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Draft:Activate (foundation)

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  • Comment: For notability per WP:GNG / WP:ORGCRIT, we need to see significant coverage in multiple independent and reliable secondary sources. (Note that significant coverage excludes routine business reporting such as appointments, new locations, M&A, etc.) DoubleGrazing (talk) 15:12, 11 June 2023 (UTC)
  • Comment: The title of this draft either has been disambiguated or will need to be disambiguated for acceptance.
    If this draft is accepted, an entry will need to be added to the disambiguation page for the primary name.
    The disambiguation page for the primary name is Activate (disambiguation). Robert McClenon (talk) 06:51, 26 February 2023 (UTC)

Activate is a non-profit that provides fellowships and associated services to scientists and engineers with the goal of bringing their research projects to the commercial market.[1]

Founded in 2015, the organization has supported 145 early-stage companies that have collectively raised nearly $1.4 billion in follow-on funding as of June 2023.[2] As of December 2022, Activate's fellows had collectively filed over 320 patent applications (with 48 granted), and created more than 1,200 U.S. jobs.[3]

Starting October 16, 2023, Cyrus Wadia, a veteran of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Amazon, and Nike, assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer.[4]

The Activate Fellowship

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Activate's two-year fellowship provides a yearly living stipend to individuals and $100K in research funding for each fellow company, with no equity taken by the organization.[5] Activate provides fellows with hands-on support, mentorship, and entrepreneurial training and education.[1][5]

Activate operates across five communities: Berkeley, Boston, New York, Houston, and Anywhere (with fellows utilizing research facilities across the United States), and new cohorts of fellows are selected each year.[6][1]

History

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Founded in 2015 by former ARPA-E director Ilan Gur, Activate's entrepreneurial fellowship model originated in Berkeley, California at Cyclotron Road, a division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and founding Activate partner.[7]

In 2019, the program rebranded as the “Activate Fellowship,” and in the following year expanded to Boston in partnership with MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the University of Massachusetts Boston.[8]

In 2020, Ilan Gur, Cheryl Martin, and Fernando Gómez-Baquero wrote a memo advocating for a national fellowship for entrepreneurial scientists and engineers, further elaborating the programmatic vision.[9]

In 2021, Activate signed a contract with NYSERDA to expand to New York in partnership with Columbia University.[10] In 2021, Activate also launched the virtual community Activate Anywhere to serve science entrepreneurs across the United States.[6]

In 2022, the CHIPS and Science Act included $125M for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish “a fellowship program to provide scientists with entrepreneurial training."[11] As a result, in September 2022, the National Science Foundation announced a new $20 million investment in entrepreneurial fellowships through a multi-year cooperative agreement with Activate.[12][13]

In 2023, Activate expanded to Houston to support science entrepreneurs in the energy sector.[14] Also in 2023, Activate was named a semi-finalist in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Direct Air Capture Pre-Commercial EPIC Prize and awarded $100K for its role in recruiting diverse direct air capture founders and supporting new direct air capture startups.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Exclusive: Hardtech-focused program announces Houston expansion, seeks local leader - InnovationMap". houston.innovationmap.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  2. ^ "Activate Houston Empowers Science Entrepreneurs Paving the Way to a Low-Carbon Future Q&A with Managing Director, Jeremy Pitts". Houston Energy Transition Initiative. 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  3. ^ "NECEC announces 2022 award winners". NECEC. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  4. ^ "Activate names Cyrus Wadia as CEO, opens 2024 applications - InnovationMap". houston.innovationmap.com. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  5. ^ a b "Brenna Teigler | Innovation Zone | ACS Industry Matters". American Chemical Society. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  6. ^ a b "Entrepreneurs find home as Activate Fellows at Praxis Center". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  7. ^ "Aria's CEO and chair make first remarks amid warm welcome". Research Professional News. 2022-07-19. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  8. ^ "Lincoln Laboratory and Activate welcome entrepreneurial research fellows | MIT Lincoln Laboratory". www.ll.mit.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  9. ^ "Creating a National Fellowship for Entrepreneurial Scientists and Engineers". Day One Project. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  10. ^ "Columbia Launches a Carbontech Initiative to Bring Climate Solutions to Market". Columbia News. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  11. ^ "H.R.4346 - Chips and Science Act". Congress.gov. August 9, 2022.
  12. ^ "NSF launches entrepreneurial fellowship for engineers and scientists". NSF - National Science Foundation. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  13. ^ "CHIPS and Science | NSF - National Science Foundation". new.nsf.gov. 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  14. ^ "Activate Houston names Jeremy Pitts as its inaugural managing director - InnovationMap". houston.innovationmap.com. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  15. ^ "DOE Announces $1.3 Million Toward Innovations in Carbon Dioxide Removal". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2023-12-06.