UBalt's AI-Enabled Business Incubator will equip diverse entrepreneurs with the knowledge, tools, and networks to launch and scale AI-enabled businesses, contributing significantly to Baltimore's economic development.
With start-up funding from TEDCO—an organization that champions innovation for Maryland's thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem—The University of Baltimore's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) is launching an AI-Enabled Business Incubator. This investment will support the creation of a multi-month, part-time accelerator designed to empower a wide range of entrepreneurs and a pioneering program, including training, mentorship, and other resources, designed to foster inclusive entrepreneurship, help founders develop AI-enabled ventures, and drive economic growth in the Baltimore region.
The AI-Enabled Business Incubator is part of the inaugural round of the Baltimore Innovation Initiative (BII) Pilot Program through TEDCO's Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII).
UBalt's AI-Enabled Business Incubator is an application-focused initiative that addresses a critical gap in Baltimore's entrepreneurial and commercialization landscape. Unlike traditional AI research and development labs or technical training programs, this incubator focuses on empowering founders and business executives, especially underrepresented entrepreneurs like women, minorities, and veterans, to understand and adopt AI as a practical tool for improving operations, marketing, decision-making, and product offerings. This makes artificial intelligence accessible and actionable for real-world business growth.
"We are incredibly proud to be among the first recipients of TEDCO's Baltimore Innovation Initiative funding," said Henry Mortimer, director of UBalt's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. "We envision this a force multiplier of UBalt's current initiatives in applied AI for business that will attract and prepare founders for more advanced accelerators, like Techstars Baltimore or Conscious Venture Lab, and turn promising AI-enabled ideas into validated, fundable ventures, positioned for success, contributing significantly to Baltimore's economic development."
The program builds on CEI's established success in providing startup capital, coaching, and programming for inclusive entrepreneurship, having awarded more than $500,000 in seed funding and supported hundreds of founders since 2006. It also leverages the unique assets of UBalt's Merrick School of Business, which launched Maryland's first Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence for Business program in 2024.
"The first round of BII awardees exemplify the innovation present throughout the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area," said Abi Kulshreshtha, executive director of
MII. "These awards will advance innovative technologies from seven colleges and universities, contributing to Maryland’s growing innovation ecosystem."
The UBalt AI-Enabled Business Incubator will be a four-month, part-time accelerator that includes:
The program will run its first cohort from January to March 2026, with recruitment for 10 founders beginning in fall 2025, prioritizing underrepresented and minority entrepreneurs. This initiative is designed to reduce the friction of learning and applying AI for entrepreneurs, create a pipeline for future AI venture creation for the University, and develop a new generation of inclusive AI-powered businesses for the region. It will also serve as a feeder pipeline for BII's Technology Advancement Grant phase, preparing founders for follow-on investment and advanced technology commercialization.
ABOUT CEI
Since its inception in 2006, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation has been dedicated to fostering inclusive entrepreneurship, providing startup capital, coaching, and programming to hundreds of founders in Baltimore. It has formed deep relationships with ecosystem partners like Innovation Works and UpSurge Baltimore and leadership from prominent organizations.
ABOUT TEDCO
TEDCO (Maryland Technology Development Corporation) is an independent instrumentality of the State of Maryland, established by the Maryland General Assembly in 1998, to facilitate the creation of businesses and support their growth in all regions of the State. TEDCO's role is to be Maryland's leading source of funding for early-stage, technology-based businesses; to provide other business assistance to entrepreneurs throughout the State; and to foster technology transfer and commercialization from the State’s universities and federal labs. TEDCO is leading innovation to market in Maryland and contributing to a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in the State through its various programs and funds.