Since its founding in 1925, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) has served the UW-Madison scientific community by patenting the discoveries of researchers and licensing these technologies to leading companies in Wisconsin, the United States and worldwide. In this way, WARF also facilitates the use of UW-Madison research for the maximum benefit of society.


WARF distributes the income from commercial licenses to UW-Madison, the inventors and their departments. Each year, WARF contributes over $45 million to fund additional UW-Madison research. The university refers to WARF's annual gifts as its "margin of excellence" funding.