Since MIT inaugurated the first-ever venture studio within a university in 2019, it has illustrated how a systematic approach can aid in transforming research into significant enterprises.
Now, MIT Proto Ventures is unveiling the “R&D Venture Studio Playbook,” a tool designed to assist universities, national laboratories, and corporate R&D departments in setting up their own internal venture studios. The digital publication provides an extensive framework for constructing ventures from the foundation up in research settings.
“There is a considerable opportunity cost in allowing exceptional research to remain dormant,” states Fiona Murray, associate dean for innovation at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a faculty director for Proto Ventures. “The venture studio framework transforms research into a systematic process, rather than one that is chaotic and coincidental.”
Wider than MIT
The new playbook emerges amidst increasing national momentum for enhancing the United States’ innovation pipeline — a challenge highlighted by the reality that only a small portion of academic patents achieve commercialization.
“Venture creation within R&D entities, particularly in academia, has largely relied on chance,” remarks MIT Professor Dennis Whyte, a faculty director for Proto Ventures who contributed to the playbook’s development. “R&D venture studios aim to eliminate the element of luck—transforming venture-building into a systematic method. And this is essential not just for MIT; all research universities and institutions require it.”
Indeed, MIT Proto Ventures is proactively distributing the playbook to peer institutions, federal entities, and corporate R&D executives looking to enhance the translational yield of their research expenditures.
“We’ve been observing MIT’s Proto Ventures model with the aim of delivering new ventures that embody both a strong technological push and substantial market demand,” comments Mark Arnold, associate vice president of Discovery to Impact and managing director of Texas startups at The University of Texas at Austin. “By prioritizing market challenges first and creating ventures surrounded by a supportive ecosystem, universities can expedite the transfer of concepts from the laboratory to practical solutions.”
Contents of the Playbook
The playbook details the venture studio model process implemented by MIT Proto Ventures. MIT’s venture studio incorporates full-time entrepreneurial scientists — referred to as venture builders — within research laboratories. These builders collaborate closely with faculty and graduate students to identify promising technologies, validate market prospects, and co-develop new ventures.
“We consider this an open-source framework for impact,” states MIT Proto Ventures Managing Director Gene Keselman. “Our aim is not merely to create startups from MIT — it’s to inspire innovation wherever groundbreaking science occurs.”
The playbook was crafted by the MIT Proto Ventures team — including Keselman, venture builders David Cohen-Tanugi and Andrew Inglis, along with faculty leaders Murray, Whyte, Andrew Lo, Michael Cima, and Michael Short.
“This issue is universal, so we recognized that if it was effective, there would be an opportunity to author a guide on constructing a translational engine,” Keselman remarked. “We’ve achieved enough success to confidently say, ‘Yes, this works, and here are the essential components.’”
Beyond outlining fundamental processes, the playbook features case studies, sample templates, and recommendations for institutions aiming to customize the model to leverage their unique strengths. It emphasizes that successfully building ventures from R&D entails more than mentorship and IP licensing—it requires deliberate, ongoing commitment, alongside a new form of translational infrastructure.
Mechanism of Operation
A crucial aspect of MIT’s venture studio involves organizing efforts into distinct tracks or issue areas — which MIT Proto Ventures refers to as channels. Venture builders operate within a single track that aligns with their expertise and interests. For example, Cohen-Tanugi is situated in the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, working within the Fusion and Clean Energy channel. His first two venture achievements have been a venture utilizing superconducting magnets for in-space propulsion and a deep-tech startup enhancing energy efficiency in data centers.
“This playbook serves as both a call to action and a roadmap,” declares Cohen-Tanugi, primary author of the playbook. “We’ve discovered that world-altering inventions frequently stay on the lab bench not due to a lack of potential, but because no one is explicitly tasked with converting them into businesses. The R&D venture studio model addresses this gap.”