Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation
Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation
Los Alamos, NM
Venture Challenge
Federal Share: $600,000
Local Match: $903,265
New Mexico is home to three federal R&D laboratories yet ranks extremely low nationally in categories including population growth, job opportunities, and support for startup and growth businesses. The New Mexico Lab Embedded Entrepreneur Program, or NM LEEP, is an initiative proposed in partnership among Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories with Central New Mexico Community College to bridge the wide gap between technology-innovation capacity and high-tech business growth within the state. The program will recruit and launch five innovators to build and scale national security-focused solutions in New Mexico that serve the evolving technology-product needs of the private and public sectors.
Innovators selected for NM LEEP will be embedded in the research ecosystems around Los Alamos and Sandia national labs for two years of immersive training, intensive technology development, and product refinement. They will have unique access to experts, tools, networks, and facilities to accelerate their technology and product development. Experienced trainers and mentors will be paired with the innovators to assist with a comprehensive go-to-market plan and a pathway to raise the capital necessary to scale their companies. NM LEEP offers a contemporary model to bridge the technology excellence of the NM labs with external innovators and experienced mentors who are focused on building a new generation of companies. The NM LEEP program will drive economic progress in New Mexico and build advanced products that serve local, national, and global markets.