Stories of entrepreneurship and discovery continue to rise at the 16 Tech Innovation District in downtown Indianapolis.
According to an economic impact report released this week, the district now has 300 companies—up from 200 just a year ago.
“Much of that has come from growth in our coworking and makerspace that 16 Tech owns and operates, and that alone has more than 400 individuals who are in it,” 16 Tech CEO Emily Krueger told Inside INdiana Business. “It can represent everything from a startup company or a small business who are members to corporate innovation teams like [Eli] Lilly’s digital health team that’s also located in the building.”
A total of 1,200 employees work in the district across research, tech and creative industries.
That number will rise through two major projects focused on the life sciences. Indiana University broke ground this week on its Launch Accelerator for Biosciences. The five-story, 150,000-square-foot IU LAB building is expected to open in 2027.
“We’re already working; we’re not waiting till the building is done. That is everything from students in line to get degrees in biomedical engineering, to students and faculty and others who have concepts that will be brought to actual commercialization,” IU President Pamela Whitten said. “It is to make Indianapolis, Indiana, the center of the universe in this country for all things development related to bioscience.”
The Heartland BioWorks Hub, which will focus on biomanufacturing and is overseen by the U.S. Department of Commerce, will break ground on its building early next year, according to Krueger.
“It’s about a 20,000 square foot facility, so the construction timeline is pretty fast and we expect that it will open in early 2027,” Krueger said. “I want people to know that there’s a lot of energy here. There are companies innovating and doing really cool things in 16 Tech, and most importantly, there’s more to come.”
Earlier this year, the district’s first housing project opened. Vanguard at 16 Tech offers studio, one and two bedroom apartments. Over the last year, experiential learning and entrepreneurship programs have launched to help students and founders.
“We fully activated the live, work play environment here, and we’re seeing a lot of energy that’s coming as a result of that,” Krueger said. “We believe that when you co-locate with people, you can drive breakthroughs faster, and so much of our work is about creating a place that brings together these different stakeholders to drive innovation and entrepreneurship.”
In November, The AMP Food Hall will host the Indy Winter Farmers Market and 16 Tech will host Global Entrepreneurship Week.
To view the full report, click here.
