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Cities of Success

TUNE IN & WATCH: CNBC will air a one-hour primetime special, “Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,” on April 11th at 10 pm ET

Watch Cities of Success: Nashville

Boulder, Colorado, is a hub for the natural and wellness industry, driven by a culture of healthy living and appreciation for entrepreneurship.
The industry’s roots trace back to local hikers who, in 1969, hand-picked wild herbs on the foothills of the Rockies, inspiring the creation of tea company Celestial Seasonings — a pioneer of the natural foods movement.
Decades later, the Boulder Farmers Market has become a launch pad for successful natural food companies like Justin’s nut butters and Latin American drink maker Frescos Naturales.

Boulder is the No. 2 U.S. city for quality of life, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Denistangneyjr | E+ | Getty Images

This story is part of CNBC’s quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees.
Nestled against the Rocky Mountains, Boulder, Colorado, has blossomed into a thriving hub for the natural products and wellness industry. Here, companies generate billions in revenue, all stemming from a deep appreciation for entrepreneurship, the outdoors and healthy living.

The industry’s roots trace back to local hikers who, in 1969, hand-picked wild herbs on the foothills of the Rockies, inspiring the creation of tea company Celestial Seasonings, a pioneer of the natural foods movement, according to a local industry group. The tea company was later acquired by Hain Food Group — now Hain Celestial Group — in 2000 for $390 million. 
“This [region] is the epicenter of natural and organic,” Hain Celestial Group President and CEO Wendy Davidson told CNBC in a recent interview for the upcoming primetime special “Cities of Success,” which airs April 11 at 10 p.m. EDT. “If you want to drive growth, if you want to be in the industry in an authentic way, Boulder is the place to be.”

Hain Celestial Group CEO Wendy Davidson (left) and CNBC’s Andrea Day (right) trekking along the historic footrails where the founders of Celestial Seasonings gathered wild herbs in 1969.

Today, Celestial Seasonings, still headquartered in Boulder, brews over 1.6 billion cups of tea annually, with sales exceeding $150 million. Its success story serves as an inspiration for countless entrepreneurs in the area.
“It’s the people. It’s the environment – the entrepreneurial environment and the focus on natural and organic and wellness has allowed us to scale and grow one of our largest and most profitable brands in the company,” Davidson said.
The Boulder region’s emphasis on healthy living has fueled a booming industry, generating a whopping $2.1 billion annually for Colorado’s economy, according to an October 2020 study by the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder. That contribution translates to over 22,000 jobs and a significant impact on production, supply chains and consumer spending, according to the study.

Turning peanut butter into gold

The Boulder County Farmers Market, a vibrant incubator since 1987, exemplifies the region’s thriving ecosystem.

A sign from the Boulder Farmers Market, operating from April to November, serving as an incubator for numerous small food businesses.

From April to November, the market transforms into a testing ground for aspiring food entrepreneurs. Over 100 small businesses showcase their products to a hungry crowd of 100,000 shoppers annually. Sales at the market have skyrocketed 400% since 2013, reaching a cool $5.7 million in 2023, according to the nonprofit organization Behind the Markets.
It’s also here that a simple jar of nut butter can become pure gold.
In 2004, Justin Gold, armed with his homemade peanut and almond butters, started “slinging jars” to the local Boulder community at the farmers market. 

In this historic photo, Justin Gold, founder of Justin’s Nut Butter, fills jars of peanut butter during the early days when he sold his product at a local farmers market.

What began as free samples quickly grew into a hit product. The unique, all-natural flavors resonated with health-conscious consumers, and jars of Justin’s, as they were branded, became a familiar sight at the market.
But this wasn’t enough for Gold — he ultimately leveraged his popularity to convince local retailers to stock his brand on their shelves. Slowly but surely, the business grew, eventually culminating in a landmark deal with Whole Foods. Justin’s products can now be found at health stores and coffee shops across the country.
“What we accomplished just blew out my wildest dreams,” Gold told CNBC.
The journey from a single farmer’s market stall to a $286 million sale to Hormel Foods in 2016 is a testament to both Gold’s vision and the unique environment that Boulder fosters. 

