More Than a Pitch: Cultivating Indiana’s Next Generation of Innovators

2026-03-05T16:52:07-05:00March 5, 2026|

This story is part of an initiative led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here. In the world of economic development, we often talk about "innovation" as a destination—a finished product, a funded startup, or a patent-pending technology. But at its core, innovation is a mindset. It is the ability to look at a complex problem and see a pathway toward a solution. For Indiana to remain competitive in a global economy, we need to cultivate that mindset early. On February 27, the Collegiate Entrepreneur Summit brought together students from across the state (and beyond) to bridge the gap between our world-class lecture halls and the real-world industries that power Indiana. Hosted by INtercollegiate Entrepreneurs, 16 Tech, CICP, and Butler Entrepreneurship, and powered by the [...]

Ignition: If you’re Ready to Build Something Big, Start Here

2026-01-20T11:11:49-05:00January 20, 2026|

This story is part of an initiative led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here. Ignition is Indiana's statewide launchpad for collegiate founders. Ignition is an 8 week, cohort-based program powered by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. It is designed to help collegiate founders validate their ventures, refine their MVPs, and connect with Indiana’s startup ecosystem. Participants gain access to mentors, investors, and statewide peers, and leave the program ready for accelerators, to attract capital, and scale their venture. The Spring 2026 cohort kicks off in February and runs through April, combining weekly virtual workshops with in-person meetups at Indiana’s home for innovation. Join a statewide community of builders, makers, and founders who are shaping what’s next — and doing it right here in Indiana. Apply here. Timeline: Applications open [...]

16 Tech Concludes Inaugural Program Connecting 25 of Indiana’s Collegiate Founders

2025-12-15T10:17:49-05:00December 15, 2025|

This story is part of an initiative led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) to highlight entrepreneurship and innovation across Indiana’s universities. Learn more about the initiative here. Ignition, powered by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, connected 15 startup companies to Indiana’s entrepreneur ecosystem. 16 Tech Community Corporation celebrated the completion of Ignition, a program designed to support collegiate founders from across Indiana as they build ventures and futures in the state. Powered by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s Community Collaboration Fund, Ignition fills a critical gap between university-based entrepreneurial programs and Indiana’s larger startup ecosystem. “By bringing together student founders from multiple universities and immersing them in a thriving entrepreneur ecosystem, we’re helping Indiana grow the next generation of talent that will strengthen and stay in our economy,” said Emily Krueger, president and CEO of 16 Tech. [...]

Heartland BioWorks headquarters planned for 16 Tech

2025-10-30T11:25:16-04:00October 30, 2025|

A conceptual rendering of the Heartland BioWorks headquarters at 16 Tech in Indianapolis. (Rendering Provided/Applied Research Institute) This article was originally published by Inside Indiana Business. Click here to read the original article. The Applied Research Institute in Bloomington plans to locate the headquarters for Heartland BioWorks at the 16 Tech Innovation District in downtown Indianapolis, the institute announced Monday. Heartland BioWorks was designated as a federal technology hub by the U.S. Department of Commerce in October 2023 to support growth in biomanufacturing innovation and workforce development. The two-story, 20,000-square-foot facility at 16 Tech is being designed to serve not only as the hub’s headquarters but also a workforce training and innovation center, ARI said. The $24.3 million facility is being funded with $18.3 million from the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration, as well as $6 million investment from [...]

16 Tech reports 100 new companies joined the district in the last year

2025-10-30T11:24:16-04:00October 24, 2025|

This article was originally published by Inside Indiana Business. Click here to read the original article. 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 [...]

Gener8tor’s new Bolt conference set for Indianapolis this fall

2025-07-09T13:46:35-04:00July 9, 2025|

Originally posted by IBJ on June 13, 2025. Read original press release here. Wisconsin-based startup accelerator Gener8tor is shifting its conference strategy this year to hosting one large gathering in Indianapolis rather than a handful across the U.S., a move expected to expand networking opportunities among investors and entrepreneurs. The reimagined event, called Bolt, is set to take place Oct. 1-2 at Victory Field, bringing together founders, investors and corporations in a variety of industries from across the Midwest and beyond. The event replaces Gener8tor’s previous OnRamp conferences. OnRamp’s manufacturing and agriculture events had previously taken place in Indianapolis. Gener8tor’s other OnRamp events last year focused on insurance and financial technology, health care, and education and workforce development. Those gatherings took place in St. Paul, Minnesota; Birmingham, Alabama; and Minneapolis, respectively. “We decided to combine all of that power, all [...]

