Arts and Sciences Faculty Driving Entrepreneurial Success at Ohio State
Faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences have been driving the Ohio State’s entrepreneurial and commercialization successes with a steady increase in the College’s invention disclosures, patent activity and startups. Patent filings have increased 89% since FY21. During this time, nine startups were formed by faculty in a wide variety of disciplines including Speech and Hearing Science, Geography, Physics, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Earth Sciences.
In FY24, two stealth healthcare startups launched with one having the highest Series A funding in the history of Ohio State at $130M. Funded by top tier investors, both startups will likely issue formal press releases in early 2025. These new companies follow the formation of Koloma in 2022, from IP developed in the School of Earth Sciences. Koloma is a geologic hydrogen discovery and mining company which recently emerged from stealth mode and raised a staggering $246M in Series B funding. From the Department of Geography, StormImpact was founded in 2023 and is based on proprietary prediction algorithms developed from integrating weather science, data analysis, and AI. The company provides utilities with practical insights on potential service interruptions, infrastructure damage and customers affected ahead of severe storms resulting in an average cost savings of 20% for storm response expenses. Entrada Therapeutics, focused on treatments for “undruggable diseases”, is now a publicly traded company. When the biotechnology company first formed in 2018, from platform technology developed in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the initial funding round of $59M set a new Ohio State record.
The College’s commercialization pipeline is robust with inventions ranging across multiple disciplines. Examples include a coral reef restoration technology, a VR simulation for language learners, a novel synthesis of biofuels, a tool for aiding woodwind instrumentalists, energy storage technologies, and multiple analytical chemistry research tools. To continue to build a culture of entrepreneurship, our faculty and graduate students can now enjoy a reward of $100 to each submitter of a unique invention disclosure. The College is also supporting innovation through a new grant program, Inspire Innovation, that provides stipends to faculty who propose projects with an innovative component.
“Faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences are among the leaders of Ohio State’s entrepreneurial and commercialization successes,” said David Horn, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State. “Their remarkable achievements, across a wide range of disciplines, are evidenced by a significant increase in invention disclosures, patent filings, and new companies. Launches of high-impact startups and groundbreaking technologies not only showcase our faculty’s creativity and expertise, but also underscore our commitment to fostering a robust culture of entrepreneurship within the College."