Packages of Justin’s brand peanut butter cups are arranged for a photograph in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Monday, Aug. 15, 2016. 
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Gold said the city’s vibrant community of entrepreneurs, its focus on health and wellness, and the beautiful natural surroundings are the key ingredients of his success story.
“Everybody here is up to something really interesting,” he said. “You don’t have to be in an office environment to be creative, you can be outside. And I think the confluence of all these great things breed some really extraordinary outcomes.”
Inspired by Gold’s success, Juan Stewart launched his Latin American sparkling fruit drink, Frescos Naturales, at the Boulder County Farmers Market in 2021. 
Stewart quickly recognized the market’s power, calling it “the hub of the natural food industry” where many brands have achieved national success.

Frescos Naturales founder Juan Stewart maneuvers a cart laden with cases of his sparkling fruit drinks inside a warehouse.

His gamble paid off. Within its first year, Frescos raked in over $40,000 in sales and secured a distribution deal with grocery chain Kroger. 
“I was very lucky to be in Boulder when I launched this brand,” Stewart reflected.

Moving cross country

Naturally Boulder, a group founded in 2005, is proving to be a breeding ground for success in the natural and organic food industry. By supporting entrepreneurs and connecting startups with local investors, the group has fostered a powerful cluster of companies that’s attracting businesses from across the country.
“Companies that started here, like a Celestial [Seasonings] they had success. So other people started coming here,” said Kristine Carey, executive director at Naturally Boulder. “Companies are still moving here… there’s a resurgence of energy.”
This energy is evident in the story of Kristy Lewis, founder of Quinn Snacks. 

Quinn Snacks founder Kristy Lewis showing off her snacks in a grocery aisle.
Kristy Lewis

In 2010, Lewis built her business to $2 million in sales just outside Boston, but to reach the next level, she knew she needed to make a big move.
“I had this gut feeling that if we were going to be truly successful, that we had to be in Boulder,” Lewis said.
After that move 10 years ago, Lewis saw her brand explode. Quinn Snacks’ annual sales, she says, are now north of $30 million.
“I definitely don’t think we would have succeeded without this group of people backing us,” Lewis said, referring to the Boulder community. “We knew it was exactly where we needed to be.”
TUNE IN: The “Cities of Success” special featuring Denver and Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. EDT. More

A vaccine from Pfizer showed the potential to protect adults ages 18 to 59 who are at increased risk of getting severely sick from respiratory syncytial virus in a late stage clinical trial.
The initial data suggests that Pfizer’s shot, known as Abrysvo, could help protect a far wider population from RSV.
Pfizer said it plans to submit the data to regulatory agencies and file for an expanded approval of the shot, which is currently approved for adults ages 60 and above and expectant mothers.

Respiratory syncytial virus – viral vaccine under research
Hailshadow | Istock | Getty Images

A vaccine from Pfizer showed the potential to protect adults ages 18 to 59 who are at increased risk of getting severely sick from respiratory syncytial virus in a late stage clinical trial, the company said Tuesday.
The initial data suggests that Pfizer’s shot, known as Abrysvo, could help protect a far wider population from RSV. The jab is currently approved in the U.S., Europe, Japan and other countries for adults ages 60 and older and expectant mothers who can pass on protection to their fetuses. 

But there are no RSV shots approved worldwide for younger, high-risk adults. 
RSV causes thousands of hospitalizations and deaths among older Americans and hundreds among infants each year. The virus can also cause severe illness in younger adults with weakened immune systems or underlying chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes.
Nearly 10% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 49 have a chronic condition that puts them at risk of severe RSV disease, according to Pfizer. That number rises to around 24% for those aged 50 to 64. 
“I think about my own family and my friends who have asthma or were carrying conditions from childhood,” Dr. Iona Munjal, Pfizer’s executive director of clinical vaccine research and development, told CNBC. “That population is at risk of getting RSV every single winter … over and over again. There’s no durable immunity without vaccination.”
Munjal added that high-risk adults aged 18 to 59 are the “next logical step” after working to drop rates of RSV disease in older populations. 

The data comes as Pfizer tries to win more share of the RSV market after lagging behind GlaxoSmithKline last year. GSK’s RSV vaccine for adults ages 60 and above booked around £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) in sales last year. Meanwhile, Pfizer’s shot recorded about $890 million in revenue in 2023. 
Pfizer said it plans to submit the data to regulatory agencies and file for an expanded approval of Abrysvo for ages 18 and up. The company did not provide any details on the timeline for those plans. 
Pfizer also intends to present final results from the trial at an upcoming scientific conference and submit them for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. 

