AI/Q Fund

About this funding opportunity

Accessibility

Menu

AI/Q Fund

Connecticut Innovations is investing $50 million in game-changing AI and quantum tech companies. Investment Thesis

The AI/Q Fund invests in high-potential companies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and deep tech. The fund targets scalable commercial AI and quantum ventures that will drive Connecticut and the nation forward in the next decade. Building on CI’s success backing transformative technologies and visionary founders, the AI/Q Fund further establishes Connecticut as a leading hub for innovation.

The AI/Q Fund

More than a third of CI’s companies are incorporating AI into their growth strategies, and we anticipate that number to grow to nearly 100 percent. Below are just some of the companies in CI’s portfolio using AI and/or quantum technologies to change their industries and our world.

Arccos Golf, LLC

Bexorg

CopyLeaks

Curacity

Kibu

Shelf Inc.

Yuma Asset Management Our Fund Manager

As director of the AI/Q Fund at Connecticut Innovations, Gwen Cheni is responsible for the strategic direction of the fund and the deployment of capital of the $50M fund. Gwen, the cofounder of a stealth startup, was previously a partner on the investment team at Khosla Ventures and a partner at IndieBio/SOSV covering bio and AI. Prior to IndieBio, she was the founder and managing partner of Galapagos Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on the intersection of biology and AI/ML. She was also a director at StudioX (machine learning venture studio funded by Shell and Boston Consulting Group) and a venture partner at Fusion Fund (an early-stage fund focused on AI/ML, robotics and devices). Gwen was on the board of advisors at Singularity University Ventures, an impact-focused accelerator, and helped launch their first batch of startups in the Nordics.

Gwen spent 18 years on Wall Street investing in public equities. After working at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, she was promoted to portfolio manager at a $300 million innovation-themed hedge fund.

Gwen is bilingual in computer science programming languages and wet lab research protocols. On the computer science side, she received her bachelor’s degree in economics (math track) with a minor in computer science electrical engineering from Yale University. One of her four MBA concentrations from the University of Chicago was econometrics/statistical learning. She graduated from University of Chicago in two years while working full-time as an associate at JPMorgan. On the wet lab biology side, Gwen spent two years at UCSF researching immunotherapy for glioblastomas. She sits on the advisory board of the Yale University School of Medicine. Recent Investments Bexorg

Bexorg is transforming central nervous system (CNS) drug discovery and development with the world's first integrated AI and whole-human brain platform.

Learn More Yuma Asset Management

Yuma Asset Management, a subsidiary of Yuma Holdings, a leading builder on the decentralized artificial intelligence (deAI) network Bittensor, and backed by DCG, is advancing institutional and accredited investor access to open-source AI infrastructure through a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle.

Learn More SUBMIT YOUR PITCH DECK FOR CONSIDERATION.

Email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Name(Required)

FirstLast

Is the company located in CT(Required)

Yes

No

If the company is not in Connecticut are you willing to relocate to the state?(Required)

Yes

No

Company MUST be willing to relocate or expand to Connecticut to be eligible for funding consideration.

Thank you for your interest, however expansion or relocation to Connecticut is a requirement for any funding opportunities. We wish you best of luck on your venture. Company Info

Company Name(Required)

Address Your Company is Located(Required)

Street AddressAddress Line 2CityState / Province / RegionZIP / Postal CodeAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican…

Topic areas: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), General and Cross-cutting R&D.

Funding amount

This grant provides Varies in funding.

Deadline

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; there is no single fixed deadline.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to the following applicant types:

• Not specified by the program.

Eligibility

The program did not publish a separate eligibility statement. See the official opportunity page for the full eligibility criteria.

Agency

AI/Q Fund is administered by Connecticut Innovations / CTNext (CI), listed via Connecticut Innovations / CTNext.