Third Coast Foundry officially celebrated its grand opening and ribbon cutting during San Francisco’s 2026 Deep Tech Week, marking a significant milestone in strengthening connections between Midwestern innovation and the Bay Area’s global venture network.
The new hub, located in San Francisco’s South Park neighborhood, serves as a physical landing place for startups, researchers and entrepreneurs affiliated with Purdue University and seven other leading Midwestern universities. Designed to expand access to investors, industry leaders and strategic partners, Third Coast Foundry creates new pathways for translating research and innovation into venture-backed growth.
Purdue Innovates, along with representatives from across Purdue University’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, traveled to the Bay Area to celebrate the launch and engage directly with one of the world’s most dynamic technology communities, beginning with an open house. Approximately 75 attendees toured the new 3,500-square-foot space, connected with fellow Boilermakers and explored opportunities to engage as mentors, partners and supporters.
“Third Coast Foundry not only elevates the visibility of Purdue-connected startups and technologies, but also creates new opportunities to advance licensing, commercialization, and venture growth by connecting founders, innovators, and researchers with investors, industry leaders and strategic partners,” said Brooke Beier, senior vice president of Purdue Innovates. “As we officially establish our presence in the Bay Area, we are excited to deepen engagement with Purdue alumni, strengthen connections between Midwest founders and the region’s innovation ecosystem, and unlock new pathways for investment, partnerships and the translation of Purdue discoveries.”
The week also featured Midwest Deep Tech Demo Day, showcasing ventures from the affiliated member universities working across advanced manufacturing, AI, robotics, quantum, semiconductors, energy, life sciences, diagnostics, materials, photonics and other deep tech sectors.
Companies representing Purdue at Demo Day included:
- Aerovy, the AI operating layer for connected hardware. | READ MORE
- Ixana, which develops Wi-R E-field connectivity chips for always-on, low-power Physical AI wearables and edge devices. | READ MORE
- Resolvr, a Bitcoin-native InsurTech turning bitcoin and stablecoins into insurance collateral, backing real-world risk and creating access to institutional, insurance-linked yield. | READ MORE
- Rothalion, which delivers power at the speed of demand. | READ MORE
- Vibe Robotics, building affordable humanoid robots that automate high-frequency service and household tasks, enabling real-world data collection and scalable physical AI adoption. | READ MORE
Third Coast Foundry is now available for Purdue faculty, researchers and entrepreneurs who want to host investor meetings, small events and other engagements in the Bay Area. Learn more about the space and how to request the space here.
What they’re saying:
- “It’s inspiring to join the best of the Midwest universities in the unveiling of the Third Coast Foundry Bay Area hub. Purdue’s presence in one of the world’s most competitive startup ecosystems will lead to exciting growth opportunities and enduring partnerships for our faculty and student founders with local investors and alumni stakeholders.” — Jim Bullard, Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue University
- “Third Coast Foundry creates a direct path from Purdue’s scientific discovery into one of the world’s most active innovation environments, and with a presence in this community, we are placing our research and talent closer to the people and organizations shaping emerging technologies., For our faculty and students working at the frontiers of AI, quantum, robotics, and the physical, life and computational sciences, that proximity accelerates discovery into real-world impact.” — Lucy Flesch, the Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science, Purdue University
- “I am thrilled to be part of an august team of Purdue University and Purdue Innovates connected innovators, entrepreneurs, mentors and alumni assembling this week in the Bay Area to network at TCF. Purdue’s deep technology startup portfolio and diverse Business + STEM teams smartly align with the strong investment needs at firms operating in San Francisco down through Menlo Park and Palo Alto.” — Richard Sikora, executive advisor for innovation and entrepreneurship – Daniels School of Business, Purdue Innovates, Purdue Research Foundation
About Purdue Innovates
Purdue Innovates is a unified network at Purdue Research Foundation to assist Purdue faculty, staff, students and alumni in either IP commercialization or startup creation. As a conduit to technology commercialization, intellectual property protection and licensing, startup creation and funding, Purdue Innovates serves as the front door to translate new ideas into world-changing impact.
For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact Purdue Innovates at purdueinnovates@prf.org.
About Third Coast Foundry
Third Coast Foundry is being driven by the entrepreneurship, innovation, and commercialization centers across the partner institutions, including the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University; Northwestern Innovation + New Ventures (INVO); Center for Software Innovation at The Ohio State University; Purdue Innovates; UChicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation; U of I’s Technology Entrepreneur Center and Origin Ventures Office of Entrepreneurship; Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF); along with WashU.
Together, these centers bring deep experience in startup formation, technology commercialization, and venture engagement to support founders and strengthen cross-institutional collaboration through Third Coast Foundry.
Media contact: Polly Barks, phbarks@prf.org