Initial safety and efficacy data

CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Pfizer said Tuesday its vaccine met the phase three trial’s main goals for efficacy and safety in high-risk adults ages 50 to 59. 
The company specifically released data on a sub-study examining nearly 700 patients who are at high risk of severe RSV due to underlying medical conditions. Pfizer expects to release data on another sub-study on roughly 200 patients with weakened immune systems later this year, Munjal told CNBC. 
A single dose of the drugmaker’s shot elicited an immune response against RSV A and RSV B, which are the two major subtypes of the virus, according to the results. 
The immune response was similar to that observed in adults 60 and above. Previous late stage research on more than 30,000 adults in that older age group found that Pfizer’s shot maintained protection against RSV across two full seasons of the virus. 
“The level of antibodies that you see after vaccination in those who are 18 to 60 are similar to those who are 60 and up,” Munjal told CNBC. She later added that it “gives you confidence that across those two populations, they’re actually responding to vaccine the same, and therefore are likely to have a similar efficacy.” 
Participants also saw a fourfold increase in their levels of protective antibodies against RSV A and RSV B one month after they received Pfizer’s shot compared to before vaccination. 
The company said patients tolerated the vaccine well in the trial. Safety data in high-risk adults ages 18 to 59 was consistent with the results in adults 60 and above, Pfizer added. 
GSK released late stage trial data in October suggesting that its shot could protect adults ages 50 to 59. 
The Food and Drug Administration in February granted “priority review” to GSK’s application to expand approval of its drug, Arexvy, to that new age group. That designation speeds up the review process for certain drugs for serious conditions. 
The FDA is expected to decide whether to approve GSK’s RSV vaccine for adults ages 50 to 59 on June 7.

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Cities of Success

TUNE IN & WATCH: CNBC will air a one-hour primetime special, “Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,” on April 11th at 10 pm ET

Watch Cities of Success: Nashville

The Denver-Boulder region is emerging as a leader in quantum technology, with companies like Atom Computing and Maybell Quantum building powerful computers and infrastructure.
The state of Colorado is vying to become a national quantum technology hub, which would bring millions in federal funding and solidify its position in the race to unlock the potential of quantum computing.
Quantum technology promises solving problems much faster than current computers can, which could benefit various fields like medicine, defense and agriculture.

An Atom Computing employee engaged in work on a computer screen.

This story is part of CNBC’s quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees.
Imagine a world where computers solve problems billions of times faster than today’s machines can, ushering in a new era of scientific discovery.

That’s the promise of quantum technology — and a fierce race is underway to unlock its potential. In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, the Denver-Boulder region is emerging as a global leader in this revolution.
Atom Computing is based in the San Francisco area, but CEO Rob Hays told CNBC in a recent interview why his quantum company chose the city of Boulder for its new $100 million facility: the region’s thriving ecosystem.
“The future looks really bright for us here. … We’ve built two of the largest quantum computers on the planet,” Hays said in CNBC’s primetime special “Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,” which airs April 11 at 10 p.m. ET. “The fact that we’ve been able to do that in 18 months is pretty remarkable.”
In Denver, Maybell Quantum, another key player in the industry, is building a super refrigerator that chills atoms to extreme temperatures — three times colder than the coldest part of Antarctica.

Maybell Quantum CEO Corban Tillemann-Dick (left) and CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla stand in front of a super refrigerator that chills atoms to incredibly low temperatures which is crucial for building quantum computers.

“It’s 10 millikelvin,” said Maybell Quantum CEO Corban Tillemann-Dick. That equates to negative 441.67 degrees Fahrenheit.

Why so cold? The frigid conditions are essential for quantum computers to operate. The supercooled environment helps minimize even the tiniest vibrations that can disrupt a quantum chip’s delicate subatomic calculations.

Promise and potential

Just like semiconductors fueled powerful computers and networking devices that made today’s complex internet possible, Tillemann-Dick said the next big thing could be quantum technology. 
“This technology is going to be as important to the next 100 years as semiconductors [were to] the internet or cellular technology. It’ll transform everything from medicine to defense to agriculture,” he said.
The CEO said he envisions data centers filled with rows of quantum computers tackling the world’s most pressing problems.
“There will come a time not too far in the future … you will walk into a data center and there will be thousands of [quantum computers] lined up just like you have servers today, working on workloads from all over the world to solve these critical problems,” he said.

