In the world of science ventures, patents are often treated like golden tickets. Founders rush to file them, investors demand them as a prerequisite and universities build bureaucracies around them. But this obsession with IP holds back creativity, entrepreneurship and, ultimately, real-world impact.
The cult of intellectual property (IP) has become a distraction. Too often, founders and investors mistake a patent filing for proof of progress.
At Wilbe — which supports and funds scientists turning breakthrough research into solutions for global challenges — half our investments so far in 2025 were made before a single patent application was filed. That isn’t an oversight; it’s a reflection of where true value lies.
If patents truly represented value, the world would look very different. Each year universities across Europe file tens of thousands of them, yet how many are turned into thriving, self-sustaining ventures? If patents were inherently valuable, we would see a corresponding wave of commercial success, spinouts and societal impact. But that isn’t happening.
Instead, patents are a paper shield which gives investors a false sense of security. Ideas are being judged by filings, not the founders behind them.
The cost of maintaining this illusion is immense. Technology transfer offices (TTOs) spend vast sums every year simply keeping patents alive and paying renewal fees on filings that amount to little. The irony is the money spent sustaining dormant assets could instead be invested in empowering the very scientists capable of turning ideas into impact.
Often, patents become redundant by the time they’re ready to be licensed. The know-how that made the idea possible has often advanced beyond the patent itself, and in that time a good scientist has learned more, refined their hypothesis and maybe even pivoted entirely. Good scientists also don’t stop discovering after a patent is filed.
Stop discounting the human behind the science
So, if patents don’t define progress, what does it take? Market validation, a clear “why” and the right team capable of executing. The most valuable early assets in a startup are people and their purpose, not patents.
Foundational IP has its place, but it should serve the venture, not dictate it. A startup built around a patent risks becoming a company searching for a problem, rather than a venture solving one. Worse, it often signals that the founding team is motivated more by scientific pride than entrepreneurial instinct. For us, this is a red flag for investability.
A startup with a sharp sense of the problem it’s solving, and the entrepreneurial grit to chase it, will naturally generate valuable IP along the way.
Our philosophy is simple: stop discounting the human behind the science. Scientists are not just producers of data, they are capable of empathy, judgement and leadership.
But that doesn’t mean every scientist should be handed a term sheet. At Wilbe, only around 1% of the scientists we meet ultimately receive investment. That selectivity reflects the difficulty and the opportunity: when the right scientist steps forward, they can build companies that defy the conventional path to entrepreneurship, and often outperform it.
Companies like Proxima Fusion, Europe’s fastest-growing fusion startup; U-ploid Bio, which is transforming IVF through new therapeutics; and Milvus Advanced, a nanomaterials company creating substitutes to rare earth metals critical for energy independence, have each secured multiple rounds of funding without holding foundational patents at the outset. What they did have were exceptional founders, a clear sense of purpose and an instinct for building traction fast.
Patents aren’t the golden ticket. When you start with the market, the mission and the team, the rest, including the right IP, will follow.
