BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – IU Ventures will welcome IU-affiliated entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and others to the Indiana University Bloomington campus for the fifth annual IU Founders & Funders Network Venture Summit on May 21-22 in Bloomington.

Registration for the event – a unique opportunity to connect with IU’s global network of founders and funders – is now open. Registration is $100 and includes all summit programming.

A keynote address on May 21 will feature Dr. Richard Gunderman, an IU alum and Chancellor’s Professor of Radiology, Pediatrics, Medical Education, Philosophy, Liberal Arts, Philanthropy, and Medical Humanities and Health Studies at the IU School of Medicine

A 10-time recipient of the IU Trustees’ Teaching Award, Dr. Gunderman’s remarks will highlight this year’s 150th anniversary of the world’s largest health company, Eli Lilly and Company—an enterprise born from entrepreneurial risk-taking and guided by a bold vision that also laid the foundation for America’s largest private philanthropy, the Lilly Endowment. 

Additional featured speakers on May 22 include David Krane, CEO and managing partner of Google Ventures, and Scott Dolson, IU vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics.

Krane will take the stage during the “IU Icons Fireside Chat.” An IU alum, Krane has built his life and work around the art of investing—not only in capital, but in deep and long-standing relationships. After early career stops at Qualcomm and Apple, Krane joined Google in 2000 (as employee number 84) and is recognized as a key architect of the early culture and brand.

As an investor, David says, “The easy problems have mostly been solved. We’re left with complex, long-term challenges that demand strong collaboration and creative thinking.”

The fireside chat will be moderated by IU alumnus Scott Dorsey, co-founder and managing partner at High Alpha, a venture studio that conceives, launches and scales enterprise technology companies.  

Also an IU alum, Dolson will explore how success on the field intersects with the rapidly evolving business model of college sports. In a year that has witnessed IU Football’s historic College Football National Championship, he will share insights on leadership, revenue, NIL, conference dynamics and the strategic decisions required to sustain excellence in a new economic era of college sports.

This conversation will be moderated by IU alumnus Jeremy Gray, senior associate athletic director for strategic communication at IU.

IU Ventures also offers a limited number of full scholarships for current IU students to attend all Summit activities. 

The summit’s presenting sponsors are Western Alliance Bank, a leading financial resource to innovative companies nationwide, and Amundsen Davis, one of the fastest growing law firms in the Midwest. Other summit sponsors include Gutwein Law, TechPoint, Elevate Ventures, Venture Club of Indiana, HCC a division of One Digital, Spokenote, Amplify Bloomington and The Trades District.

Summit activities begin on May 21 in Luddy Hall at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering featuring a networking lunch and IU Innovates Student Startup Showcase featuring top-set IU student startups. Other Thursday activities include opportunities to tour Memorial Stadium and Bloomington’s Trades District and the always popular “Networking at Nick’s” session at Nick’s English Hut. 

In addition to the keynote sessions, the agenda on May 22 includes “IU Icons Fireside Chat,” the awarding of the annual Spirit of Venture Award as well as the Mentor of the Year Award and Hoosier Nation Networking.

Attendees can also look forward to connecting with select IU-affiliated and Indiana based startups in partnership with the IU Angel Network and Bloomington based Paragraph Ventures.

“Resting inside the nearly 800,000 living IU alumni network is a world-class venture ecosystem,” said Tony Armstrong, president and CEO of IU Ventures. “The Summit is a chance to mobilize that ecosystem in service to students, faculty, and alumni founders and funders alike.”

Additional information about travel, lodging and a complete list of activities and speakers can be found on the IU Ventures website.

What They’re Saying

Quote from Ryan Dammeyer:

IU alumnus and Amundsen Davis Business Transaction Partner Daniel Spungen said, “As a leading Midwest law firm serving businesses at every stage of growth, Amundsen Davis is proud to be a sponsor of the 2026 IU Founders & Funders Network Venture Summit, an event that fosters innovation and meaningful connections within the IU community while showcasing the entrepreneurial spirit that makes Indiana a premier place to build and grow companies.”

About IU Ventures

IU Ventures invests in and supports IU-affiliated early-stage companies. Its investment programs include the IU Philanthropic Venture Fund, the IU Angel Network, and the Innovate Indiana Fund. Further support initiatives include the IU Founders and Funders Network. Each program takes a unique approach to accelerate and support the positive impacts that entrepreneurs affiliated with IU already achieve across the world.