Colorado’s race to become a quantum hub

Physicist Richard Feynman is credited with pioneering the idea of quantum computing in the 1980s. It’s come a long way since then. According to McKinsey, the four industries that are poised to see the biggest boost from quantum computing — automotive, chemicals, financial services and life sciences — are expected to reach $1.3 trillion in value by 2035.
Helping Colorado in the boom, the Biden-Harris administration recently designated the Denver-Aurora region as one of 31 “Tech Hubs” in the United States. This designation is part of a program to invest in regions with high potential for growth in key technology sectors.
Leading the charge to solidify Colorado’s position as a quantum leader is Elevate Quantum Colorado, a private-public consortium of more than 100 organizations including the University of Colorado Boulder and other higher education institutions, state and local governments, federal labs and private companies.
“The idea is to create Silicon Valleys where there aren’t Silicon Valleys today against the most important technologies of our time,” said Zachary Yerushalmi, Elevate Quantum Colorado’s CEO. 
Yerushalmi noted that federal designation positions the state to become one of only a handful of quantum hubs nationwide.
“We competed against 400 applicants across the nation, and we’re fortunate to be selected as one of three,” Yerushalmi explained. “This is where things really get hot … we’re competing for $70 million from the federal government.”
Only a handful of hubs will be selected to receive the funding — and Yerushlalmi says he’s optimistic of their chances, expecting a decision later this year.
Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a firm believer in quantum’s potential, is upping the stakes. In February, his administration unveiled plans to invest an additional $74 million into the quantum industry over five to nine years if Colorado is one of the regions selected to receive federal funding.
“I’m bullish on quantum tech,” Polis told CNBC in a recent interview. “I think its time has come.”
TUNE IN: The “Cities of Success” special featuring Denver and Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET. More

The Federal Aviation Administration reported ground stops that briefly halted arrivals into some small U.S. airports from Burlington, Vermont, to southern Illinois.
Airlines have added flights that would offer passengers a chance to see the solar eclipse from the air.
Southern Illinois Airport in Murphysboro, Illinois, had to shut one of its runways to accommodate demand.

An airplane passes during a partial solar eclipse seen from Queens, New York City, U.S., April 8, 2024. 
Andrew Kelly | Reuters

Monday’s solar eclipse is giving some of the country’s smaller airports their moment in the sun.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported arriving flights at airports from Burlington, Vermont, to southern Illinois were briefly halted Monday morning ahead of the total eclipse.

Such disruptions are routinely caused by bad weather and heavy traffic in big-city hubs, but high demand for prime views of the phenomenon jammed some smaller airports on Monday. The best views of the solar eclipse in the U.S. span from Texas through Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio to northwestern New York and Maine, according to NASA.

Passengers and crew take a photo wearing solar eclipse glasses aboard Southwest flight 1252 from Dallas, Texas to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which passed through the path of totality on April 08, 2024 in Dallas, Texas.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

FAA traffic adjustments give airports time to catch up and avoid airplane parking jams on the ground.
“We had to close the runway to park planes,” Alyssa Connell, head of operations at Southern Illinois Airport in Murphysboro, Illinois, told CNBC. The airport, which has three runways, took reservations for eclipse flights and on Friday reached its maximum threshold for 230 small propeller aircraft and about 45 larger jets and larger turboprops. “This is by far the most aircraft we’ve ever seen.”

The Statue of Liberty is seen during a partial solar eclipse, where the moon partially blocks out the sun, at Liberty Island in New York City, U.S., April 8, 2024. 
David Dee Delgado | Reuters

Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in Vermont is scheduled to receive between 100 and 130 general aviation planes on Monday, said Dave Carman, deputy director of aviation operations. It’s also expecting some scheduled commercial passenger jet traffic.
“It’s the most we’ve seen in a day,” Carman said. “It’s going to be hectic getting out,” he said.

