AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin continues its remarkable momentum in commercializing its research discoveries into products and services that have lasting impact in the world. In its inaugural annual report, Discovery to Impact showcases how it is helping transfer UT research discoveries from the lab to the commercial sector through forming startups, collaborating with industry, and licensing UT technologies to businesses to bring them to market.
“Research breakthroughs discovered by UT faculty and innovators produce life-changing products and services that benefit people across Texas and around the world,” said UT President Jim Davis. “From the forefront of AI and deep tech to reimaging material sciences and the future of health care, UT remains committed to investing in innovation, cultivating a culture of entrepreneurship, and recruiting world-class talent.”
UT faculty members often spark ideas that have commercial impact beyond the lab or classroom. These ideas become the engine of discovery, driving new inventions and innovations across diverse industries. UT’s Discovery to Impact program is the engine of application that ensures these new discoveries benefit society and lives, stimulate economic development, and support the overall research enterprise.
In 2025, UT faculty members and researchers generated 300 invention disclosures, a 15% increase from fiscal year 2024. These inventions were then translated into 154 new patent applications, 112 new licensing agreements, and 16 corporate-sponsored research agreements.
“The credit for these achievements goes to our amazing researchers and scientists as well as to the Discovery to Impact team who analyze market opportunities and technology readiness to determine an invention’s commercialization potential,” said Andrew Maas, assistant vice president of technology transfer for Discovery to Impact. “This leads to discoveries with more meaningful real-life applications that are better positioned for licensing or other partnerships for commercialization.”
To date, the University holds more than 850 active license agreements with companies using UT intellectual property and currently has more than 650 technologies available for licensing across sectors such as emerging tech, advanced materials, energy solutions, and health and life sciences.
“This fiscal year, we have grown UT’s invention disclosures, patents, technology licenses, and industry research agreements that result in millions of dollars in revenue that is reinvested back into UT’s research enterprise to further innovation and venture creation,” said Mark Arnold, UT’s associate vice president of Discovery to Impact and managing director of Longhorn Ventures.
Beyond patents and licensing activity, UT has fostered a vibrant startup pipeline, ranking No. 2 in startup creation among public universities nationally and No. 8 among private and public universities globally, according to PitchBook 2025. During the past three academic years, UT spun out 48 startups, many led by students and faculty members. These ventures join hundreds of startups directly supported by Discovery to Impact during the past three years that have contributed thousands of jobs to the local, state, national and global economies.
Startup support includes financial backing from the UT Seed Fund, a $10 million early-stage venture fund managed by Discovery to Impact. In 2025, UT invested in four new startups that comprised a mix of groundbreaking University-based discoveries in the computer sciences, physical sciences and life sciences — adding to its diversified portfolio of startup innovations advancing breakthrough University-created technologies.
In 2025, Discovery to Impact also launched a faculty ambassador program in which faculty members serve as a peer-to-peer resource for advancing research innovations and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit within UT colleges and schools. Fernanda Leite, interim vice president for research, said that the program is a pivotal step toward embedding innovation deeply across UT’s academic fabric. The program is being led by Discovery to Impact’s Longhorn Ventures unit, the team responsible for building and supporting startups spinning out of the University.
“By activating trusted faculty liaisons in every school and college, we aim to accelerate translation of research into real-world impact — strengthening , enabling seamless licensing, and scaling up innovations that change lives across Texas and beyond,” Leite said.
As part of its mission, Discovery to Impact also oversees innovation spaces on and off campus, including the Texas Innovation Center and newly opened Innovation Tower and UT Innovation Labs, which are also featured in the report.
“We have big ambitions to invest early and strategically in the most promising ideas and inventions while scaling up the support, programs and spaces that allow UT innovators and entrepreneurs to grow and thrive,” Arnold said.
Read the Discovery to Impact 2025 Annual Report or visit for more on how Discovery to Impact is cultivating ideas and uncovering pathways to market for UT discoveries in relentless pursuit of changing the world.
