Our Journey
From foundational research to company milestones — tracking the progress of Aura Life Science.
Aura Selected for Rhodium Scientific Prize for Advancing Space Biotechnology
Aura was selected for the Rhodium Scientific Prize for Advancing Space Biotechnology and will be collaborating with Rhodium Scientific to rigorously evaluate our technology for space applications.
Aura Selected as VentureCat Semifinalist
Aura was selected as a semifinalist for VentureCat, Northwestern University's student startup competition.
Read more
Aura Advances to Semifinals at Rice Business Plan Competition
Aura advances as one of 15 teams globally to the semifinals at the Rice Business Plan Competition.
Aura Selected for Rice Business Plan Competition
Aura was selected from over 550 applications globally to compete in the Rice Business Plan Competition, one of the world's largest and richest graduate student startup competitions.
Read moreAura Selected for New Venture Challenge
Aura is selected to participate in the New Venture Challenge at the University of Chicago Polsky Center.
Jake Selected as Chain Reaction Innovations Fellowship Finalist
Jacob Bhoi, CSO and Co-Founder, is named a finalist for the Chain Reaction Innovations Fellowship at Argonne National Laboratory.
Read moreAura Sponsors Inaugural iFAB Biomanufacturing Summit
Aura Life Science is proud to be a sponsor of the inaugural iFAB Biomanufacturing Summit, supporting the advancement of biomanufacturing innovation and industry collaboration.
Read moreInvited to Participate in The Raise
Aura is invited to participate in The Raise, a premier startup competition presented by Long Jump.
First Investment — $100,000 LabStart Phase 2
Aura secures its first investment of $100,000 through the LabStart Phase 2 program.
Aura Places Tile on the Member Wall at mHUB
Aura celebrated completing the 6-month mPower Energy and Sustainability program at mHub with Co-Founders, Emilio and Jake, placing the Aura Life Science tile on the mHub member wall and pitching to the mHub community!
2025 Alchemist Chicago
Aura is accepted into the Alchemist Accelerator Chicago cohort, supported by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago.
Read moreEmilio Selected as LabStart Fellow
Emilio Balderas, CEO and Co-Founder, is selected as a LabStart Fellow, recognizing his leadership in deep tech entrepreneurship.
Read moreCompleted Option Agreement with Vanderbilt University
Aura completes an option agreement with Vanderbilt University, securing access to foundational intellectual property underlying the platform.
2025 mPower Program — Energy and Sustainability
Aura is accepted into the mPower Program at mHub, focused on energy and sustainability innovation.
Read moreAura Life Science Founded
Emilio Balderas and Jacob Bhoi co-found Aura Life Science to commercialize breakthrough cyanobacteria biomanufacturing technology.
Core Patent Protected by USPTO
The foundational intellectual property underlying Aura's biomanufacturing platform receives patent protection from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.