The High Impact Technology (HIT) Fund

The High Impact Technology (HIT) Fund aims to accelerate the commercialization of Stanford-based innovations.

We provide seed funding along with strategic and advisory support to faculty, students, postdocs, and staff to help transform innovative, advantaged, and scalable Stanford technologies into new products, services, or companies.

Purpose

• Accelerate Impact: Help accelerate the transition of technologies with the potential to have a societal or economic impact on the world’s most pressing problems, by addressing the critical technical and market risks
• Advance Education: Enable access to industry-specific advisors and domain experts, friendly VCs, patent attorneys, and MBA Interns, and provide guidance helping to enhance the team's practical, entrepreneurial, and commercialization education

Learn About the HIT Fund  

How to Apply

The HIT Fund awards are for Stanford University innovators whose work has progressed towards developing solutions for scalable end use applications. The awards are intended to provide the needed funding for de-risking critical activities that enable technology transfer to industry or the formation of a start-up.

Funding must be for projects undertaken at Stanford University that have a disclosure filed with the Office of Technology Licensing. Proposals must include a Stanford faculty PI or sponsor. This is a competitive selection process and only the top-ranked proposals will be awarded.

Key Dates

Call for applications opens: Monday, May 19, 2025

Application Q&A Session 1: Thursday, May 22, 2025, 4 - 5pm PT  - closed

Applicant Feedback Sessions - Physical Science / Sustainability / AI  - REGISTER NOW

Applicant Feedback Sessions - Life Science - REGISTER NOW

HIT Fund Awardee Panel Discussion: Friday, May 30, 2025, 1 - 2pm PT - closed

Application Q&A Session 2: Wednesday, June 4, 2025, 10 - 11am PT - closed

Application Q&A Session 3: Monday, June 9, 2025, 2 - 3pm PT - VIEW RECORDING

Deadline to submit an application: Sunday, June 22, 2025 (before MIDNIGHT, PT)

Finalists announced: August 2025

Finalist pitches (in person): September 2025, dates TBD

Awards announced: September 2025

Funding begins: October 1, 2025

Now accepting applications!

Download Application (.pptx)     Download Application (.pdf)

Submit Your Application

Note: Please do not include confidential information in your application.

Reach out to the team: TheHITfund@stanford.edu

Impact

In this brief video, see what awardees have to say about how the HIT Fund helped them take their innovation from the lab to the market.

HIT Fund News

The High Impact Technology Fund Portfolio