The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) is the deep technology incubator of UT Austin. We nurture startups founded around scientific and engineering breakthroughs, particularly in healthcare and sustainability. For over 30 years ATI has served UT faculty, researchers, and students at many stages in their entrepreneurship journey with programs including ATI membership, NSF I-Corps, Texas Global Health Security Innovation Consortium, TEX Venture Mentoring Service, and Student Associate experiences.

Membership in the Austin Technology Incubator is open to early-stage "deep tech" startups from inside and outside UT. By deep tech we mean scientific and engineering breakthroughs, particularly in healthcare and sustainability. Membership provides a uniquely customized experience including ongoing expert support, connections to capital, access to testing and prototyping labs, and in-depth student projects. Members usually join when they have working technology and are preparing to raise money.

The Center for Entertainment & Media Industries provides opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs interested in the media and tech industries. Our focus is on facilitating access to these industries, mapping their presence in Austin, and researching their convergence to assess and improve labor conditions and equity issues. In addition to speaker series that hone entrepreneurial skills and build professional networks, we support and promote research, outreach, and innovation projects.

The Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center believes entrepreneurship should be accessible to all Longhorns. We recognize that there are many groups underrepresented in entrepreneurship that may find it difficult to connect with, and navigate, the entrepreneurial ecosystem on campus. At this summit, role models from diverse backgrounds share the ways in which an entrepreneurial education can increase professional opportunities.

The Entrepreneurship Live! speaker series features entrepreneurs from across different industries, enabling students and the community to experience live insights into how to launch an idea into a startup. Recent speakers include Tim League, Co-founder of Alamo Drafthouse, Vanessa Ogle, Founder and CEO of Enseo, and Julia Cheek, Founder of Everlywell.

At the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center, our dedicated focus is on fostering the growth of entrepreneurial skills and empowering Longhorns to embrace this mindset in their careers, whether through starting their own businesses or driving innovation within established industries. UT founders can tap into the HKEC’s wealth of entrepreneurial resources through our networking and funding opportunities, interactive speaker events, one-on-one mentorship, pitch competitions, and our semester-long practicum, the Forty Acres Founders Program.

Interactive and experiential workshops feature entrepreneurs from various industries and on-campus experts. Ignite Startup Workshops enable students, faculty, staff, and the startup community to gain usable skills and insights in how to launch an idea into a startup.

Resources for understanding how engaging with industry for your research works at UT Austin and tools to help find industry funding and support.

As a complement to The Navigator, the Innovation Concierge serves as a nexus for all innovation activity for faculty across the UT campus. The Innovation Concierge is well informed on innovation resources both within the institution, as well as the broader Austin and Texas ecosystems. Faculty are encouraged to connect as needed and the Innovation Concierge will provide a warm handoff to the correct point of contact.

At Intro to the UT/Austin Startup Ecosystem, students, faculty, staff, and the general public are invited every fall to explore the diverse and expert network of resources at UT and in Austin dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs and innovators. Hosted by the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center, this presentation and trade show is the perfect opportunity for all levels of engagement in the local startup scene.