Beyond the breakthrough: Transforming university inventions into everyday innovations

By Greg Keenan, Partner, WARF Ventures; Jeanine Burmania, Senior Director of Intellectual Property and Licensing; and Katie Rice, Principal, WARF Ventures Platform

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) has spent a century partnering with UW-Madison to address one of higher education's most significant challenges: translating university discoveries into real-world impact. Our work connecting university inventions to industry has shown that while great ideas originate in the lab, turning them into life-changing products and companies requires disciplined execution, committed investment and strong partnerships.

The paradox of academic innovation: Why promising inventions stall

Every day, university labs deliver breakthroughs across an extraordinary range of fields, from novel materials and AI-driven software to next-generation medical devices and sustainable energy systems. The sheer volume of university inventions is astounding. For context, WARF receives 350-400 invention disclosures every year from UW-Madison-more than one per day. Yet, despite this inventiveness, universities often struggle to turn discoveries into innovations that benefit society.

To appreciate the challenge, it is essential to understand the difference between invention and innovation. Invention is the act of creating something new-such as a prototype or a scientific advance. Innovation happens when that invention is adopted, scaled and integrated into everyday life.

Universities excel at invention. They foster creativity, reward curiosity and push the boundaries of knowledge. Yet we know that moving these discoveries into the world is complex and challenging, often requiring skills and support that extend beyond the traditional strengths of academia.

The obstacles are not simply technical. The reasons are deeply embedded in the culture and structure of higher education, particularly in how research is rewarded, supported and advanced:

• Academic incentives: Universities' core missions are teaching and research, with faculty advancement and recognition primarily based on publishing and securing research grants. While support for commercialization and entrepreneurship is increasing, current systems may not provide enough incentives and support for these efforts.

• Commercialization know-how & connections: Few university inventors have training or experience in product development or business (product-market fit, sales, marketing, finance, etc.), which are essential for driving successful innovation and commercialization. In addition, universities may have limited connections with industry and investors who can offer critical guidance and support. Without these networks, even the best inventions can languish in obscurity, often becoming "solutions looking for a problem."

• Resource & geographic constraints: Many universities have limited access to the capital, dedicated personnel and commercialization experience necessary to fully support inventors. In addition, successful commercialization is significantly influenced by geographic location, including proximity to markets, access to venture capital and entrepreneurial networks.

• Institutional barriers: Like many large, complex organizations, universities operate within hierarchical and bureaucratic structures that add layers of approval and administrative complexity. These processes can sometimes extend the timeline for developing new ideas and partnerships, which may slow innovation and make it more challenging for institutions to fully capitalize on opportunities for funding, talent and impact.

• Technology transfer (IP & licensing): Patenting and licensing can be costly, time-consuming and challenging. Technology transfer offices and inventors can slow progress by getting stuck in bureaucratic processes or having misaligned commercial expectations. Common barriers include successfully connecting university inventions to the needs of industry and managing inventor expectations around the commitment required to bring academic discoveries to market.

WARF embraces these challenges together with our university community. Through initiatives like WARF Accelerator and WARF Ventures, expert intellectual property and licensing services, and close collaboration with faculty and campus partners, we bring new ideas to the world. Our goal is to ensure that promising university inventions don't just sit on a shelf but become the foundation for new companies, new sources of revenue and new solutions to society's biggest challenges.

WARF Accelerator: Derisking technologies and teams

Since its launch in 2009, WARF Accelerator has transformed select UW-Madison discoveries into real-world solutions. With investments in over 190 technologies spanning fields from therapeutics to fusion energy, the program reflects the dynamic and wide-ranging research on campus. WARF Accelerator's mission is clear: to enhance the commercialization potential of university inventions by strategically funding and guiding their development, focusing on both technological and commercial derisking.

Each year, we invest in 10 to 15 high-potential projects selected from hundreds of invention disclosures submitted by campus researchers. Through targeted funding and industry-guided support, including help with team building and startup formation, we ensure that many of UW-Madison's brightest ideas secure the partners, entrepreneurs and investors they need to succeed in the marketplace.

The impact is substantial. To date, we have supported over 570 faculty, students and postdocs in their commercialization efforts, resulting in 55 revenue-generating licenses, 32 startup companies and over $340 million in follow-on funding.

WARF Ventures: Fueling startup success

WARF Ventures, our dedicated venture arm, is built on decades of investments in UW-Madison startups. Formalized in 2018, WARF Ventures currently supports more than 30 portfolio companies, making us one of the most active institutional investors in the Midwest. We provide crucial seed and growth funding and help attract follow-on investment through our strong ties to outside venture capital. For every $1 we invest, WARF Ventures' companies attract $20 of outside capital, resulting in over $1 billion in total investment in our portfolio of UW-Madison-related startup companies.

Beyond capital, we connect founders with a robust network of talent, service providers and commercial partners. Emphasizing an integrated approach-working closely with WARF Accelerator, our commercialization team and numerous external partners-we provide startups with access to the networks, resources and guidance essential to their success.

WARF IP & licensing: Enhancing capabilities

Efficient technology transfer is crucial for moving university discoveries into the world. At WARF, we prioritize removing roadblocks from this process, making it faster and more transparent for inventors and licensees. From streamlining our invention disclosure process to standardizing our licensing procedures, we have worked to eliminate unnecessary delays at every step. As a result, we've reduced the time from invention disclosure to licensing to just 3.5 years, a process that studies indicate often takes up to seven years or more (Pradham 2014; Pressman et al. 2022).

To address friction in the company formation process, we introduced the Startup Advantage program in 2024. Guided by input from entrepreneurs and investors, this program offers inventor-founded startups a time- and cost-efficient path to licensing that includes no upfront fees, deferred patent expenses and a simplified agreement. By cutting legal complexity and providing a predictable process, we ensure promising ideas avoid the bureaucratic slowdowns that have historically hindered commercialization.

WARF & UW-Madison: Fostering innovation on campus

WARF has a long history of supporting innovation resources on campus. These initiatives include Discovery to Product (D2P), Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), the UW Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic, the Morgridge Entrepreneurial Bootcamp (MEB) in the School of Business, the Technology Entrepreneurship Office (TEO) in the College of Engineering and the CS NEST program in the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS).

As UW-Madison sharpens its focus on entrepreneurship and campus-born startups, WARF remains a steadfast partner in building the integrated, founder-focused ecosystem envisioned by the newly established Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub. To encourage a campus culture that embraces innovation, this initiative aims to strengthen entrepreneurial pathways across campus and unify resources for students, faculty and staff. By supporting commercialization and celebrating entrepreneurial success, we incentivize faculty for both discovery and commercial impact.

If the next century of university innovation is to be as impactful as the last, we must keep evolving. WARF's legacy proves that with strategic support and close partnerships with UW-Madison faculty, staff and students, we can turn breakthrough discoveries into real-world solutions for Wisconsin and beyond.

Learn how you can join us in investing in research, making a difference.

###