New Joint Incubator Backs Founders Building Dual-Use Technologies

Six companies founded by University of California San Diego students, faculty and alumni have been selected for the inaugural cohort of a new joint summer incubator from the UC San Diego Office of Innovation and Commercialization (OIC) and Bow Capital, an early stage venture capital firm anchored by the University of California.

Launched in June, the incubator is tailored to founders developing dual-use technologies that can serve both national security and commercial markets, spanning sectors including defense, robotics, autonomy, space, digital biology and critical infrastructure. Each selected team receives $100,000 in upfront funding and participates in a three-month, full-time, in-person program at the Design and Innovation Building.

“UC San Diego is committed to building talent, partnerships and pathways needed to advance dual-use technologies,” said Paul Roben, associate vice chancellor of innovation and commercialization at UC San Diego. “By leveraging the strengths of our university and the San Diego region, we can build a national powerhouse for dual-use innovation while preparing the next generation of talent to contribute to it.”

The incubator further strengthens an existing ecosystem supporting dual-use innovation, drawing on Horizon, OIC’s accelerator program; FORGE, a dual-use national security innovation initiative anchored by Innovating for National Security (i4NS), a nationally ranked STEM workforce development program focused on experiential learning; and Accelerating Innovations to Market (AIM), a market-driven technology accelerator. Alongside Bow Capital, these programs provide founders with mentorship, strategic guidance, customer introductions and access to investors, operators and government partners as they work to advance their technologies toward commercialization.

“Many of the world's most important technologies begin in research labs but never make it into the hands of those who need it most,” said Andre Ranadivé, partner at Bow Capital and Army veteran. “Through our partnership with the OIC team, we're building a dual-use technology incubator that helps bridge that gap, connecting breakthrough science with both commercial markets and national security needs.”

This intersection of university resources and Bow Capital’s broader network gives these founders a unique combination of technical, business and industry support beyond capital alone.

“Founders need more than capital to move research and deep science-backed innovations to deployment — they need direct lines to operators, prime contractors and the government customers who validate how technologies perform in the field,” said Shane Moise, director of Horizon Accelerator, which facilitated the program’s creation. “Together, we built this program with FORGE and i4NS to strengthen national security and translational pieces founders can't access on their own. This cohort is the proof point.”

Stifel Bank also sponsored the program, setting up startup bank accounts for all six founders. DLA Piper, through Horizon board member Lisa Haile, PhD, provided legal expertise to help founders establish their companies, cap tables and other foundational documents for long-term growth.

“What’s exciting about this dual-use cohort is watching small, fast-moving teams take on problems once reserved for the largest prime contractors,” said Senior Vice President Sam Wogan of Stifel Venture Banking. “These founders are turning frontier science into real-world capabilities. Stifel Bank is proud to support Bow Capital and UC San Diego as they give these founders the resources to make that leap."

Meet the Cohort