Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub / WiSys (UW System)

Funds Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub and WiSys, University of Wisconsin systems offices supporting faculty and student innovation.

The Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub and WiSys are the University of Wisconsin System's internal commercialization offices, with the Hub based at UW-Madison and WiSys serving the regional campuses. Together they fund university inventors and faculty who are already inside the UW system, rather than external startups or outside researchers. The Hub now carries the former D2P funding programs, while WiSys covers the broader UW System footprint outside Madison.

The record lists SEED Research Program, Draper Technology Innovation Fund, PRIME, and Igniter on the UW-Madison side, plus WiSys Spark Grant and WiSys Ignite Grant for regional campuses. Award sizes run from $500 to $110,000, with SEED drawing on about $550,000 in FY28 and WiSys Spark capped at $10,000. Eligibility is tightly tied to current UW appointments, campus location, and, for SEED, ownership in a Wisconsin company or a direct spinoff path.

The practical advantage is proximity to commercialization support. These programs favor proof-of-concept work, applied research, and early validation that can move a campus invention toward a company or licensing deal. The strongest applicants are already embedded in the university system, can articulate the commercial use case, and can complete the required internal documentation and support letters on schedule.