A Southwest flight attendant wears solar eclipse glasses while giving a safety demonstration aboard Southwest flight 1252 from Dallas, Texas to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania which passed through the path of totality on April 08, 2024 in Dallas, Texas.
Justin Sullivan  | Getty Images

The eclipse was called out as a major event on the FAA’s morning planning call at its command center in Warrenton, Virginia, according to an agency spokeswoman. Other common obstacles include presidential travel, severe weather or major sports and entertainment events.
The FAA had previously warned pilots about possible disruptions and heavy traffic at a host of airports on or near the eclipse’s path.
Delta Air Lines sold special eclipse flights during which passengers could view it from the sky, one from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Detroit and another from Austin, Texas, to Detroit.

A passenger wears solar eclipse glasses as she looks from a special Delta Airlines eclipse flight over the skies of the U.S., April 8, 2024. 
Leonardo Benassatto | Reuters

Other airlines have called out flights that could offer views of the eclipse along the “path of totality.” United Airlines said bookings to San Antonio more than doubled around the eclipse compared with the same dates last year and surged in Cleveland and Little Rock, Arkansas.
The eclipse is expected to be a boon for hotels, house rentals and other businesses as tourists swarm in.

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The NCAA Women’s Championship between Iowa and South Carolina set a record on Sunday, drawing 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN.
The game was the most-watched women’s college basketball game since 1992.
The growth was driven in part by players such as Caitlin Clark, who has drawn comparisons to some of the sport’s greatest of all time, fueling interest in women’s basketball.

March Madness branded Powerade bottles before the game between the Maryland Terrapins and the South Carolina Gamecocks during the Elite Eight round of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament held at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, on March 27, 2023.
Grant Halverson | NCAA Photos | Getty Images

The NCAA Women’s Championship between Iowa and South Carolina set a record on Sunday, drawing 18.7 million viewers on ABC and ESPN.
The game peaked at 24 million viewers, ESPN said, and was the most-watched NCAA women’s college basketball game since 1992. Viewership jumped 89% from last year’s women’s championship and 285% from 2022, according to ESPN.

The championship, which saw Caitlin Clark-led Iowa fall to South Carolina, was the most-watched basketball game, either men’s or women’s and college or professional, since 2019.
“With a record-setting audience of 18.7 million viewers, Sunday’s Iowa-South Carolina title game was a fitting finale to the most-viewed ever NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro in a statement. “These exceptional athletes, coaches and teams captured our attention in unprecedented ways and it’s incumbent on all of us to keep the incredible momentum going.”
The semifinals between Iowa and the University of Connecticut last week also shattered viewership records, peaking at 17 million viewers, according to ESPN.
The growth was driven in part by players such as Clark, who has drawn comparisons to some of the sport’s greatest of all time, fueling interest in women’s basketball and attracting new viewers. Clark, 22, has dominated the court and set several records, luring in more fans with the “Caitlin Clark Effect.”
The March Madness tournament was the latest in a series of lightning rod moments for women’s sports in recent months.

Women’s sports broke records in 2023, with estimates from Deloitte predicting that revenue generated by women’s elite sports could surpass $1 billion this year — that is a 300% increase from just three years ago.
Between groundbreaking media deals for women’s sports and private investors and celebrities alike looking to get in, valuations for women’s sports have been driven to record levels.

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Spirit Airlines said Monday that it will defer deliveries of new Airbus planes and furlough about 260 pilots as it tries to boost liquidity.
Spirit said the aircraft deferrals will boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.
Spirit’s planned merger with JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after it was blocked by a federal judge.

A Spirit Airlines aircraft undergoes operations in preparation for departure at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on February 12, 2024 in Austin, Texas. 
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Spirit Airlines said Monday that it will defer deliveries of new Airbus planes and furlough about 260 pilots as it tries to boost liquidity.
“Of course, these steps aren’t ones we want to take but they’re necessary to ensure a strong and profitable future for Spirit,” CEO Ted Christie said in a note to staff Monday.

Spirit said it will defer all Airbus planes it has on order that were scheduled to be delivered from the second quarter of 2025 through the end of 2026. It will instead take delivery of them in 2030 and 2031. The deferrals do not include the direct-lease planes — one apiece in the second and third quarter of next year — nor scheduled deliveries for 2027 through 2029, Spirit said.
The budget airline said the deferrals would boost its liquidity by about $340 million over the next two years.
“Deferring these aircraft gives us the opportunity to reset the business and focus on the core airline while we adjust to changes in the competitive environment,” Christie said in a news release.
Miramar, Florida-based Spirit has been looking for ways to boost liquidity and convince investors that it is on track to do so as it struggles with the the grounding of many of its Airbus planes because of a Pratt & Whitney engine recall. Its planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways fell apart earlier this year after a federal judge ruled in January that the deal would be anti-competitive.
The airline said March 29 that it will receive monthly payments in compensation for the grounded Pratt & Whitney engines through the end of 2024, which would lift liquidity between $150 million and $200 million.

