KIC Is Live!
A short note after our launch event in York on May 6th
This week, we officially launched Keystone Innovation Collaborative (KIC). On Wednesday evening, we gathered with university leaders, investors, founders, and partners at our York headquarters to mark the moment together. The video above is a short recap.
We started this work because Pennsylvania already has what it takes — world-class research institutions, deep technical talent, an industrial base built on actually making things, and a capital community ready to back the next generation of breakthrough companies. What it has lacked is connective infrastructure: a way to move ideas from potential to outcomes at scale.
That's the gap KIC was built to close. We're a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in Central Pennsylvania, and we operate the connective systems that link founders, universities, investors, and corporate partners into one coordinated platform — a single front door for founders and university IP, structured triage and pipeline visibility for investors, and a clear path from early signal to real traction. That work runs through our Deal Flow Hub, the Keystone Foundry accelerator, Corporate Innovation Pilots, Keystone Merge, the upcoming Applied AI Founder Pilot, and our Regional Ecosystem Map.
Our launch also coincides with the first close of Keystone Innovation Fund II (KIF2) — an affiliated venture fund that will invest in the strongest companies emerging from the KIC system. KIF2 is managed by Keystone Fund Partners, a partnership formed by 1855 Capital Partners, White Rose Ventures, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern Pennsylvania, and had its first official close on April 3, 2026. The two coming online together is intentional: the platform produces higher-quality, more-investable companies, and the fund invests in the best of them.
A few thank-you’s before we close: To the Ortenzio family, whose $750,000 anchor commitment helped make KIC's formation possible. To our founding university partners — Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg University — for trusting us with the relationships and discoveries you have spent years cultivating. To the LPs in KIF2 backing this thesis with real capital. And to every founder, operator, and partner who came out Wednesday night: this works because you show up.
We move with urgency because innovation moves quickly, and Pennsylvania cannot afford slow pathways. If you're a founder, investor, university, or corporate partner who wants to be part of what comes next, we'd love to hear from you.
