Connecting Tech & LifeSci Companies to Quality Capital & Mentorship
We help innovators and entrepreneurs
in Southern California by providing access
to investors, mentors, and education.
We’re a community nonprofit passionate about helping entrepreneurs build great companies, and together create a world-class innovation ecosystem.
San Diego’s fastest growing & most exciting companies
Each year, we collect hundreds of applications from the community,
select the top companies and introduce them to over 100 VCs.
Since 2015, Cool Co’s have raised over $550M
2021 Cool Companies will be announced on April 26th. Be sure you’re on our email list to find out this year’s top companies.
— Past Cool Companies Include —
If you’re a tech or lifesci startup — gearing up to raise and Institutional Series A round. Learn More about what it means to a cool company and what you need to know to apply next year.
A flexible process, designed to accelerate
tech and lifesci startups
“We just finished the new Springboard program and I was impressed at the speed and quality. They brought together spot-on advisors for a panel review of our business, covering everything from sales execution best practices to financing strategies. The feedback and critical thinking was spot-on and was exactly what we needed. Thank you Connect! ”
See if Springboard is right for you.
Connect is part of the San Diego & Imperial Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network which allows us to offer no-cost consulting and low-cost training to new and existing startup businesses.
San Diego Funding News
Shoreline Biosciences has raised a $43M round to accelerate the advancement of its proprietary platform to develop new therapies
April 8, 2021Nucleix has secured a $55M financing round to advance its technology, Lung EpiCheck, for early detection of lung cancer
April 7, 2021Daasity has raised a $3.4M Seed round to grow the team and expand their platform and product
March 25, 2021
2021 Q1 – Fundings Report
Venture Capital is coming into San Diego at a record pace, with quarter one of 2021 coming to $2.42B ($3.5B if you include M&As). Companies we've worked with, who raised this quarter include: CommSafe Ai — 2020 Cool Company Coursekey — 2016, '17, '19 Cool Company...
The San Diego Regional Innovation Report is produced by Connect annually to reflect technology and life sciences startup growth and the impact on the economy in the region.
Get Involved
We’re a small community non-profit, and we understand the importance of collaboration.
Let’s get social!
