Our Work
Keystone Innovation Collaborative is propelled by four core strategic initiatives, each designed to fuel and reinforce the innovation flywheel—creating a repeatable and scalable model for commercialization, capital formation, and corporate engagement across Pennsylvania. These initiatives are central to our mission and form the operational backbone of its ecosystem-wide impact. This is a plan that will unfold over time, with each initiative building upon the last to create a robust ecosystem.
University Consortium
KIC’s University Consortium connects Pennsylvania research institutions into a shared commercialization network, making the sourcing aspect uniform for investors to be able to see all PA startup opportunities together.
The consortium increases visibility for university-generated innovations and facilitates strategic engagement between institutions, founders, and the venture ecosystem.
White Label CIE Curriculum
The curriculum, originally developed by Harrisburg University’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, is licensed and delivered via local university partners, and offers practical training, mentorship, and founder development programming. CIE also helps to support delivery partners with training, curriculum updates, and technical assistance.
Equity Accelerator
Select cohorts of high-growth startups receive seed funding, intensive mentorship, capital introductions (including connections to partners like White Rose Ventures, 1855 Capital, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners), and tactical support to accelerate their growth trajectory. The program prepares companies for investor readiness and scalable growth.
Corporate Consortium
KIC helps build structured relationships between early-stage ventures and corporate partners. Participating corporates gain access to innovation opportunities like startup pilot programs, joint development, and potential entity or talent acquisitions.
The initiative fosters corporate engagement in pilot programs to address real-world problems—like 'innovation challenges' where startups propose solutions (in college hackathons, capstone projects); in investment and acquisition opportunities; and in providing market validation and growth pathways for KIC-backed startups.