The Office of Innovation and Commercialization (OIC), in partnership with the UC San Diego Entrepreneurship Center, is pleased to announce the 2026 call for applications for Accelerating Innovations to Market (AIM). This initiative is designed to catalyze the translation of UC San Diego discoveries into commercial products and support the formation and growth of startups within our regional innovation ecosystem. Applications are managed through the UC San Diego Infoready project submission platform.
We’re particularly excited to welcome projects focused on infant health and therapeutics derived from human milk, building on groundbreaking work led by the Human Milk Institute in partnership with industry collaborators, such as Novonesis.
We are also seeking applications from therapeutic programs that align with the scientific focus areas of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute and the Sanford Advanced Therapy Center, including cell, gene, biomaterial, and/or other regenerative medicine therapies. These domains represent key strengths of our innovation community and offer significant potential for clinical translation and commercialization.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion remain core pillars of the AIM program. We are committed to advancing representation in innovation by recruiting and supporting innovators from historically marginalized communities.
Our industry review panels are selected to reflect the diversity of our campus, reinforcing the importance of inclusive representation in every phase of the innovation journey. To learn more, 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!
Get all your questions answered about this year's call for AIM applications at a recent info session held on September 19, 2024.
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 2024 - 2025 Fiscal Year (FY25). Given timeline for awards, spending may be allowed for the full 12 months from the award date.
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.
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.