Creative Destruction Lab Joins University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, Establishing CDL-Seattle

Focus on Computational Health Merges Strengths in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning with Biological and Biomedical Expertise to Launch Companies That Revolutionize Diagnostic and Therapeutic Outcomes

Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), a nonprofit organization for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies, based at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, will launch its third U.S.-based location, CDL-Seattle this fall. Based at the UW’s Foster School of Business, CDL-Seattle will be a partnership with Microsoft Corporation, the UW College of Engineering, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, and CoMotion, UW’s collaborative innovation hub. The area of focus for CDL-Seattle’s first stream is computational health.

“Think of computational health as a powerful tool in unraveling a complex, big data puzzle” Tweet this

“The rapid growth of new machine learning applications focused on enhancing human health combined with innovations in sensor technology and other complements has created a flood of new entrepreneurial opportunities that will benefit society,” said Ajay Agrawal, Founder, Creative Destruction Lab. “We’re thrilled to partner with one of the world’s great research institutions, the University of Washington, located in such a vibrant hub of global leaders in technology commercialization – the Seattle region.”

In January 2020, UW Provost Mark Richards announced the formation of the UW Innovation Roundtable comprised of some of the region’s leading venture capitalists, angel investors, and innovation leaders. One of the Roundtable’s working groups, co-chaired by Emer Dooley, Pat Hughes Faculty Fellow at Foster and Bill McAleer, founder of Voyager Capital, focused on identifying and assessing the best accelerator model to implement at UW. They evaluated five different models and selected Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) as the best option.

A partnership of investors–Artie Buerk, Neal Dempsey, Bill McAleer, Rob Short, and Steve Singh–backed CDL-Seattle, helping the initiative gain early momentum.

“I view CDL as an engine for scaling and funding deep-tech companies, which supports our brand of having an ‘innovation mindset,’” said Frank Hodge, Orin and Janet Smith Dean of the UW Foster School of Business. “It will also offer students a highly experiential, hands-on entrepreneurial education and opportunities to work with startups in an objectives-based accelerator.” Over nine months, CDL’s program provides a marketplace for technical startup founders to learn from the insights of experienced entrepreneurs, increasing their likelihood of success.

The first focus area of computational health is well suited to the strengths of UW and the strength of the region in terms of computing, medicine, and life sciences. While the past decade saw increasing use of digital health technology, the next decade will center on artificial intelligence and edge computing, with the proliferating use of health sensors. The field of Computational Health exists at the interface of biomedical signal processing, computational modeling, machine learning, and health informatics to drive innovation in research, clinical and customer-facing applications.

“CDL-Seattle is the missing link in the UW innovation ecosystem and our region,” said François Baneyx, Director of CoMotion, UW Vice Provost for Innovation, and the Charles W.H. Matthaei Professor of Chemical Engineering. “It has the potential to transform and unify research and commercialization activities in the computational health space and will help establish Seattle as a center of gravity for these sectors, while growing the strengths we already have here.”

“Think of computational health as a powerful tool in unraveling a complex, big data puzzle,” said Emer Dooley. “Whether it’s mapping the immune system, mining population health data to address inequity, or helping optimize individuals’ health care, AI and ML are essential tools. Washington state has incredible cloud computing, AI and ML expertise and a vibrant biotech sector. We need to bring the two closer together.”

Experienced entrepreneurs who have founded, led, and sold successful tech companies, along with world-leading scientists, engineers, and economists will serve as mentors to participating startups. In addition, UW students and faculty will have an opportunity to apply their expertise and learning to advance science- and technology-based companies in computational health. The successful commercialization of cutting-edge science and technology achieved through CDL has already led to the creation of over CAD $8 billion in equity value.

Selected ventures will begin the nine-month CDL program in November 2021. For more questions, reach out to the team at cdl-seattle@creativedestructionlab.com.

Applications are currently being accepted online at creativedestructionlab.com/apply.

ABOUT CREATIVE DESTRUCTION LAB

Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is a nonprofit organization that delivers an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies. Its nine-month program allows founders to learn from experienced entrepreneurs, increasing their likelihood of success. Founded in 2012 by Professor Ajay Agrawal at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, the program has expanded to ten sites across four countries: Oxford (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford), Paris (HEC Paris), Atlanta (Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology), Madison (Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison), Seattle (University of Washington, Foster School of Business), Vancouver (Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia), Montreal (HEC Montréal), Calgary (Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary), and Halifax (Rowe School of Business, Dalhousie University).

ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

At the University of Washington, we believe that what you care about can change the world. We’re more than one of the world’s leading public research universities: We’re a community of students and faculty united by a drive to serve the public good. From educating future leaders and making innovation work for all of us, to research breakthroughs and creative works that save and change lives, we’re committed to helping people and communities achieve their full potential. With multiple campuses, a world-class academic medical center, Pac-12 athletics and extensive continuing education programs, the opportunities here are limitless. Learn more at uw.edu.

ABOUT FOSTER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

UW Foster is a world-class business school in a pioneering city perched on the Pacific Rim. The world’s best and brightest leaders are here, applying ingenuity to better humanity. We celebrate our rich and uniquely Foster partnerships with iconic companies – we collaborate, we innovate, we call them neighbors. From entrepreneurial ventures to world-class companies, you will find Foster alumni working to create their greatest impact. More at https://foster.uw.edu/.

ABOUT ROTMAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

The Rotman School of Management is part of the University of Toronto, a global center of research and teaching excellence at the heart of Canada’s commercial capital. Rotman is a catalyst for transformative learning, insights and public engagement, bringing together diverse views and initiatives around a defining purpose: to create value for business and society. For more information, visit rotman.utoronto.ca.

Contacts

MEDIA
Amarpreet Kaur
Marketing Lead, Creative Destruction Lab
Email: amarpreet.kaur@creativedestructionlab.com

Andrew Krueger
Director of Alumni and Media Relations, UW Foster School of Business
Email: krueger6@uw.edu