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Accelerating Innovations to Market (AIM) 

The Office of Innovation and Commercialization (OIC) with UC San Diego Entrepreneurship Center members and support from expertise from Mintz, is pleased to announce a call for applications for Accelerating Innovations to Market (AIM) 2025. This is designed to accelerate the translation of UC San Diego technologies to market and support the formation and growth of startups in the regional ecosystem. The call for applications is managed through the UC San Diego Infoready project submission platform.

New this year are expanded tracks for the broadest call for projects ever. With support from the University of California Office of the President and the Entrepreneurship Council, UC San Diego can double the funding available this year. We're excited to welcome projects focused on infant health and therapeutics derived from human milk as we build on groundbreaking work by the Human Milk Institute with support from industry partners Novonesis. 

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are key parts of what makes AIM a successful program with enduring impact. AIM intentionally seeks to recruit and engage entrepreneurs and innovators from historically marginalized communities as an integral strategy to address the underrepresentation of diverse founders and the communities that technologies are destined to serve. Furthermore, industry panelists are selected to represent the identity parity of the university because representation and role modeling are important at all levels of the program in the effort to advance the mission of OIC at UC San Diego. For more information, please visit Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Research Affairs

Check out our Pre-Company Technology page to view some of the past awardees.

See key dates drop-down for holding panel presentation dates.

Want to learn how to advance your ideas to market? Stream our latest info session to see what makes a strong application!

 

Virtual Info Session 

Get all your questions answered about this year's call for AIM applications at a recent info session held on September 19, 2024.

 

Apply to the AIM program by 10/31

Apply Now!

 

Application Process

A brief summary of the program, their entrance criteria, and target applicants are listed below. OIC will support and fund teams and projects in the in the Accelerating Innovations to Market (AIM) program who have met the criteria for funding in guidelines. Teams seeking matching funding commitment for de-risking their projects and advancing them to commercialization are particularly welcome. The funds are awarded for use during the 2022 - 2023 Fiscal Year.

Note: Please do not include proprietary or confidential information in your proposal as applications may be shared with funding and investment partners. For questions, contact aimgrant@ucsd.edu.

Life Science Research Areas

TRACKS

  • Software-based healthcare technologies
  • Medical devices or diagnostics tools
  • Therapeutics, antibodies & small molecules
  • Pandemic preparedness
  • Women's health
  • Microbiome interventions
  • Electroceutical therapies
  • Quantum Computing
  • Life Science Tech Development
  • Artificial Intelligence and digital platforms for healthcare and diagnostics
  • General Purpose Software & Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Dual Use technologies for National Security & Defense 
  • Aerospace & low earth orbit applications

Social Science and Environment Research Areas

  • Oceanographic devices and tools
  • Seismographic and geologic interventions or tools
  • Energy, Smart Transportation, and IoT civic grid
  • Software and digital platforms

Key Dates

  • Application Full Proposal Open: August 15, 2024
  • Application Full Proposal Closed: October 31, 2024
  • Internal Proposal Review: November 1-8, 2024
  • Plan to be available for Proposal Review Panels: November 11-15, 2024 (in-person at the Design and Innovation Building)
  • Funding Announcement: November, 2024

Criteria and Target Applicants

Qualified proposals will have or be classified as the following:

  • Early-stage proof-of-concept & feasibility projects
  • Prototype development leading to field testing
  • Requires UC San Diego IP
  • A combination of UC San Diego and non-university IP is acceptable

Apply if you are or have any combination of the following:

  • UC San Diego Faculty, Researchers, & Postdocs with team support
  • UC San Diego Teams with an engineering or medical student engaged in the project

Preferences:

  • UC San Diego IP (new disclosures accepted)
  • Pre-company formation technologies
  • Interdisciplinary approaches (multiple department involvement)

Accelerating Innovation to Market is an equal opportunity grant and does not discriminate against awardees based on social identity group affiliation. Considerationwill be provided for all teams based on clarity of IP and feasibility of reaching inflection points during the period of performance with support from the OIC Entrepreneurs In Residence program and industry partners, Mintz Law.

Past Award Recipients

Check out the past AIM Award recipients: