Washington State University: Research to Revenue

Washington State University

Summit Venture Studio

Research to Revenue Report

Summit Venture Studio (SVS) Opportunities

SVS has identified 5 commercialization opportunities from Washington State University and scored them based on our proprietary metrics and rubrics.

The SVS model is to identify the top 1% of commercialization opportunities and start companies around them.

Please connect with SVS if you would like to engage with us in our startup and investment efforts.

Return on Research (ROR) Analysis

Commercialization Revenue per Research Dollar

Top Universities by Return on Research (ROR)

ROI Ratio: Commercialization Revenue ÷ Research Funding

University Innovation Analysis

Total Innovation Scores by Institution

Top Universities by Innovation Score

180+ High Innovation

150-179 Strong Innovation

130-149 Moderate Innovation

100-129 Emerging Innovation

130+ total score considered high innovation impact

SVS Innovation Index

Proprietary Assessment of Washington State University's Innovation Ecosystem
Score out of 100. Benchmark: Top 50 U.S. research institutions.
A score of 90/100 can be read "doing better than 90% of schools benchmarked"

Innovation Visibility

61/100

Definition: Media mentions, publication count, and global research visibility metrics

Startup Momentum

8/100

Definition: Growth in patents, funding, and startup formation

Ecosystem Strength

56/100

Definition: Tech transfer infrastructure and support systems

Innovation Legacy

A Timeline of Groundbreaking Discoveries

Innovation Timeline

Founded

1890

First Nobel

1975

First Patent

1974

First IPO

2000

2022-2024

AI-driven drug discovery

2025

Today

Notable Commercialization Outcomes

Nobel Prizes

1980s

Potato Breeding

Developed virus-resistant potato varieties

1980s

Apple Genome

Sequenced apple genome first

1990

CRISPR Discovery

Contributed to CRISPR technology

2004

Biofuels Research

Advanced biofuels from biomass

2010s

WSU Ventures

Launched WSU Ventures fund

2015

Competitive Benchmarking

Washington State University vs. Peer Research Universities

Washington State University vs Peers Comparison

Metric	Washington State University (FY2023)	Peer Average	Elite Average
Annual R&D Expenditure	$379M	$855M	$1,675M
New Inventions Disclosed	5	200	400
Startups Formed	2	7	10
Visibility Index	13	12	23
Licensing Revenue	$2M	$17M	$46M

Note: Peer Average = Median value among U.S. R1 research universities. Elite Average = Top 10 ranked U.S. research universities.

Emerging Opportunities

1. Advanced Crop Genomics Enhancing Global Food Security

Washington State University’s crop genomics improve yield resilience, addressing global food shortages amid climate change, offering scalable agricultural biotech solutions with competitive precision breeding technologies.

2. AI-Driven Precision Agriculture Platforms Transforming Farm Management

WSU’s AI agriculture platform optimizes resource use, reducing costs and environmental impact, scalable worldwide for sustainable farming, providing a competitive edge in agtech innovation.

3. Novel Biodegradable Polymers for Sustainable Packaging

WSU develops eco-friendly polymers addressing plastic pollution, meeting growing market demand for sustainable packaging solutions with scalable production and unique biodegradable properties.

4. Next-Gen Wireless Communication Technologies for IoT Expansion

WSU’s wireless tech enhances IoT device connectivity, solving latency and bandwidth issues, scalable across industries, offering a competitive advantage in the rapidly growing IoT market.

5. Innovative Cancer Immunotherapy Approaches with Enhanced Efficacy

WSU pioneers immunotherapy methods improving cancer treatment outcomes, addressing critical healthcare needs with scalable therapies, positioning competitively within the expanding oncology biotech sector.

6. Renewable Energy Storage Solutions Enabling Grid Stability

WSU’s energy storage innovations tackle renewable intermittency, improving grid reliability with scalable, cost-effective technologies, capitalizing on the growing clean energy market demand.