Jake Neeley was named as the new Director of Strategic Investments at the Nucleus Institute. Nucleus is the state’s driving force working to position Utah as a global model for a transformative innovation economy. The role is designed to accelerate Nucleus’s mission by developing the investment and intellectual foundation for one of the Institute’s most critical and ambitious initiatives: Convergence Hall.
Convergence Hall is a high-impact, first-of-its-kind campus at The Point that serves as the central hub for higher education, industry, and government. It will provide a practical, shared space where collaboration leads to real-world outcomes. Through Convergence Hall, the Nucleus Institute accelerates entrepreneurship by helping founders overcome early-stage hurdles such as funding, strategic partnerships, and talent alignment so startups can move from idea to execution with breakthrough speed.
“The appointment of Jake marks a pivotal moment for The Nucleus Institute,” said Jefferson Moss, CEO of Nucleus Institute. “This role is about much more than capital; it’s about strategic vision and high-level engagement to ensure the groundbreaking work happening across Utah is properly invested in and scaled. Jake will be essential in making Convergence Hall the premier hub for industry, academia, and government collaboration.”
Inspired by a selection of highly effective models for catalytic commercialization, the Nucleus Institute model focuses on five core pillars; connections, commercialization, funding, solutions, and spaces. Through its pillars, the organization operates programming to facilitate everything a startup needs to succeed, actively countering the stats that too often hinder early stage companies..
“I believe in the value Nucleus Institute brings to the Utah business ecosystem,” said Neeley. “Utah is known for its strong economy and ranked as the best state to start a business and Nucleus accelerates opportunities unlike anything we’ve had before. I’m excited to give all my energy to bringing it together under one roof as we deliver on the vision of Convergence Hall.”
Convergence Hall brings together funding commitments from both public and private entities dedicated to economic growth, job creation, and innovation. To learn more about Nucleus and get involved with Convergence Hall, contact the team by visiting https://www.nucleusutah.org/contact.
About The Nucleus Institute: The Nucleus Institute is Utah’s cross-sector innovation catalyst—uniting universities, industry, government, and entrepreneurs to turn ideas into impact. By offering connection, commercialization, funding, systemic solutions, and innovation spaces, Nucleus empowers Utah’s next generation of breakthroughs and economic growth. Learn more at nucleusutah.org