Health system intelligence profile
University of Wisconsin-Madison / UW Health
Last reviewed August 30, 2026
Intelligence summary
Established 1925
WARF is the independent, private foundation that serves as the patenting and licensing organization for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, including biomedical and clinical discoveries from the School of Medicine and Public Health that underpin UW Health. It pays all intellectual property costs for university inventors, prosecutes patents, and licenses technologies to companies worldwide. WARF manages a large investment portfolio and returns tens of millions of dollars a year in grants to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research to fund faculty recruitment, fellowships, facilities and new research. Through WARF Ventures it invests directly in Wisconsin entrepreneurs and UW-Madison technology startups, and it engages outside companies through licensing, sponsored research and startup partnerships.
Documented successes: 2,200 active issued U.S. patents and 630 active commercial licenses as reported on the WARF site; $4.6 billion in cumulative inflation-adjusted grants to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research since inception; a $206.9 million commitment to UW-Madison research announced in connection with WARF's centennial
Mandate and remit
WARF is the independent, private foundation that serves as the patenting and licensing organization for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, including biomedical and clinical discoveries from the School of Medicine and Public Health that underpin UW Health. It pays all intellectual property costs for university inventors, prosecutes patents, and licenses technologies to companies worldwide. WARF manages a large investment portfolio and returns tens of millions of dollars a year in grants to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research to fund faculty recruitment, fellowships, facilities and new research. Through WARF Ventures it invests directly in Wisconsin entrepreneurs and UW-Madison technology startups, and it engages outside companies through licensing, sponsored research and startup partnerships.
These routes appear in the program's sourced public record.
Fund or office: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF)
WARF is the independent, private foundation that serves as the patenting and licensing organization for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, including biomedical and clinical discoveries from the School of Medicine and Public Health that underpin UW Health. It pays all intellectual property costs for university inventors, prosecutes patents, and licenses technologies to companies worldwide. WARF manages a large investment portfolio and returns tens of millions of dollars a year in grants to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research to fund faculty recruitment, fellowships, facilities and new research. Through WARF Ventures it invests directly in Wisconsin entrepreneurs and UW-Madison technology startups, and it engages outside companies through licensing, sponsored research and startup partnerships.
Documented successes
2,200 active issued U.S. patents and 630 active commercial licenses as reported on the WARF site; $4.6 billion in cumulative inflation-adjusted grants to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research since inception; a $206.9 million commitment to UW-Madison research announced in connection with WARF's centennial
Organizational home: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), University of Wisconsin-Madison / UW Health
Use the program's published contact route for partnership, licensing, innovation, or program inquiries.
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Reviewed August 30, 2026. External source links open in a new tab.
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