UW CoMotion

Funds University of Washington-affiliated proof of concept projects and postdoctoral commercialization efforts with practical mentoring.

UW CoMotion is the University of Washington's central innovation and commercialization office. It works with researchers, faculty, postdocs, and students across the Seattle, Bothell, and Tacoma campuses, and the structured record puts its annual grant budget at about $1.1 million.

Its grant-making is concentrated in two internal routes: the Innovation Gap Fund and the Postdoctoral Entrepreneurship Program. The Gap Fund can award up to $75,000 per team, runs fall and spring cycles, and supports proof of concept work such as customer research, market validation, prototype development, and beta testing. PEP funds a one-year postdoctoral entrepreneur salary and UW benefits for UW postdocs or graduating PhD students working on disclosed technology.

Eligibility is tightly limited to UW-affiliated teams, usually with a faculty sponsor or principal investigator, and projects need a commercialization case rather than basic research. Reviewers look for market opportunity, founder readiness, and the likelihood that funding will move the technology toward a company or broader impact. Since 2005, CoMotion reports $18.9 million awarded, 399 awards, 114 spinoffs, and $6.5 billion in follow-on funding, which fits its role as a hands-on commercialization gatekeeper rather than a broad public grantmaker.