Ohio State joins Midwestern universities to launch Third Coast Foundry

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Ohio State joins Midwestern universities to launch Third Coast Foundry

Bay Area location will support innovation and venture collaboration

The Ohio State University is joining seven leading Midwestern universities in the launch of Third Coast Foundry, a new San Francisco-based hub designed to strengthen the collective presence of Midwest research institutions in one of the world's most active venture ecosystems.

The initiative brings together partner universities to support venture engagement and cross-institutional collaboration for university startups, researchers, and more.

Third Coast Foundry is being launched as a two-year pilot and, in addition to Ohio State, is supported by the following Midwestern universities:

• Carnegie Mellon University
• Northwestern University
• Purdue University
• University of Chicago
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Washington University in St. Louis

Together, the partner universities account for nearly $10 billion in annual research investment and educate more than 300,000 students, producing one of the nation's largest talent pipelines.

"Ohio State is pleased to join Third Coast Foundry, a Midwestern coalition advancing innovation, entrepreneurship and economic impact," said Ohio State Vice President for Research John M. Horack. "By establishing a shared presence in the Bay Area, we are amplifying the reach of our research and innovation community and creating new pathways to collaboration, capital and national visibility."

The 3,500-square-foot ground-floor workspace is in San Francisco's South Park neighborhood - steps from one of the largest venture capital communities in the world and the emerging AI corridor. It will serve as a short-term base for university-founded startups and teams traveling to the Bay Area.

The location will create opportunities for investors, alumni and other partners to engage through meetings, events and programming. It represents one of the first collaborative, multi-university Midwest bases in the Bay Area focused on venture engagement and innovation support.

"This is a significant moment for the Midwest's innovation ecosystem," said Samir Mayekar, managing director, Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago. "By establishing a visible footprint in the Bay Area, we're creating new opportunities for our founders to access capital, talent and strategic partners while also strengthening ties between two of the country's most dynamic innovation communities."

The initiative is being driven by the entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialization centers across the partner institutions, including Ohio State's Center for Software Innovation; the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon; Northwestern Innovation + New Ventures (INVO); Purdue Innovates; the Polsky Center at UChicago; the Technology Entrepreneur Center and Origin Ventures Office of Entrepreneurship at Illinois; Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF); along with Washington University.

These centers bring deep experience in startup formation, technology commercialization and venture engagement to support founders and strengthen cross-institutional collaboration.

Third Coast Foundry will also support demo days, receptions, seminars and workshops, expanding visibility for university startups and offering new ways for Bay Area investors and alumni to engage.

Managed and operated by the Polsky Center at the University of Chicago, it will act as a shared resource for participating institutions, with each university contributing to programming and community-building efforts that elevate the collective Midwest innovation presence in San Francisco.

Third Coast Foundry sponsors include G2C Venture Partners and Wisconsin Investment Management Company (WISIMCO).

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