Leveraging proven lab-to-market expertise, SRI is helping collaborators from Japan to New Jersey strengthen their science and technology ecosystems.
Because SRI knows how to bring technology from lab to market, the institute has, from the very beginning, helped others achieve real-world impact through the lens of technology.
In the 1950s, SRI undertook one of its first major economic development projects: creating India’s National Council for Applied Economic Research. Since then, SRI has provided research, analysis, and advice to more than 100 countries, including Pakistan, Taiwan, Zambia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, and Japan.
Today, SRI continues to extend its impact by sharing its innovation expertise. In the past year, transformative SRI projects planted new seeds of technology-driven growth both in the United States and in allied countries around the world.
Invigorating Japan’s startup pipeline
All global leaders understand that science and technology will be the foundation of future economic growth. Amid an ongoing effort to boost startup creation rates in Japan, a new Global Startup Campus in Tokyo seeks to further align the resources that contribute to technology-driven startup formation, including academic research, venture capital, and corporate R&D efforts. To support this ambitious new campus, SRI has been selected to operate the GSC’s international research program and its venture builder program — an effort that follows closely on the heels of SRI’s collaboration with Japan’s Ministry of Defense to build the Defense Innovation Science and Technology Institute.
Charting the fusion future in New Jersey
Fusion-based power generation is no longer considered a remote possibility. Cutting-edge research is now exploring how plasma — the fourth state of matter — could be harnessed into safe, controlled fusion reactions. One of the more ambitious new efforts in the field of plasma physics is the NJ HAX Plasma Forge, a strategic innovation center for plasma research created as a partnership between the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, venture capital firm SOSV, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. SRI’s consulting work validated the economic feasibility of a plasma innovation center cited in New Jersey and shaped the strategy behind this groundbreaking collaboration. SRI continues to work with the Plasma Forge partners to make this deep tech moonshot a reality.
A bioscience playbook for Arizona
Working with the Flinn Foundation, SRI created a Bioscience Roadmap that will guide Arizona’s ongoing transformation into a national bioscience hub. The roadmap identifies actionable strategies to link research to real-world impact, better align education with industry, and integrate bioscience with adjacent sectors like AI, semiconductors, and defense. The report’s recommendations include establishing a statewide portal to access university IP and creating an Arizona Bioscience Commercialization Network that would support bioscience researchers and entrepreneurs across the state.
Catalyzing corporate innovation in Japan
In 2021, SRI began working with Nomura Holdings to build new bridges between Japanese corporate innovators and Silicon Valley. The Nomura-SRI Innovation Center (NSIC) has since grown into an impactful hub of innovation-focused practices, cultural exchange, and growth. NSIC connects its Japanese member companies to SRI research labs and the Silicon Valley ecosystem. Participants in NSIC programs benefit from coaching and immersive exposure to the technologies, innovators, and business models that are driving today’s emerging innovations. NSIC participants have created new interdisciplinary business lines, built platforms and programs designed to catalyze corporate intrapreneurship, and advanced transformative products and inventions. This year, NSIC launched a new hybrid program for Japanese corporate project teams that extends the footprint of a center that has already made a demonstrably positive impact on Japanese corporate innovation readiness.
Defense tech for Ukraine
New global conflicts demand rapid science-driven iteration in defense tech. Earlier this year, SRI hosted an inaugural cohort of Ukrainian defense-tech entrepreneurs as part of the new Deep Tech Security Accelerator program. A strategic partnership between SRI, the Ministry of Defense Ukraine, and the Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco, this new program takes advantage of SRI’s unique ability to scale dual-use technologies. The program, which will soon host its second cohort of Ukrainian founders, supports dual-use deep tech ventures by providing access to mentorship, funding, security expertise, and strategic networks.
Water technology and policy in Nevada
Working with the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and WaterStart (a nonprofit that funds and pilots water-related technology innovations), SRI’s Center for Innovation Strategy and Policy (CISP) delivered a strategic framework that informed key water-related economic development legislation in Nevada and spurred new investments in water technology. Assembly Bill 594, crafted in part based on the recommendation to consider water use and impact before economic development incentives are offered, was passed by the Nevada Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support. With this new framework, the state of Nevada is poised to further build its reputation as a global leader in water resource management.
A network of global venture hubs
As interconnected as today’s economy is, innovation is far from evenly distributed, and many innovations fail to successfully cross borders. To solve this problem, SRI and Global Innovation Labs (GIL) are joining forces to deliver deep tech solutions to regional markets. SRI and GIL will work with governments, corporations, and institutional investors to co-develop strategic technologies across AI, quantum, advanced materials, robotics, biotechnology, healthcare, and more. Each hub will serve as a launchpad for startups, research translation, and talent development. Beginning with a hub in South Korea, GIL will also establish regional commercialization hubs in key innovation economies across Asia, the Middle East, and beyond to translate scientific breakthroughs into market-ready ventures.
Connecting the dots for global impact
“Technology can be a powerful driver of growth, but it also introduces disruption, which requires foresight and adaptability,” notes Christiana McFarland, the executive director of SRI’s Center for Innovation Strategy and Policy and the lead for many of SRI’s regional ecosystem development projects.
From advanced physics to defense to water policy, the world is shifting rapidly. All regions and countries want to stay ahead of the curve. By working with SRI, collaborators in the United States and around the world are finding new ways to amplify growth, respond strategically to emerging disruptions, and build technologies that make our world safer, healthier, and more sustainable.
To learn more about how SRI supports emerging innovation ecosystems or to engage with our innovation services team, contact us.
