BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Feb 4, 2026 — Amplify Bloomington launched today as a platform connecting the region’s research institutions, innovative companies, and startup ecosystem. The initiative is backed by Indiana University, Cook Group, the City of Bloomington, and a coalition of corporate partners. 

Bloomington offers what many technology hubs cannot: world-class research, companies that innovate and manufacture here, and a community where talent thrives. 

What began as The Mill — a coworking space that catalyzed The Forge, the Trades District and more than $52 million in ecosystem investment — has evolved into Amplify Bloomington, a broader platform designed to connect those assets and make them more visible and accessible to founders and companies. 

Leadership 

Amplify Bloomington is led by John Fernandez, former Bloomington mayor and former U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for economic development, as well as a venture investor and global innovation strategist. 

“I’ve worked with cities three times our size that would give anything for what Bloomington already has,” said Fernandez. “World-class research. Anchor employers who’ve chosen to build here. A startup ecosystem that’s producing real companies. The Showers Brothers, Sarkes Tarzian, Bill and Gayle Cook — this place has always built things. Amplify is how we connect the pieces and make them visible to founders and companies who don’t yet know this place exists.” 

Partners and Board 

Amplify Bloomington is backed by three keystone partners — Cook Group, Indiana University and the City of Bloomington — and governed by a board that includes business and civic leaders from across the region. 

Cook Group — “Strong communities do not happen by accident. They happen when employers, universities, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders work together with shared purpose,” said Pete Yonkman, President, Cook Medical Group. “Amplify Bloomington gives our region the platform to grow talent, attract opportunity, and build a resilient economy that works for everyone.” 

Indiana University — “Indiana University is a powerful engine for research and talent development, but lasting economic impact requires collaboration beyond the campus,” said IU President Pamela Whitten. “Amplify Bloomington brings together the university, employers, and the city to ensure discoveries made here translate into opportunity and growth for the region.” 

City of Bloomington — The city invested $9.3 million in The Forge and partnered on significant infrastructure and placemaking investments across the Trades District. 

“Bloomington’s role isn’t to dictate what success looks like; it’s to make sure people have the tools, connections, and space to build it for themselves,” said City of Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson. “Amplify Bloomington advances that work by turning collaboration into real pathways for founders and companies. The City is proud to be a partner in unlocking potential by making opportunity visible, accessible, and rooted here.” 

Together, the keystone partners and corporate investors — including Weddle Brothers, Solution Tree, and Cornerstone Information Systems — have committed $1.5 million over three years to support Amplify Bloomington’s operations, building on existing grants and investments in the Trades District. 

The board is chaired by Ravi Bhatt, CEO of Folia — a Bloomington-built software company serving over one million users across federal agencies, banks, law firms and major enterprises. 

“Folia builds AI-powered knowledge infrastructure for regulated industries where security and reliability are non-negotiable. A different quality of thinking is possible in the orbit of a major research institution — the best ideas trace their history to places like this. This is why we’re here.” 

The launch also featured Chelsea Sanders, CVO & Founder of Blueline Media Productions, who has built a full-service production studio in Bloomington over 20 years. 

“When The Mill opened in 2018, I was one of the early members. I didn’t need the space—we had our own office by then. But I needed the community,” said Chelsea Sanders. “The Mill helped accelerate my journey and Amplify Bloomington will help more entrepreneurs—across all sectors, all backgrounds, all kinds of businesses—do the same thing: build something meaningful in Bloomington. Not just start something. Build something. Build something that lasts, that employs people, that contributes to the community, that makes this a place where creative ambitious people want to stay.” 

What Amplify Does 

Amplify operates across three areas: 

  • Innovation support: From startup to scale – mentorship, capital access, customer connections. 
  • Business attraction: Recruiting companies drawn to Indiana University research and proximity to Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division. 
  • Place and community: Advancing the Trades District as a hub where talent wants to live and work. 

Why Bloomington 

Bloomington offers a distinctive combination of research depth, talent density and quality of life — integrated, not traded off. Faculty who come for the research stay for the life. Founders who come for the talent stay for the place. The I-69 corridor connects Bloomington to Indianapolis and Crane, positioning it as a research-proximate anchor within a broader regional innovation system. 

The foundation is already in place: a $3 billion anchor employer that has stayed and grown here; a research university investing $360 million in infrastructure; startups serving federal agencies and Fortune 500 companies; and new business formation running at double the national rate. This isn’t a plan. It’s already happening. 

Trades District 

Amplify is headquartered in the Trades District, an emerging innovation hub along Bloomington’s I-69 corridor between downtown and Indiana University. 

The district includes The Forge, a Class A office building housing scaling companies including Folia and ViVum AI; The Mill coworking space; The Kiln, home to Paragraph venture design studio; a hotel under development; and four acres available for company recruitment. 

A $16 million Lilly Endowment grant is funding placemaking investments, including public art, events and streetscapes, designed to create a place where people choose to live and work. 

About Amplify Bloomington 

Amplify Bloomington is a civic alliance connecting research, anchor employers and a growing startup ecosystem into a platform for founders and companies looking to build. The organization 

builds on seven years of startup support through The Mill and is headquartered in Bloomington’s Trades District. Learn more at amplifybloomington.org. 

Media Contact 

Thor Sverrisson 
Head of Marketing & Communications 
P: 612-999-5416 
E: thor@amplifybloomington.org