IU unveils architectural design plan for IU LAB at 16 Tech

2025-07-10T10:02:22-04:00June 13, 2025|

Originally posted by IBJ on June 12, 2025. Read original press release here. Indiana University said Thursday that its board of trustees has approved an architectural design plan for the IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences, or IU LAB, building in the 16 Tech Innovation District in Indianapolis. The five-story, 150,000 square-foot building will be built next to the Herron School of Art and Design’s Eskenazi Fine Arts Center on Indiana Avenue. The facility will include research and teaching labs, classrooms, collaborative workspaces as well as startup and incubator space. In a news release, IU said IU LAB is place where “biosciences and technology converge, serving as a hub for discovery, innovation, entrepreneurship and industry partnerships.” Construction is scheduled to start this fall with an expected completion in summer 2027. IU LAB officially began operations in January. In December, IU announced [...]

Celebrating Connection: 16 Tech Bridge Opens to the Public

2025-05-22T15:11:45-04:00April 30, 2025|

Originally posted by 16 Tech on April 30, 2025. Read original press release here. Today, 16 Tech Community Corporation, alongside city leaders and community stakeholders, will celebrate the opening of the signature 16 Tech Bridge. Spanning 342 feet over Fall Creek, the bridge serves as a vital link between the 16 Tech Innovation District and Indianapolis’ research and medical corridor. To highlight the bridge’s multimodal and community-led design features, 16 Tech will welcome an Indy 500 Pace Car driven by Indy NXT driver Miles Rowe, the Riverside Riders local cycling group, and students and faculty from Indiana University Indianapolis and Purdue University in Indianapolis led by Sampson Levingston of Through2Eyes as the first to officially cross the bridge this afternoon. “The 16 Tech bridge was designed by the community, for the community — a physical and symbolic connection that [...]

With $138M grant from Lilly Endowment, IU launches initiative to accelerate bioscience innovation

2025-03-15T23:01:49-04:00December 12, 2024|

Read the IU News Press Release Funding will support IU LAB, a state-of-the-art facility at 16 Tech harnessing Indiana’s extensive resources to become national leader in bioscience discovery, commercialization, talent development INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana University will lead significant advances in human health and help make Indiana a global leader in bioscience innovation by establishing the IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences, known as IU LAB, at the 16 Tech Innovation District in Indianapolis. The first-of-its-kind academic-industry initiative is supported by a $138 million Lilly Endowment Inc. grant to the IU Foundation — IU’s largest grant ever in support of research and development. In collaboration with some of the state’s key biosciences organizations — including IU, IU School of Medicine, 16 Tech, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, BioCrossroads, Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, Regenstrief Institute and IU Health — IU LAB will drive [...]

16 Tech breaks ground on a new community bridge

2023-05-09T09:12:33-04:00March 28, 2023|

Press release issued by 16 Tech. INDIANAPOLIS (March 28, 2023) - Today, 16 Tech Community Corporation, the nonprofit responsible for the programmatic and physical development of 16 Tech Innovation District, broke ground on a new community bridge, spanning Indianapolis’ Fall Creek at West 10th Street and Riley Hospital Drive to connect the 16 Tech Innovation District to Indianapolis’ research and medical corridor. Local leaders Mayor Joe Hogsett, City-County Council President, District 11, Vop Osili, along with 16 Tech’s President & CEO Emily Krueger, and the design and engineering firms sbp and PAU welcomed guests to announce the start of construction on a first-of-its-kind bridge. They were joined by neighborhood and community stakeholders, including Ebony Chappel of Friends of Belmont Beach. The bridge, linking 16 Tech Innovation District and the city’s wider trail and greenway network, including the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A [...]

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