FAQs

What is the Future Labs and what is our uniqueness?

The NYU Tandon Future Labs offer the businesses of tomorrow a network of innovation spaces and programs that support early-stage startups in New York City. The first public-private partnership with New York City, the Future Labs’ uniqueness is by creating incubation programs focused on increasing the success rate of new ventures by connecting ventures to NYU resources and research.

What do you look for in companies admitted to Catalyst?

We accept companies across Tandon's Areas of Excellence, such as - Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Data & Analytics, HealthTech, Smart Cities, and the intersections between them. We look for a strong product-market fit, a demonstrated commitment to the venture, and the expertise of the founding team as related to the mission. We also ensure our team and resources can be useful to the company.

How do I know that I am a good fit for Catalyst?

If your venture is in the vertical of one of Tandon’s Areas of Excellence and you are getting ready to launch your product and go on the first funding round (Pre-seed/Seed), you will be a good fit for the program. Catalyst is built to make sure our companies will be ready and have the best knowledge to reach their next goal, from fundraising to product launching.

If I was accepted into the Catalyst, am I automatically accepted into Next Round?

Several Catalyst graduates have joined the Next Round program, and we strongly encourage this. However, acceptance into Catalyst does not guarantee admittance to the Next Round.

What is the Catalyst program’s schedule?

While building your venture, we know that you are very busy. For that, we are aiming to keep the program open to self-construction while having a learning session once a month. Our startups will be asked to attend the monthly session and send a weekly company update to Catalyst’s team. We are committed to treating our founders with the respect and maturity that they deserve, so meeting schedules and milestones are determined together. What NYU resources do you offer? The value of NYU’s resources is largely dependent on each company. We connect founders to NYU faculty and staff. The NYU Future Labs also run a for-credit internship program, where companies have the opportunity to recruit NYU Tandon students to work on specific projects in return for academic credit. Through Catalyst, companies have access to NYU Tandon’s MakerSpace facility. Also available is access to data sets, model sets, and other similar resources.

What are other Catalyst benefits?

Catalyst companies are eligible to apply for the START-UP NY program, receive pro bono legal hours with our partner, Morrison Foerster, up to $100K in Amazon Web Services, up to $100K for Google Cloud, up to $5K in credits for use at Twilio, and discounts with a range of services that startups find useful. This is an ever-expanding selection — we work with our founders to identify and offer perks that they need.

I applied to your program and have not heard back from the Catalyst. What’s the status of my application?

Upon closing the application, we will contact all applicants regarding next steps. If in any case, you wish to contact us please email us - hello@futurelabs.nyc

Is Catalyst virtual or in-person?

Catalyst is an in-person program and we do ask our companies to attend sessions in our space in Brooklyn (about 1 session per month). Also, we highly recommend all companies to be working from our working space and attend other Future Labs events.

What does ‘no cost’ mean?

We do not take equity or other compensation from selected ventures for participation in Catalyst. We are able to keep this a no-cost program thanks to strong support from NYU Tandon, our founding partner, and our other valuable supporters and sponsors.