Governor Jared Polis and his delegation chose Munich-based startups Ewigbyte and Telura to join Colorado’s tech ecosystem during Startup Week 2026.
This event showed how powerful it can be when regions with complementary strengths connect around real technologies and real market opportunities.”— Prof. Matthias Notz, CEO of Start2GroupDENVER / MUNICH, CO, UNITED STATES, July 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — While on a trip to Munich, Colorado Governor Jared Polis personally took part in a deep-tech showcase hosted by Start2 Group, a prominent German accelerator, where eight handpicked firms presented innovations that align with Colorado’s key areas of focus.
Even though the competition was originally set up for a single slot, the delegation ended up selecting both Ewigbyte and Telura to take part in Colorado Startup Week 2026, linking them with investors, industrial partners, research institutions, entrepreneurs, and public-sector leaders throughout the state. Both companies have also been chosen for validation by Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND), which backs technologies capable of creating entirely new markets or fundamentally reshaping existing industries.
After the event, Lance Gloss from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade described the participating firms as “perhaps the best overall quality I have ever seen in a pitch competition” and emphasized their strong fit with Colorado’s long-term objectives.
Prof. Matthias Notz, CEO of Start2 Group, said:” This event showed how powerful it can be when regions with complementary strengths connect around real technologies and real market opportunities.”
The two chosen companies tackle very different infrastructure challenges.
Ewigbyte is creating a new foundational layer for protecting strategic data using photonic storage on glass. By employing ultrashort laser pulses and spatial light modulators, the company writes immutable data directly into glass, allowing permanent preservation without the fragility and constant power needs of conventional storage systems.
The Colorado connection is especially significant. The state helped shape modern data storage through IBM Boulder, StorageTek, and generations of storage pioneers.
“Colorado helped build modern storage. We are working on what permanent data preservation could look like next. There is a natural fit between a region that developed the storage industry and a technology seeking to define its next chapter,” said Dr. Ina von Haeften, Co-Founder of Ewigbyte. “Transformative technologies emerge where capital, talent, institutions, industrial capability, and long-term ambition reinforce one another. Colorado has spent more than seventy years building exactly that environment.”
Telura is developing next-generation electric impulse technology for hard-rock drilling, aimed at unlocking deep geothermal energy. By reducing the technical limitations of conventional drilling, the company seeks to make access to geothermal resources quicker and less dependent on geology — a potential contribution to resilient, clean baseload energy.“The resource beneath Colorado’s feet is enormous. The state knows this, and Governor Jared Polis is not only building the regulatory framework, but also actively pulling in the technology to unlock it,” said Philipp Engelkamp, Co-Founder and CEO of Telura. “That is exactly what Telura is going to do. See you in Colorado.”
Colorado’s visit reflects a long-term innovation strategy. Rather than waiting for emerging technologies to come to them, the state proactively identifies companies whose innovations could bolster future industrial capabilities, energy systems, and critical infrastructure. Built on decades of investment in research, entrepreneurship, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, energy innovation, quantum technologies, and data storage, Colorado has established one of North America’s leading innovation ecosystems. Governor Polis, himself a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Techstars, served on the judging panel and engaged directly with founders, asking detailed questions about commercialization and defensibility.
Both Ewigbyte and Telura will participate in Colorado Startup Week 2026 in September, connecting with entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders, research institutions, and public-sector stakeholders across one of North America’s most vibrant innovation ecosystems.
The event was part of a broader effort to strengthen transatlantic collaboration between Colorado and Bavaria.
Andreas Just
Start2 Group
+49 175 4136484
andreas.just@start2.group
