Turning research into real-world impact through the venture studio model.
Every year, U.S. universities and hospitals generate extraordinary innovations and breakthroughs in software, data analytics, healthcare, and engineering that could transform industries.
But much of that intellectual property (IP) never leaves the lab. Complex licensing processes, limited commercialization expertise, and lack of early product validation often stall ideas before they reach the market.
Summit Venture Studio (SVS) was built to change that. As one of the nation’s only venture studios dedicated to helping universities commercialize their IP, Summit Venture Studio bridges the gap between innovation and implementation. We partner directly with universities and research institutions to commercialize university IP, transforming promising academic software into market-ready products and funded spinouts.
What Does It Mean to Commercialize University IP?
To commercialize university IP means taking academic research and transforming it into a product or company that reaches real-world users.
It involves licensing technology from a university, developing it into a viable solution, and launching it through a startup; often supported by partners like venture studios that specialize in bridging the gap between innovation and market.
Unlocking Trapped Innovation
University researchers are driven by discovery and science, not necessarily by the nuances of entrepreneurship or product-market fit.
Even when an invention disclosure signals potential, university tech transfer offices (TTOs), which manage thousands of disclosures each year, often lack the bandwidth or specialized expertise to validate market demand and build out commercial prototypes. [AUTM]
As a result:
- Many software innovations never progress beyond publications or internal use.
- Inventors lose visibility into their technology’s potential.
- Universities miss out on downstream revenue and real-world societal impact.
Federal programs like NSF I-Corps, SBIR, and STTR (covered in our previous post) help bridge the early research-to-market gap.
But what happens after the grant, when it’s time to build, deploy, and grow?
That’s where Summit Venture Studio steps in.
The SVS Solution: How We Help Commercialize University IP
SVS applies a repeatable venture studio framework – Discover, Develop, and Deploy – to help commercialize university IP. Our process combines hands-on product development, entrepreneurial leadership, and funding strategy to move inventions quickly from idea to impact.
1. Discover: Finding the Right IP
SVS works closely with more than 80 universities and hospitals nationwide to evaluate invention disclosures and identify software technologies with true startup potential.
Our evaluation process includes:
- Market validation – determining whether the problem is urgent, widespread, and solvable through software.
- Technical readiness – confirming that the invention is functional, or close enough for prototype development.
- Founder fit – identifying the right entrepreneurial lead or domain expert to drive commercialization.
This stage bridges the tech transfer and startup worlds, aligning academic innovation with market demand.
“Our goal isn’t just to license technology. It’s to build companies that last.”
-Taylor Bench, Managing partner, Summit Venture Studio
2. Develop: Building the Product and the Team
Once a technology passes discovery, SVS moves it into product development and venture formation. Unlike traditional accelerators or incubators, SVS takes a hands-on operational role, serving as a co-founder during the earliest stages.
Our internal team of product designers, developers, and marketers builds the minimum viable product (MVP), establishes early branding, and validates use cases with potential customers.
At the same time, we recruit and install:
- An Entrepreneurial Lead (EL) to serve as founding CEO.
- Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) or technical advisors to guide direction.
- Support from SVS’s in-house experts in finance, revenue operations, and go-to-market planning.
We don’t stop at ‘advising’. We build alongside the founding team, giving each spinout a head start.
3. Deploy: Launching and Scaling the Spinout
Once the technology is productized and initial validation is achieved, SVS formally launches the spinout company with operational, technical, and fundraising support.
At this stage, we:
- Secure a license from the university.
- Create the corporate structure and initial capitalization plan.
- Support early business development, pilot programs, and customer outreach.
- Align the company for follow-on grant funding (e.g., SBIR Phase II) or early-stage investment.
This “deploy” phase transitions research-based IP into a functioning, revenue-seeking company with a real team, roadmap, and validated market.
Each spinout is positioned for sustainable growth, whether through additional grants, strategic partnerships, or private capital.
The Venture Studio Difference
Traditional tech transfer often ends at licensing.
By contrast, the venture studio model provides an end-to-end pathway from research to product to startup, dramatically increasing the odds that university IP reaches real users.
Here’s what sets SVS apart:
- Speed: We can advance an invention from license to launch within months, not years.
- Focus: SVS exclusively commercializes software-based university IP, not hardware or therapeutics.
- Funding strategy: We integrate non-dilutive grants (I-Corps, SBIR, STTR) early to minimize founder and university dilution.
- Execution capability: Our in-house team handles technical builds, market testing, and investor readiness under one roof.
- Network reach: With partnerships across dozens of universities, we see broad patterns of market demand and can match inventions to high-potential industries.
“The right partner doesn’t just invest, they execute. We help universities and inventors commercialize faster and smarter.”
-Taylor Bench
Impact: Turning Research Into Startups
Summit Venture Studio’s approach ensures that academic innovations don’t stay trapped behind institutional barriers.
We invest our own resources and take on operational roles. We are truly co-founders, not just mentors. That means when challenges arise (and they always do), we are right there in the trenches solving them. You’re not alone trying to learn entrepreneurship by trial-and-error; you have a partner who’s done it before.
We know how to leverage SBIR, STTR, I‑Corps, and other grants to the hilt. If you’ve already won a grant, we can help ensure it translates to a product (not just a publication). If you haven’t yet, we can help you get those grants. The net effect is more funding for your idea and less dilution of ownership.
And we aim to create value quickly. Our companies often target acquisition or significant scaling within ~3–5 years, far faster than the typical 8–10+ year slog many startups face. By concentrating resources, we compress timelines. For a university technology, this means the innovation doesn’t risk becoming obsolete or getting outpaced – we capitalize on the window of opportunity. It also means the university and inventors see returns sooner, closing the loop to fund the next generation of research.
Our portfolio includes startups in:
- Healthcare – clinical decision tools, patient safety, and workflow software.
- Education – adaptive learning and data analytics platforms.
- Sports and performance analytics – AI-driven software for coaching and athlete monitoring.
Each company began as a university project and became a startup through the SVS venture studio process.
For an overview of how we identify and evaluate these opportunities, see our earlier guide: Turning Research Into Startups: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to University Tech Transfer.
FAQ
A TTO manages invention disclosures and licensing, while a venture studio executes commercialization. SVS builds the product, recruits the team, and launches the startup, working alongside the TTO.
Yes. SVS takes an equity position and often co-funds early development alongside non-dilutive grants or university support.
We focus on software-based technologies developed within universities and medical research institutions.
SVS partners directly with inventors and TTOs, helping refine the business case, validate customer demand, and secure licensing terms. Inventors typically retain equity or royalties in the resulting spinout.
Reach out through our website or LinkedIn page. Whether you’re exploring a disclosure or already have prototype data, we can help evaluate fit and define next steps for commercialization.
Summit Venture Studio helps universities and inventors commercialize their IP faster and more effectively through its venture studio model.
By collaborating with SVS, you, as an innovator, can focus on what you do best (the science) while we handle what we do best (company building and navigating the funding landscape).
If you’re part of a research institution, a tech transfer office, or an inventor with an idea ready to scale, we’d love to connect.
