Catalytic Capital and Partnerships: Building Resilient Ecosystems for Tough Tech

​The path to scaling high-impact breakthrough innovations across climate, health, and advanced systems looks different for every Tough Tech founder. Drawing on new findings from the Schmidt Family Foundation and a recent report by Mass Competitive Partnerships about the role of ESOs in supporting thriving economies and entrepreneurs, this session will highlight pervasive funding gaps in technology development essential to achieving environmental sustainability and open a discussion on the pivotal role entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) play in de-risking transformative technologies and building the connective tissue that enables breakthrough innovations to reach market impact.

​Through a conversation with leaders across entrepreneurial support networks, philanthropy, corporations, and investment, we will explore alternative pathways to scale, examine where capital and resources fall short in reaching high-impact areas, and highlight how strategic partnerships and new funding models can accelerate the translation of Tough Tech innovations from early research to market deployment.