Colorado Governor Jared Polis and his accompanying delegation have chosen Munich-based startups Ewigbyte and Telura to become part of the state’s technology landscape 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 Start2 GroupDENVER / MUNICH, CO, UNITED STATES, July 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — During a trip to Munich, Colorado Governor Jared Polis took part in a deep-tech showcase hosted by Start2 Group, a prominent German accelerator, where eight handpicked firms presented innovations aligning with Colorado’s key areas of focus.
Though the competition was originally set up around a single slot, the delegation decided to extend invitations to both Ewigbyte and Telura for Colorado Startup Week 2026, linking them with investors, industrial partners, research organizations, entrepreneurs, and government leaders throughout the state. Both enterprises have also been chosen for validation by Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIND), which backs technologies that can create entirely new markets or fundamentally transform existing sectors.
After the event, Lance Gloss from 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,” noting their strong fit with Colorado’s enduring objectives.
Prof. Matthias Notz, CEO of Start2 Group, stated: “This event showed how powerful it can be when regions with complementary strengths connect around real technologies and real market opportunities.”
The two chosen firms tackle very distinct infrastructure problems.
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 unchangeable data directly into glass, allowing for permanent preservation without the fragility and constant power needs of traditional storage methods.
The Colorado link is especially significant. The state helped shape modern data storage through IBM Boulder, StorageTek, and successive waves 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 advancing next-generation electric impulse technology for hard-rock drilling, specifically aimed at unlocking deep geothermal energy. By lessening the technical limitations of conventional drilling, the company seeks to make geothermal resource access faster and less dependent on geological conditions — a potential contribution to resilient, clean baseload power.
“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 trip 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 take part 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 dynamic innovation ecosystems.
The event was part of a broader initiative to strengthen transatlantic collaboration between Colorado and Bavaria.
Andreas Just
Start2 Group
+49 175 4136484
andreas.just@start2.group
