We apply world-class business expertise from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business to bring new ideas and breakthrough innovations to market.

The Polsky Center has a 60-person professional staff responsible for driving the creation of new ventures and commercial partnerships at the University of Chicago. We provide educational training, connect with investors and partners, and support new venture creation.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, New Venture Challenge, the Polsky Center’s nationally-ranked accelerator, which has graduated more than 330 startup companies still in operation today that have gone on to raise more than $1 billion in funding and more than $7.5 billion in exits. Startups include household names such as Grubhub, Braintree/Venmo, and Simple Mills.