Innosphere signs MOU for unified Mountain West network

FORT COLLINS  — Technology incubator Innosphere, on behalf of the National Science Foundation ASCEND Engine, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Montana Photonics and Quantum Alliance and the Headwaters Tech Hub.

The agreement lays the foundation for a larger Mountain West innovation and test-facilities network, connecting two federally supported regional innovation initiatives and providing the three organizations a framework to pursue opportunities that no single organization could accomplish alone.

The MOU brings together the NSF ASCEND Engine in Colorado and Wyoming and the Headwaters Tech Hub, a Regional Technology and Innovation Hub designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration operating across Montana.

A consortium member of the Headwaters Tech Hub, MPQA leads the hub’s Integrated Photonics Ecosystem component project.

MPQA is a Montana-based hub for the state’s optics, photonics, and quantum companies, entrepreneurs, laboratories and universities. Together, MPQA and the Headwaters Tech Hub represent two closely aligned organizations within the same Montana ecosystem, now formally connected to Innosphere’s NSF ASCEND Engine platform.

“We’ve seen first-hand that collaboration, not competition, strengthens our innovation networks, brings technologies to market more rapidly and enhances U.S. competitiveness in critical industries,” Mike Freeman, CEO of Innosphere, said in a prepared statement. “This MOU is another step in formalizing the Mountain West region as a leader in critical technologies such as quantum sensing that can have a profound positive impact not only in the region but also across the country.”

The partnership aligns the three organizations around a shared set of technology priorities, including advanced sensing, photonics, quantum technologies, autonomous systems, environmental intelligence, resource management and national security applications.

Under the agreement, the organizations intend to explore collaboration across a range of activities, including:

• Cross-referral of startups and technology companies between the two regions, including potential referral of Montana startups into NSF ASCEND Engine accelerator opportunities such as ARID (Asset Resilience through Intelligent Digital Twins) and SHIELD (Soil Health Innovation, Evaluation, and Demonstration), and reciprocal referral of Colorado and Wyoming companies into Montana programs and project opportunities.
• Shared support across accelerator programs and innovation networks.
• Joint promotion of the NSF ASCEND Engine and Headwaters Tech Hub testbeds for technology evaluation and demonstration.
• Coordination of competitive funding programs, workforce development, industry and investor engagement, and regional innovation policy.

These innovation ecosystems are joining forces to accelerate the commercialization of technologies that help communities better manage wildfire, water, agriculture, natural resources, infrastructure and national security challenges across the Mountain West.

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