Tulane Innovation Institute Expands Support for Startups, Research and Student Ventures | FY26 Impact Report

September 14, 2026

The Tulane Innovation Institute released its FY26 Impact Report, highlighting a year of expanded entrepreneurship education, research commercialization, and support for startups and student ventures, while contributing to the continued growth of New Orleans’ entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Since its founding in FY23, the Institute has supported 154 startups and 18 spinouts, awarded $1.4 million in pitch contest and grant funding, and provided nearly 3,000 program participants with entrepreneurship education and resources. In FY26, the Innovation Institute-supported researchers filed 84 patent applications and closed 15 license and option agreements.

The report highlights two new courses launched this year, Startup Strategy Lab and Innovation and Technology Development, along with the launch of Founder Lab, an initiative pairing Tulane research technologies with experienced entrepreneurs to accelerate commercialization. The first Founder Lab cohort is advancing Bio Protectant Technologies, a surgical infection-prevention startup.

Other highlights include the Provost's Proof of Concept Fund, which has distributed more than $1.16 million to 23 projects since 2023 and has contributed to the creation of 7 spinouts; the Green Wave Innovation Network, whose 109 mentors provided more than 1,300 volunteer hours this year; and Tulane Ventures, which made five new investments in FY26, including its first in a Tulane undergraduate-founded company, Exactics.

"Entrepreneurship belongs to anyone with the passion to pursue it," said Kimberly Gramm, the David and Marion Mussafer Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurship Officer. "This year demonstrated what is possible when we build the right infrastructure around innovators, from expanding entrepreneurship education across campus to increasing support for founders, researchers and early-stage companies."

Looking ahead to FY27, the Institute plans to launch a stage-gate system to guide startups toward investment readiness and to expand its mentorship network to support later-stage ventures preparing to raise capital.

The complete FY26 Impact Report and past reports are available at innovation.tulane.edu/impact.