Launched in 1996, the Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge is recognized as one of the top-ranked accelerator programs in the US. Through the NVC, the Polsky Center of the University of Chicago has graduated more than 230 startup companies and created thousands of jobs for the economy. NVC startups have achieved more than $13 billion in mergers and exits, and include household names such as Grubhub, Braintree/Venmo and Simple Mills.