The pilot furloughs would take effect in September, Spirit said Monday. The airline already had leaves of absence in place for flight attendants and there is “no plan” for cabin crew furloughs, their union, the Association of Flight Attendants told members Monday. Spirit is closing its Atlantic City, New Jersey, crew base and staff will be reassigned.
Other airlines have adjusted their hiring and training in recent weeks, citing a scarcity of aircraft — a sharp change from the pilot shortage that worsened when travel demand snapped back after the worst of the pandemic. United Airlines pilots’ union late last month said the company is offering unpaid time off for pilots next month because of late-arriving planes from Boeing.
The Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit pilots’ union, didn’t immediately comment on the furloughs.

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Cities of Success

TUNE IN & WATCH: CNBC will air a one-hour primetime special, “Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,” on April 11th at 10 pm ET

Watch Cities of Success: Nashville

The Denver-Boulder region is becoming a major hub for the life sciences industry, due to a surge in venture capital and government funding, a collaborative research environment and a booming market for lab space.
The pool of qualified workers in life sciences is growing much faster in the Denver-Boulder area than the national average.
“Boulder has all the elements you want in an innovation ecosystem — research universities, scientists, venture capital, and then ourselves who provide the mission-critical infrastructure,” said Tim Schoen, president and CEO of BioMed Realty, which is expanding in Colorado.

This story is part of CNBC’s quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees.
The Denver-Boulder region is rapidly emerging as a major hub for the life sciences industry, attracting companies that develop cutting-edge medical treatments and technologies.

Life sciences research aims to understand living things, from cells to our planet, to improve health, food and the environment. The funding growth is being fueled by a combination of factors: a surge in venture capital and government funding, a collaborative research environment and a booming market for lab space.

BioMed Realty CEO Tim Schoen gives CNBC a tour inside a construction site slated for conversion into state-of-the-art lab space.

San Diego-based BioMed Realty, a major real estate player (acquired by Blackstone in 2016 for $8 billion), made headlines in 2022 with a record-breaking $625 million purchase of Flatiron Park, a massive complex in Boulder, Colorado. The 1 million square feet across 23 buildings is being converted into lab and tech space to meet the region’s surging demand.
“This was a logical next step … to invest in Boulder and scale,” said Tim Schoen, BioMed Realty’s president and CEO. “Boulder has all the elements you want in an innovation ecosystem — research universities, scientists, venture capital, and then ourselves who provide the mission-critical infrastructure.”
In addition to Boulder, the firm operates in five other core life science and tech markets including San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, the Boston and Cambridge area in Massachusetts, and Cambridge, U.K.

Enveda Biosciences, a biotechnology company, occupies lab space in Boulder.

According to commercial real estate group CBRE, 14 companies were seeking a cumulative 506,000 square feet of lab space across the Denver-Boulder market in 2023, which includes the neighboring city of Aurora. In addition, the Denver-Boulder market saw 370,000 square feet of lab space completed and move-in ready with another 560,000 square feet under construction or renovation.

“I would describe Boulder as unique and explosive. Unique from the standpoint of its setting at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains,” said Schoen, “and then explosive in terms of how the ecosystem has really grown and expanded over the last decade.”

Funding on the rise

Investors are taking notice.
“Investors from Colorado as well as across the coasts are seeing opportunities here,” said Elyse Blazevich, president and CEO of the Colorado Bioscience Association. “Our ecosystem has raised in excess of a billion dollars for the past seven consecutive years — and early stage funding in Colorado in 2023 grew faster than other life sciences markets around the country.”

Founded in 2003, the Bioscience Association supports the growth of life sciences, with a focus on access to capital, education, networking and more.
According to Blazevich, funding for pre-seed ventures, series A and series B rounds increased from 2022 to 2023. The biggest increase was seen in series A and series B funding, which grew by $53 million, or 28%, year over year. Pre-seed funding, the earliest stage of venture capital, grew by $18 million, surging 163%, over that time period.
A recent CBRE report found Denver-Boulder to be the top U.S. life sciences real estate market, fueled by record investment from venture capitalists and the National Institutes of Health.
The report also found the pool of qualified workers in life sciences is growing much faster in the region than the national average, growing 35% over the past five years, compared to 16% growth for the U.S. overall.

