Why The IIC Beats the Coasts in HardTech IP.

The Interior Innovation Corridor produces fewer patents per capita — but far more of the patents that actually matter.

When people compare innovation between U.S. regions, the first metric they typically reach for is patents per capita. On that measure alone, the coastal centers—California, Massachusetts, Washington, New York—look like runaway leaders. They file more patents, file them earlier, and concentrate them in software, digital technologies, and biotech.

But this is one of the most misleading comparisons in modern economic analysis.

Once you look under the hood, a more important truth emerges:
The Interior Innovation Corridor (IIC) consistently outperforms the coasts in the creation of high-value, deeptech, industrial, and commercially relevant patents. These are the patents that drive national competitiveness, advanced manufacturing, energy innovation, aerospace, and long-term economic resilience.

This difference matters enormously, especially to investors and industry partners who care not just about IP volume but the quality and commercial potential behind that IP.

Why the IIC Produces Fewer Patents (And Why That’s Good)

The coasts generate tens of thousands of patents in software, apps, digital payments, blockchain, e-commerce, cloud services, and consumer tech. These patents are:

• faster to file

• cheaper to generate

• often incremental

• often overlapping or easily challenged

• highly correlated with digital-tech cycles

By contrast, IIC patents overwhelmingly fall into hardtech and deeptech categories:

• advanced materials

• composites and nanotechnology

• aerospace systems

• automotive and mobility platforms

• medical devices

• robotics and industrial automation

• power systems and energy storage

• agtech and food technology

These patents:

• require years of research

• involve complex lab testing or prototypes

• demand capital-intensive development

• are backed by serious scientific validation

• tend to be foundational, defensible, and durable

So while the IIC produces fewer patents per capita, it produces higher-quality IP with far stronger commercial implications.

High-Value Patents Drive Industrial Competitiveness

Hardtech patents form the backbone of long-cycle industries like:

• aerospace and defense

• automotive and mobility

• energy infrastructure

• advanced manufacturing

• composite materials

• semiconductor equipment

• biomedical devices

These industries matter because they:

• generate high-wage jobs

• anchor supply chains

• create export markets

• drive durable regional economic growth

• stimulate private-sector R&D

• protect U.S. national competitiveness

This is where the IIC excels.

Unlike software, which can be copied or built by distributed teams, deeptech IP depends on physical infrastructure, specialized talent, and real-world testing environments — all of which are abundant across the IIC’s universities, national labs, and industrial clusters.

Commercialization Rates: The IIC Advantage

Studies consistently show that patents in engineering, materials, manufacturing, and applied sciences have much higher commercialization rates than those in software or digital technologies. They may be fewer, but they lead to:

• real products

• new manufacturing facilities

• industrial partnerships

• spinoff companies

• defense and medical deployments

• long-term revenue streams

This is why we say:

“While the coasts lead in raw patent counts, the Interior Innovation Corridor produces a disproportionate share of the nation’s industrial, hardtech, advanced manufacturing, and national-lab–aligned patents — the types of IP that actually create enduring companies, jobs, and economic resilience.”

The IIC makes the patents that matter.

The Takeaway for Investors

Hardtech patents may not generate the sheer volume of filings seen in software, but they offer:

• higher defensibility

• stronger barriers to entry

• more stable, long-term value

• unique licensing potential

• stronger acquisition favorability

• lower susceptibility to tech market cycles

For LPs and VCs looking for uncorrelated returns and exposure to real-economy assets, IIC patents represent one of the strongest investment signals available.

Eric Dobson