Rapid: connecting early stage capital to the deep tech innovation ecosystem

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $123,310 one-year Project Grant under its Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program to the Angel Capital Association (ACA), a non-profit organization, to promote the engagement of angel investors in the "deep tech" innovation ecosystem. The key objectives of the project are to:

1. Conduct data collection to better understand angel investor patterns in deep tech sectors such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum computing.

2. Develop educational programs to increase angel investors' awareness of the technology and commercialization potential of these transformative innovations.

3. Facilitate introductions between angel investors and deep tech startups through regional convenings, the ACA's annual summit, and national syndication efforts.

The goal is to increase the deployment of private capital into the deep tech space, which has the potential to enable new products and services across a wide range of industries. No subawards are planned under this grant award, which was made effective as of October 1, 2023.

Abstract

The technologies under development in the deep tech space have the potential to radically transform and disrupt a wide variety of industries. The outcome of this project would be to promote discovery and understanding of technologies related to the defined ten technology focus areas. These advancements, with the assistance of angel investor capital, will lead to new products and services in fields as varied as artificial intelligence, astronomy, biotechnology, climate modeling, cybersecurity, drug discovery and development, energy storage and conversion, genomics, materials science, quantum computing, space exploration, and drug development, etc. This project is designed to better educate the angel investor community on the benefits of deep tech investments with the intention of increasing the amount of private capital available for deployment in the deep tech sector. To achieve this, the following three project activities will be undertaken: (1) data collection: engage in a data collection effort to better understand how angel investors are currently investing in deep tech. (2) investor education: develop a series of educational programs to expose angel investors to the technology and commercialization potential of deep tech. (3) investor activation: introduce angel investors to deep tech start-UPS through regional convenings, the ACA annual summit, and the ACA's national syndication effort. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.