Fact of the Week: Bayh-Dole-enabled Technology Transfer Has Contributed Up to $1.7T to US GDP Since 1996
Source: “The Economic Impact of the Bayh-Dole Act” (Bayh-Dole Coalition, September 2026).
Commentary: Between 1996 and 2025, Bayh-Dole-enabled technology transfer from university and nonprofit research benefiting from federal funding contributed as much as $3.3 trillion to U.S. gross economic output, $1.7 trillion to gross domestic product, and 7.6 million job-years of employment. From 2001 to 2025, Bayh-Dole-enabled technology transfer at academic institutions also helped launch 19,027 startups and introduce 17,252 new products, demonstrating how allowing universities and nonprofit organizations to retain ownership of inventions arising from federally funded research can facilitate commercialization and translate research discoveries into new companies and products.
These benefits extend across the country. The Northeast, with its concentration of research-intensive universities, launch 4,823 startups and introduce 2,331 new products. Nonprofit research institutions, including universities, in the South and Puerto Rico created 5,482 startups and 4,772 new products. Meanwhile, institutions in the Midwest, drawing on its strengths in engineering, manufacturing, and agricultural innovation, launched 3,791 startups and introduced 6,482 new products, the most of any region. In the West, the combination of leading research universities and strong entrepreneurial ecosystems supported 4,931 startups and 3,667 new products. Together, these results illustrate how federally supported research and effective technology transfer can strengthen innovation and commercialization across diverse regions of the U.S. economy.
