NCInnovation Partners with NC IDEA to Strengthen North Carolina’s Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Partnership brings together leaders from across the state ahead of NC IDEA’s 2026 Ecosystem Summit
By Michelle Fiscus, Senior VP & Chief Communications Officer
Research Triangle Park, NC
August 13, 2026
NCInnovation announced a partnership with the NC IDEA Foundation for the organization’s 8th Annual Ecosystem Summit, bringing together two organizations working to strengthen North Carolina’s innovation and entrepreneurial continuum.
Presented in partnership with NCInnovation, the two-day NC IDEA Ecosystem Summit will convene entrepreneurial leaders and ecosystem champions from across the state in Wrightsville Beach on November 12-13, 2026. The partnership around the Summit reflects a shared commitment to strengthening the connections between university research, innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development that help promising ideas become companies, jobs and economic opportunity in North Carolina.
“North Carolina has tremendous innovation happening in our universities and communities, and realizing its full economic potential requires strong connections across the entire ecosystem,” said Michelle Bolas, President and CEO of NCInnovation. “NCInnovation is moving promising discoveries toward commercialization, but that work doesn’t happen in isolation. By partnering with NC IDEA, we can strengthen the pathway from invention to entrepreneurship, company formation and economic growth — and ensure more of the ideas created here in North Carolina have the opportunity to grow here.”
Centered around the theme, This Thing of Ours: Navigating the Way, this year’s Summit will celebrate the people, partnerships and ideas driving North Carolina’s entrepreneurial future. Attendees will spend two days connecting, learning and exploring how to accelerate innovation and economic prosperity across the state, with programming, networking and the announcement of NC IDEA SEED grant awards.
"North Carolina's entrepreneurial ecosystem is strongest when organizations come together around a shared mission of supporting entrepreneurs and expanding opportunity," said Thom Ruhe, President and CEO of NC IDEA. "The Ecosystem Summit has always been about bringing the right people into the same room to build relationships, exchange ideas, and strengthen the connections that help entrepreneurs succeed. We are excited to partner with NCInnovation this year and spotlight their vital work to advance the State’s most ambitious innovation coming from our universities," Ruhe added.
The Summit will follow a series of NCInnovation activities in the Wilmington region on November 11, including a meeting of the organization’s Board of Directors, as well as a showcase of NCI-funded technologies for local leaders and investors.
The New Hanover Community Endowment will serve as the Summit’s host community partner, helping welcome statewide ecosystem leaders to New Hanover County and highlighting the region’s growing role as a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation.
Registration details and additional Summit updates will be available at ncidea.org/summit. The event is expected to sell out, and early registration is encouraged.
NCInnovation, Inc. is a Research Triangle Park, NC-based 501(c)(3) public-private partnership designed to accelerate commercialized innovation from North Carolina’s research universities. Backed by more than $25 million in private philanthropic commitments, NCInnovation uses the interest and income from a $500 million State-funded endowment to provide non-dilutive grant funding, mentors, and support services so that North Carolina university proofs-of-concept return value to the regional communities that created them. Learn more at NCInnovation.org.