Entrepreneurial success

The recent surge in venture capital flowing into Denver-Boulder builds on the area’s proven track record of success over the past several decades.
In 1998, entrepreneur Kevin Koch co-founded biotech company Array BioPharma in Boulder. The company was acquired by Pfizer for $10.64 billion in 2019, and now Koch is co-founder and CEO of clinical-stage startup Edgewise Therapeutics.
Edgewise develops therapies for rare muscle disorders and generated net proceeds of $186.1 million in its initial public offering in March 2021.
But the company started small.
“We were in an incubator within the University of Colorado. And we brought in talented folks from the University of Colorado,” Koch told CNBC. “We had interns come in, who ultimately became employees.”

A scientist at work at Edgewise Therapeutics in Boulder, Colorado, focused on developing therapies for rare muscle disorders.

Today, Edgewise has a much bigger space in Boulder: 28,000 square feet in total, with half of its 93 employees working in the city office. The company plans to expand its footprint and to hire more workers in the coming years.
Koch said the Boulder region’s history of research into DNA and RNA in the 1980s was key to unlocking protein-based medicines to battle disease, which helped to attract capital to the life science hub.
“[That research] nucleated investment in the Boulder area,” he said. “Now, those companies that commercialized those products, they reinvested in Boulder.”
With the help of top venture firms, Edgewise Therapeutics has raised more than half a billion dollars — $550 million in cash runway through 2027.
“We decided that Boulder really was the right place. And I think it turns out that that was the case. We’ve been able to attract a lot of fantastic talent,” Koch said.

Research powerhouse

Denver-Boulder’s innovation ecosystem is churning out ideas, fast.
Aurora, Denver’s biggest suburb, is the epicenter of life sciences research: a 256-acre complex that’s home to the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus, which receives $700 million in annual grant funding.
Dan LaBarbera is professor of pharmaceutical sciences and founding director of the medical campus’s Center for Drug Discovery.
“Our goal here at the Center for Drug Discovery is to function as a bridge to move innovation from academia, to industry, and then to the clinic,” LaBarbera told CNBC.

A glimpse inside the Center for Drug Discovery at CU Anschutz Medical Campus, led by Dr. Dan LaBarbera (right), with the aim of accelerating the process from drug discovery to delivery for patients.

Founded in 2021, the center develops drugs for a wide range of diseases from cancer to Alzheimer’s — using state-of-the-art technology including robots and 3D bioprinters.
“I think people in general are familiar with 3D printers, in their ability to print plastics, or even metals,” LaBarbera said. “We’re using very similar technologies to print complex tissues that mimic aspects of human disease.”
Historically, it took roughly 10 to 15 years for a drug to move from discovery phase to approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“Now we can expedite that with this technology to make that process roughly six to eight years,” LaBarbera said.
The center helps shorten the timeline from drug discovery to treatment, aiding startups and existing companies to get breakthrough medications to patients faster.
“Our goal is not to compete with the pharmaceutical industry,” said LaBarbera. “Our goal is actually to work with them to develop really innovative potential drug therapies.”
TUNE IN: The “Cities of Success” special featuring Denver & Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET.

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Cities of Success

TUNE IN & WATCH: CNBC will air a one-hour primetime special, “Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,” on April 11th at 10 pm ET

Watch Cities of Success: Nashville

Denver continues to benefit from three unique areas: cannabis, sports and unique attractions like Red Rocks Amphitheatre, generating billions in revenue and attracting visitors.
Denver alone has earned more than half a billion dollars from taxes and licensing fees on marijuana sales.
Analysts predict the city’s major league teams, which are already bringing in big bucks, will see a revenue surge of over 37% by 2030.
And the Red Rocks Amphitheatre venue generates $717 million in regional economic output annually and attracts out-of-state visitors who spend over $300 million in the area.

