Launch Tennessee

Provides Tennessee startup support administration with state partnership and regional entrepreneur center collaboration.

Launch Tennessee, or LaunchTN, is Tennessee's statewide nonprofit innovation and entrepreneurship organization. It operates under a grant contract with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and reaches startups and university innovators across all 95 counties through nine Regional Entrepreneur Centers.

Its non-dilutive support centers on the SBIR/STTR Matching Fund and the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium, or TTAC. The matching fund can cover up to $100,000 for Phase I and up to $300,000 for Phase II, while TTAC supports proof of concept, technology maturation, travel, partnership, and fellowship activity; the same platform also connects applicants to the InvestTN equity vehicle, which is separate from grant funding.

LaunchTN is a strong fit for Tennessee-headquartered companies and university teams that already have a commercialization path and can align with the state fiscal-year cycle. The best matches are projects in life sciences, advanced energy, agriculture, and mobility that need local matching dollars or a university-to-market bridge.