Colorado governor evaluates and selects German frontier technology companies advancing data and energy infrastructure

Governor Jared Polis and his delegation selected Munich startups Ewigbyte and Telura to join Colorado's tech ecosystem at Startup Week 2026.

DENVER / MUNICH, CO, UNITED STATES, July 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- During a visit to Munich, Colorado Governor Jared Polis personally joined a deep-tech showcase organized by Start2 Group, a leading German accelerator, where eight selected companies presented technologies aligned with Colorado's innovation priorities.

Although the competition was initially structured around a single invitation, the delegation ultimately selected both Ewigbyte and Telura to participate in Colorado Startup Week 2026, connecting them with investors, industrial partners, research institutions, entrepreneurs, and public-sector leaders across the state. Both companies have also been selected for validation by Germany's Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND), which supports technologies capable of creating entirely new markets or fundamentally reshaping existing industries.

Following the event, Lance Gloss of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade described the participating companies as "perhaps the best overall quality I have ever seen in a pitch competition" and highlighted their strong alignment with Colorado's long-term priorities.

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 selected companies address very different infrastructure challenges.
Ewigbyte is developing a new foundational layer for safeguarding strategic data using photonic storage on glass. Using ultrashort laser pulses and spatial light modulators, the company writes immutable data directly into glass, enabling permanent preservation without the fragility and continuous energy demands of conventional storage systems.

The Colorado connection is particularly meaningful. 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, with a focus on unlocking deep geothermal energy. By reducing the technical constraints of conventional drilling, the company aims to make access to geothermal resources faster and less restricted by 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 arrive, the state actively identifies companies whose innovations could strengthen 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 created 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, engaging with entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders, research institutions, and public-sector stakeholders across one of North America's most active innovation ecosystems.
The event formed part of a broader effort to strengthen transatlantic collaboration between Colorado and Bavaria.

Andreas Just
Start2 Group
+49 175 4136484
andreas.just@start2.group

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.