The FedInvent Project
FedInvent is Wayfinder Digital's project to deliver fresh insight on the federal innovation ecosystem and the inventions and innovation it creates. The federal government spends $127 billion annually on R&D to keeps America the global leader in innovation and competitiveness. We follow the money, too.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS NUMBER TWO IN US PATENT GRANTS
A TOP INNOVATOR — Count all of the 2020 US patents that had taxpayer funding and the federal government ranks number two in total granted patents. The federal government is right behind International Business Machines and ahead of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. on the US patent leaderboard, And… some of those IBM patents had federal funding too.
The BIG PICTURE — FedInvent's goal is to present a holistic view of federal innovation presented through the lens of the inventions and patents that it creates. Taxpayers should have an easier way to see what they are paying for. That's why we created FedInvent
A DEEP DIVE — the FedInvent Newsletter reports on federally funded research and development; taxpayer-funded inventions and patents; and the science and technology priorities and policies that set the national innovation agenda. Each Wednesday, we report on newly granted taxpayer-funded patents. On Friday, we bring you up-to-date information on published patent applications, the newest inventions coming from the federal R&D complex. We publish the newsletter on Substack and the supporting data and analysis on the FedInvent Project.
The Deep Diver is from US Patent 1370316 invented by Harry Houdini on March 1, 1921. The legend is that Mr. Houdini invented the suit to support Navy divers.