Advanced Industries Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant

The Advanced Industries Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant is Colorado OEDIT's state grant for early-stage advanced technology companies that will create or manufacture disruptive technology in Colorado. It belongs to the state's advanced-industries accelerator family and is aimed at commercialization, not basic research. Awards go up to $250,000, and applicants must secure a 2:1 private match at execution, so a full award requires $500,000 in matched cash. Applications open twice a year, from January to March and again from July to September, and the review cycle usually takes 10 to 12 weeks through internal compliance, independent scoring, an industry subcommittee, a full committee pitch, and final commission approval. The grant is reimbursable and carries a 24-month Colorado-retention clawback. The clearest fit is a Colorado for-profit company with a prototype, a commercialization plan, and a sector match in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, bioscience, electronics, energy, infrastructure engineering, or technology and information. OEDIT also caps eligibility by revenue and excludes companies that have already accumulated more than $20 million in grants and investor funding, so the program is built for firms that are still early but already serious.