WAVE Ventures to Launch a New Deep Tech Venture Studio

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The University of Michigan’s Innovation Partnerships announced a new collaboration with WAVE Ventures through their WAVE Ventures Studio that is opening in Ann Arbor, MI. The new studio will collaborate with Innovation Partnerships to identify potential startup opportunities in the Deep Tech sector.

The new studio will pair select technologies from the university’s discovery pipeline with WAVE’s company-building playbook and hands-on operators, seasoned executives and strategic venture capital. Startups built and launched from the studio will receive venture funding, benefit from U-M startup resources and WAVE's national network of entrepreneurial executives.

“We are pleased to provide another resource for our University of Michigan community of innovators as we support their efforts to scale the impact and reach of their innovations through commercialization,” said Kelly Sexton, associate vice president for research - innovation partnerships and economic impact at the University of Michigan. “We believe this collaboration is a powerful addition to our portfolio of commercialization support and will lead to many incredible stories of impact as we expand our ability to shepherd U-M innovations beyond campus for the betterment of society.”

New startups built in the studio will license university IP and receive funding from WAVE Ventures, adding to the growing number of startups launching each year from U-M. In fiscal year 2025, which ended on June 30, Innovation Partnerships helped launch 31 startup companies, marking the second time in the office’s history it launched 30 or more startups in a year.

“WAVE and its partners will add early capital, technical teams and dedicated operators to augment U-M’s premier company-creation engine,” said Allen Page, Managing Partner at WAVE Ventures. “By surfacing promising research that hasn’t yet found a path to market, we will launch additional startups through WAVE Ventures Studio and advance them toward commercialization and further venture investment.”

WAVE Ventures Studio, a joint-venture between WAVE and Tech Transfer Studio™, will identify high-potential IP and partner with engineers, scientists, product executives and entrepreneurs to accelerate validation and market-readiness of select U-M research and inventions. A new WAVE venture fund will back companies emerging from their studios, and will also invest in startups during their Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A stages.

WAVE will launch additional studio locations in select Texas universities and other strategic research institutions across the country following the Ann Arbor opening.

About Innovation Partnerships

Innovation Partnerships is the nexus of research commercialization at the University of Michigan. Our office plays a critical role in translating discoveries from U-M faculty and researchers into real-world solutions by supporting patent protection, commercialization, startup company formation and growth. Through strategic connections with industry, entrepreneurs and investors, Innovation Partnerships ensure that U-M innovations reach society, address critical needs, spur technology-driven economic growth and create lasting, positive societal impact.

Committed to being the most startup-friendly technology commercialization office in the country, Innovation Partnerships was #2 in the nation for inventions received and startup companies launched according to the 2024 AUTM annual licensing survey.

To learn more, visit https://innovationpartnerships.umich.edu/.

About WAVE Ventures

WAVE Ventures partners with universities, visionary researchers and executive teams to transform breakthrough science into market-defining companies. Beyond capital, WAVE provides hands-on strategic guidance - technical and product development, CEO recruitment, customer development, IP and regulatory navigation, and disciplined governance - to guide teams from lab bench to global scale. Guided by a purpose-driven philosophy - where doing good is the engine of doing well. WAVE backs ventures that deliver both financial returns and societal impact, serving as a long-term partner in progress from Pre-Seed through scale.

Learn more at WAVEventures.com.