The University of Michigan spun out 40 new companies in fiscal year 2026, more startups than any U.S. university has reported in a single year based on publicly available data, according to Innovation Partnerships, the university's research commercialization arm.

That's one every nine days.

The annual results, announced Wednesday, Aug. 26, also show U-M startups attracted a record $796 million in venture capital and generated $3.83 billion in exits and public-market activity during the fiscal year ending June 30. Six initial and secondary public offerings added another new high.

Two deals drove the bulk of the exit total: a $2.25 billion partial exit of HistoSonics, the Ann Arbor histotripsy company whose sound-wave system for destroying liver tumors won FDA clearance in 2023, and Stryker's acquisition of Amplitude Vascular Systems, which U-M valued at $800 million. MedTech Dive reported the Amplitude deal at up to $835 million, including $435 million upfront and up to $400 million in milestone payments.

Invention disclosures also hit a record: 726, up from 673 the prior year. Innovation Partnerships reported 339 license and option agreements, 197 new U.S. patents and $60.5 million in licensing royalties.

"These achievements reflect something bigger than a single year of effort," said Kelly Sexton, associate vice president for research-innovation partnerships and economic impact. "… Together with our partners at the Michigan Economic Development Corp., we have built on that foundation through sustained investments in the programs, talent and capital that strengthen our research commercialization ecosystem."

Corporate-sponsored research grew as well. The office supported 195 new on-campus awards totaling $75.8 million, contributing to $249.8 million in total corporate-sponsored research at U-M.

The Accelerate Blue Fund, an evergreen venture fund managed by Innovation Partnerships, invested in 23 new companies during the year, bringing its portfolio to 45 startups and $30 million in assets under management. Five of the 40 new startups were launched through the Accelerate Blue Foundry, which pairs outside entrepreneurs with U-M researchers.

The results will be highlighted at the annual Celebrate Invention event on Thursday, Sept. 24. That event will also honor H. David Humes, a professor emeritus of internal medicine, as the 2026 Distinguished University Innovator of the Year. Humes developed the Selective Cytopheretic Device, an FDA-approved therapy for children with acute kidney injury and sepsis.

Humes credited U-M's commercialization infrastructure for enabling the device. "The breakthrough would not have happened without the commercialization support we received at the University of Michigan," he said in an Aug. 12 university announcement of the award.