Grow Here
Greater Vegas is a region on the rise. From large companies to small startups, we provide resources to ensure businesses can thrive.
Partnering with Regional Startup Hubs
Over the past five years, Southern Nevada has become a west coast technology startup hub. With the advent of the Innevation Center, founded by Switch SUPERNAP CEO Rob Roy, and the Downtown Project, founded by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, Las Vegas is poised to succeed in the startup world. The region also has an enormous asset in its higher education institutions, and LVGEA partners with those institutions to help faculty foster technology transfer and business startups.
The Innevation Center is the first public-private economic diversification effort of its kind in Southern Nevada, bringing together entrepreneurs, business leaders, mentors, investors, educators, and government agencies to build a startup ecosystem of super-heroic proportions. A philanthropic effort led by Switch founder Rob Roy, the Innevation Center hosts collaboration events and provides meeting space, coworking space, and executive suites on the SUPERNAP campus with access to advanced technology ecosystems
The Downtown Project helps to make downtown Vegas a place of Inspiration, Entrepreneurial Energy, Creativity, Innovation, Upward Mobility, and Discovery, through the 3 C’s of Collisions, Co-learning, and Connectedness in a long-term, sustainable way. Now in the third year, the Downtown Project, owns and invests in over 300 businesses and legal entities which collectively employ more than 900 people. Working with business development organizations from other countries, LVGEA and the Downtown Project partner to tell the story of Downtown Las Vegas from the local perspective.
The Nevada Knowledge Fund is a $10 million state-fund project aimed at spurring research, innovation and commercialization in Nevada. Awarded by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Knowledge Fund has supported a number of institution-based technology transfer projects in Southern Nevada, including:
- The Center for Gaming Innovation at UNLV, an effort led by the UNLV International Gaming Institute, has yielded more than a dozen patents in just one year.
- The Nevada Institute for Personalized Medicine at UNLV, an interdisciplinary effort aimed at support the health and medical economy of Southern Nevada by improving health outcomes and providing quantitative analysis that enhances medical decision-making and education programs.
- The Nevada Center of Excellence (COE) is an independent team of stakeholders focused on one of the greatest issues facing our state: Water. Through collaboration and the use of best practices, we endeavor to explore water issues as we improve Nevada’s economic diversification and expansion, and workforce development.
The UNLV Department of Technology Development & Transfer facilitates the process through which the university brings discoveries and inventions to the marketplace. Over the years, UNLV faculty have earned dozens of patents, and many of these technologies have potential as the basis for new commercial ventures. Working with the LVGEA and its business partners, tech transfer staff help to evaluate the commercialization potential of new technologies and help to find the expertise to build new businesses.
WaterStart is a channel for accelerating the implementation of water innovation. Our members are recognized as global leaders in the delivery, management and conservation of water. WaterStart offers members a platform to prioritize the high-value water management techniques that they have in common while removing common barriers for the adoption of innovative technologies.
AFWERX is a catalyst for agile Air Force engagement across industry, academia, and non-traditional contributors to create transformative opportunities and foster an Air Force culture of innovation. AFWERX assists startups who wish to create technology contracts with the US government. The Las Vegas office is the largest AFWERX office.