Five teams of Harvard researchers will work to de-risk promising ideas, with the aim of eventually launching startups, thanks to funding announced today from the University’s Grid Accelerator .

Projects emerging from this year’s competitive selection process represent a cross-section of interdisciplinary science and engineering innovation. They include technologies and approaches with the potential to yield transformative improvements in health and medicine, climate, and manufacturing.

The projects receiving support include proof-of-concept work for:

• An AI-enabled design and fabrication platform;
• An instrument for the detection of drug resistance of pathogenic bacteria;
• A greenhouse gas emission-free solid refrigerant;
• Remote rehabilitation therapies for individuals recovering from stroke;
• Novel enzymes for bioremediation, biomaterial synthesis, and other products.

In addition to funding, the researchers will have access to physical space, educational programming, and connections to alumni, investors, and the regional startup ecosystem to drive projects towards startup formation.

Harvard launched The Grid in September 2022 with the goal of smoothing the path of innovations from University labs into commercially viable products and services that address global challenges. The Grid’s programs include training, outreach, and resources to enable entrepreneurially minded Harvard researchers and students to translate their research into startups. The Grid is a collaboration between the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Harvard Office of Technology Development .

The funding from the Grid Accelerator builds on a track record of success. Since 2013, projects in the physical sciences and engineering advanced by Office of Technology Development accelerator support have culminated in 15 new startups that have collectively raised $172 million, as well as technology licenses to established companies and sponsored-research agreements. Harvard did not disclose the dollar value of the Grid Accelerator awards.

Photo by Rick Groleau

AI-assisted design

Courtesy of SEAS

Fast drug-resistance test

File photo by Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer

Emission-free solid refrigerant

Courtesy of SEAS

Wearable to aid stroke rehab

File photo by Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer

Gene discovery startup