U of A and deep tech VC firm Celesta Capital launch partnership to accelerate startup commercialization

The University of Alberta and Celesta Capital today announced a partnership to commercialize deep tech research emerging from the university and strengthen Alberta’s startup ecosystem through a new partnership supporting entrepreneurship training, intellectual property and commercialization support, industry programming and strengthened collaboration between university founders and investors.

The partnership will help connect University of Alberta researchers, students and founders with Celesta’s deep tech investment professionals, technical experts and broader network across Silicon Valley and globally, building on the university’s research strengths in artificial intelligence, energy, and health and life sciences. 

Key areas of collaboration through the partnership will include:

• Entrepreneurship Training: Expanded fellowships and mentorship for university entrepreneurs, with Celesta serving on an advisory council supporting research translation and founder development.
• Founder Engagement: Regular engagement between Celesta and startups emerging from the university’s ecosystem, spanning mass-adoption technologies, industry-transforming technologies and healthcare innovation.
• IP and Commercialization Strategy: Celesta’s technologists and IP experts will advise university researchers and Technology Transfer Services on patent strategy, portfolio management and strengthening the commercial potential of selected inventions.
• Industry and Venture Summits: Events at the University of Alberta bringing together researchers, technology industry leaders and venture investors, focused on deep tech sectors. Companion venture summits will give researchers and founders a stage to present startups, receive feedback and meet potential investors and collaborators.

The new partnership unites the university’s IP portfolio and world-class research prowess with Celesta Capital's unique expertise as a global deep tech investor and business builder.  

The University of Alberta has attracted more than $600 million in research funding this year and anchors a globally recognized center of artificial intelligence research: the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) and one of Canada’s three national AI institutes, began as a joint effort between the university and the Government of Alberta.

Celesta has invested in more than 100 deep tech companies since 2013, across semiconductors and intelligent hardware, vertical AI platforms, and bio-convergence. The firm is led by Silicon Valley veterans who've built, scaled and exited major global technology companies, now offering that operating experience to support founders from first funding through global scaling. 

“The University of Alberta produces research with global reach, and our job is to move that work into the world where it creates companies, jobs and impact,” said Darren Fast, Associate Vice-President, Innovation, Knowledge Mobilization and Partnerships in the Office of the Vice-President (International, Innovation and Enterprise) at the University of Alberta. “Partnering with Celesta gives our researchers and founders direct access to investors and operators who have built deep tech companies at global scale.”

“Alberta has the ingredients of a leading deep tech ecosystem: tremendous research depth in AI and energy, ambitious founders, and a university determined to move science into the market,” said Charles Lespérance at Celesta Capital. “Our goal with this partnership is to help researchers and founders turn their work into globally competitive companies, built and grown in Canada, with the world as their market. We're excited to build side-by-side with the University of Alberta community to make this a reality.”

The partnership’s first public programming will arrive this fall. On October 28, the university, Celesta, Amii and Edmonton Unlimited will partner for Scientific Entrepreneurship Day, a half-day curriculum specifically designed to help researchers, graduate students and faculty navigate the transition from lab to company. The program is intended to cover fundraising, intellectual property strategy, market validation, team building and more, also including one-on-one office hours with Celesta investors.

Celesta Capital is a venture capital firm built by global deep tech operators. Since 2013, we’ve backed the foundational technologies unlocking every major technology wave: semiconductors and intelligent hardware, vertical AI platforms, and bio-convergence. Founded by Silicon Valley operators who’ve built, scaled, and exited major global technology companies, today we bring that experience to support deep tech founders from breakthrough to global scale.