Chancellor’s Innovation Fund (CIF)

The Chancellor’s Innovation Fund (CIF) continues to provide critical funding to early-stage research teams seeking to bring technologies to a licensable stage. The program has made significant advancements, fueled by support from Bill Spruill’s 2ndF Research Commercialization Fund. To date, the CIF and 2ndF programs have granted
nearly $6 million to 87 projects, which have attracted over $166.6 million in follow-on funding. These projects have led to 39 startup companies, 68 commercialization agreements, and $6.7 million in licensing revenue.

This year, the program received 28 applications from across the university. The top 12 projects were selected to pitch to a panel of 27 venture capital investors from across the U.S. On March 25, after the final pitches, the judging panel recommended six projects for funding. The program’s success was celebrated at an event in downtown Raleigh with over 100 attendees, including finalists, past winners, investors, and commercialization stakeholders from UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke, where Bill Spruill committed to extending 2ndF’s matching funding of $300,000 per year.

Mentoring in Research Commercialization

The NSF selected NC State as Clemson University’s mentor for a new program designed to bridge the gap between academic research and societal needs. Leveraging our strong track record in research commercialization, we will provide Clemson with training and support to cultivate a campus-wide culture focused on translating research into tangible products and services. In March 2025, NC State provided a three-day comprehensive campus review of the innovation and commercialization landscape at Clemson, and we’ve also completed more than 10 planning meetings with Clemson’s innovation leadership.

Wolfpack Investor Network (WIN)

This year, the Wolfpack Investor Network (WIN) and Harbright Ventures celebrated two years of a successful partnership that has significantly benefited NC State’s entrepreneurial community by providing crucial investment opportunities for research-based startups. This collaboration has led to a substantial increase in WIN membership, facilitated larger investment deals with Harbright’s involvement, and created valuable experiential learning opportunities for NC State students in the venture capital space. WIN currently has 136 members who have invested $25M in 39 companies since its establishment. In FY25, WIN has made seven investments for a total of $2.2M. Two follow-on investments were made into NC State IP-based startups
Sonovascular and Deep Blue Medical Advances.

Partnering in Quantum Information Processing (QIP)

The NC State Quantum Initiative (QI) partnered with Duke University to host the 2025 Quantum Information Processing Conference (QIP), a major international conference on quantum information and science. QI faculty and personnel committed significant effort on the organizing committee and provided dozens of student volunteers. Held at the Raleigh Convention Center, the conference welcomed over 900 attendees from
around the world.

Master Research Agreements

ORI’s Office of Sponsored Programs maintains a close relationship with the Office of Partnerships in developing strategic partnerships — primarily with industry — and supporting public-private collaborations. Sponsored Programs’ Industry Negotiations team participates in the Industry Liaisons Working Group, organized by Partnerships, which brings together those across the university who work with industry to enhance, streamline, and synergize NC State’s industry engagement processes, which depend on the coordination of many different campus units. Master Agreements often form an essential part of these strategic partnerships — and, more broadly, position NC State and its partners to launch newly conceived research efforts quickly. Master Agreements established this year include:

• Ricoh USA, Inc.
• LigaTrap Technologies LLC
• ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company
  (Master Services Agreement Extension)
• Believer Meats
• Fidelity Labs, LLC
• Bayer Cropscience
• Philip Morris Products S.A.Edgewise Therapeutics, Inc.

Negotiations are underway with 13 additional industry and non-profit sponsors.