A concert venue built into a natural rock formation outside of Denver, CO
Amy Sparwasser | iStock Editorial | Getty Images

This story is part of CNBC’s quarterly Cities of Success series, which explores cities that have transformed into business hubs with an entrepreneurial spirit that has attracted capital, companies and employees.
Two cities in Colorado are experiencing tech-fueled economic booms, with Denver’s skyline transforming and Boulder’s gross domestic product surging. This growth is driven by a mix of factors, including a strong military presence, leading universities, and a focus on high-tech industries such as aerospace and quantum tech, as reported in CNBC’s primetime special “Cities of Success: Denver & Boulder,” which airs April 11 at 10 p.m. EDT.

However, the influx of people and businesses has brought challenges like a growing homeless population, affordability issues and infrastructure strain. 
While the tech boom benefits both cities economically, Denver stands out because it continues to see growth in other areas: professional sports, a popular outdoor recreation venue, and a cannabis industry that is expected to see double-digit growth in the future.

Cannabis correction, not retreat

Marijuana plants at a grow facility in Denver.
Matthew Staver | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In the past decade, legal marijuana sales have added a staggering $15 billion to Colorado’s economy, with nearly $3 billion of that coming from taxes.
“Cannabis is a strong sector. [It represents] tens of thousands of jobs in Colorado — billions of dollars of economic activity,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis told CNBC in a recent interview.
The city of Denver has benefited significantly, with marijuana sales surpassing $6 billion since 2014. According to data from the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses, the city’s marijuana tax revenue collection crossed the half-billion mark last year, hitting $501.5 million in August 2023.

Despite being a national trailblazer since 2014 — when it was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana — the Centennial State’s cannabis industry has been experiencing a significant decline following the pandemic.
A recent report shows a 24% drop in Denver’s cannabis revenue compared with 2021. Despite this dip, Polis told CNBC that he remains optimistic about the future of marijuana.
Industry experts predict a return to growth. The governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting forecasts a 16% revenue increase for the state overall in 2024, highlighting the industry’s long-term potential.
“There is still healthy growth to be had there. I think it’s just a correction after Covid,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said.

Major league moneymakers

Cameron Fleming #73 of the Denver Broncos runs onto the field before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High on January 8, 2022 in Denver, Colorado.
Dustin Bradford | Getty Images

Denver’s professional sports scene is also a major revenue generator. The city’s four major league franchises — the Broncos, Nuggets, Rockies and Avalanche — collectively raked in a whopping $1.159 billion in 2022.
This sum places Denver among the top eight earners in professional sports nationwide, competing with cities traditionally recognized as sports powerhouses like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles.
Analysts predict a combined revenue surge of more than 37% by 2030 for Denver’s major franchises, according to sports betting guide website OLBG.
Beyond professional teams, the University of Colorado Boulder’s football program made headlines with the hiring of legendary NFL star Deion Sanders as head coach. This strategic move resulted in a big financial impact: Ticket sales skyrocketed by over $20 million, according to the University of Colorado Boulder, doubling the previous year’s figures.
Coach Prime’s influence extends beyond the stadium, with Visit Boulder estimating his economic impact on the region at $113.2 million.

A stage for economic success

A concert at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre outside Denver.
John P Kelly | The Image Bank Unreleased | Getty Images

Denver’s famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre isn’t just a legendary music venue — it’s a major economic force.
A long list of famous artists have graced its stage, from the Beatles to Billie Eilish, while others like U2 and Stevie Nicks have filmed concerts there. Even during the tough times of the Covid-19 pandemic, the entirely outdoor venue broke records in 2021, becoming the world’s most-attended concert venue, according to Billboard Magazine.
A recent Denver-sponsored study revealed that the 9,500-seat venue generates a massive $717 million in regional economic output annually.
Red Rocks ranked as the fourth-busiest entertainment venue globally in 2023, according to Billboard, just behind New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Experts attribute this success partly to the venue’s unique geography and location at 6,450 feet above sea level, creating unparalleled acoustics. Helping the smaller venue compete with spaces that can accommodate larger crowds is the fact that during the 2022 concert season, Red Rocks hosted a concert nine out of every 10 days.
Events at the venue support an estimated 7,300 jobs and generate a payroll of roughly $216 million annually. Out-of-state visitors attending concerts in 2023 injected over $300 million into the region, benefiting hotels, restaurants, transportation and retail sectors.
TUNE IN: The “Cities of Success” special featuring Denver and Boulder will air on CNBC on April 11 at 10 p.m. ET. More