of the program, team members will also get access to a plethora of entrepreneurship ecosystem resources on campus, such as innovation spaces, research labs and maker spaces. On successful completion, select teams will be eligible to compete in The Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge which takes place in Chicago in the summer during the TechChicago Week.
Instructors
Professor John Thode leads the course alongside four adjunct instructors, Manas Gosavi, John Renaldi, Craig Scherer and Craig Vodnik—all alumni and entrepreneurial leaders who bring real-world expertise to the classroom.
Academic Accelerator Impact
Auvi Labs from TE 598 first cohort is currently advancing their innovative solution at the mHub incubator in Chicago and connecting with Chicago-based VCs. Auvi Labs is developing a non-invasive wearable monitoring device for people with chronic kidney disease.
Eligibility
- Projects will typically originate from university research but can come from viable deep tech anywhere within the academic ecosystem. We define deep tech as technologies based on discoveries and fundamental science and engineering.
- Students who are interested in this program are required to form teams and submit applications for acceptance to the program. Teams and projects will be selected based upon the highest potential of successfully starting an enterprise.
- This course is open to all students on campus, pending approval of the application. Teams may include internal or external members as long as there is at least one University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student team member enrolled in the course. All team members are encouraged to take part in group activities and assessments.
- Teams should be beyond the ideation stage and actively developing a product or technology, currently working in the solution–customer fit phase of development. By the end of the course, teams will be well positioned to pursue pre-seed funding opportunities and have a developed plan for SBIR grant applications.
Spring 2026 Cohort
The Spring 2026 cohort features 14 innovative teams developing breakthrough technologies across diverse industries. These ventures are tackling critical challenges in healthcare, advanced manufacturing, sustainable agriculture, environmental technology, clean energy and neurotechnology. From AI-powered medical diagnostics to plasma-based propulsion systems and on-demand fertilizer production, this cohort represents the cutting edge of deep tech innovation.
C Safe | Light-based sanitizers that kill 99.9999% of microbes in liquids—cleaner, safe for human exposure and gentler than heat or chemicals.
Cascade Dynamics, Inc. | Cascade Dynamics develops dusty-plasma-based ion source technology that turns solid fuels into controllable ion beams for advanced electric propulsion and aneutronic fusion applications.
MenoPatch | MenoPatch is a revolutionary transdermal patch that personalizes hormone therapy for menopausal women by offering customizable dosing.
ToolBit | An open CNC control platform that lets manufacturers add advanced intelligent capabilities to their machines as on-demand software services.
Lanward | An AI land-origination layer that finds and packages eligible farmland so carbon and renewable developers can source projects in weeks instead of months.
Rapid Analytix Division (RAD) | Five-minute, on-site testing of cementitious materials—8,000× faster than current methods—reducing production downtime, preventing mix over-design, and enabling real-time, AI-ready quality control for the next generation of sustainable construction.
Cor | Software that provides anyone owning a wearable ECG with a dynamic pre-screening method for heart attacks, prompting a visit to the doctor before it's too late.
Second Chance Innovations | Restoring independence to stroke survivors with AI-powered orthotics.
Replasma (Recycle Plasma) Systems | A drop-in, electrically powered plasma reactor that lets emission-heavy plants recycle their own stack gases into methanol feedstock, so every tonne of waste becomes new production instead of a future carbon liability.
BRILL Neurotech, Inc. | Real-time brain-imaging headsets that detect the Fast Optical Signal (FOS) to power next-generation neurotech and brain-computer interfaces.
IO Science | Intelligent infrastructure that turns massive, unstructured data into organized, real-time insights with superior speed and efficiency.
Earlynex | An AI-powered wearable device that enables real-time, early detection of sepsis to prevent avoidable deaths and improve clinical outcomes.
Phraze (Formerly MetaFrazo) | AI dubbing and translation for media with lipsync, voice clone, and text on screen translation.
PlasmaNexus | Transforms nitrogen fertilizer production from a global dependency into a farm-level capability, enabling growers to produce customized nutrients anytime, anywhere using readily available inputs.
Application Components
Teams are required to submit an application and participate in an interview. Teams selected from this process will be eligible to register for the class.
- Application | Students will be required to complete the online application summarizing their technology and potential market applications.
- Summary | As part of the application, students must submit summary outlining their research, business, or idea along with a summary of work completed to date (i.e. grants, prototypes, patents, customers, etc.), along with key team members and advisors.
- Pitch Video | As part of the application, students must submit a one-minute elevator pitch video articulating the following: What problem are you solving? What is your solution? What evidence do you have that the problem is real or substantial? Why are you the team to solve this problem? How will this program enable you to reach your goals? (Upload the video to YouTube--it can remain unlisted--and submit the URL in the application).
- Team Member Resumes | As part of the application, students must submit team member resumes (combined into one document).
Questions?
If you have questions about the program or the application, please contact John Thode at jthode@illinois.edu.
Full Rules & Guidelines
The instructor will give more information about the rules and guidelines.