Academic Research and Development Market Report 2026

The academic research and development market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $578.41 billion in 2025 to $627.86 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to expansion of global academic institutions, rising government support for education research, development of scientific knowledge ecosystems, growing awareness of innovation benefits, strengthening institutional research frameworks.

The academic research and development market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $895.73 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to increasing need for scientific advancement, growing research commercialization focus, rising collaboration between academia and industry, strengthening investment in advanced research technologies, expanding global innovation ecosystems. Major trends in the forecast period include increasing focus on knowledge driven innovation, growing expansion of university research infrastructure, rising emphasis on collaborative scientific development, strengthening dependence on institutional r&d programs, increasing integration of research with industry applications.

The increasing investment in research and development (R&D) activities is expected to propel the growth of the academic research and development market going forward. Research and development activities involve systematic investigation, experimentation, and innovation carried out by institutions, organizations, or individuals to expand knowledge and develop new solutions. Higher investment in R&D strongly supports academic research and development by promoting excellence, encouraging innovation, and contributing to scientific progress and societal well-being. For instance, in November 2023, according to a report published by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, a Belgium-based trade association, pharmaceutical industry R&D expenditure increased to €50.0 billion in 2023, up from €47.01 billion in 2022. Therefore, rising investment in research and development activities is expected to drive the growth of the academic research and development market.

Major companies operating in the academic research and development market are increasingly focusing on generative AI-based research platform services, such as AI-driven literature analysis and insight generation tools, to help researchers accelerate literature reviews, quickly identify foundational studies, and track emerging research themes. Generative AI research platforms are cloud- or web-based services that combine large scholarly databases with advanced machine-learning models to deliver instant topic summaries, highlight influential publications, recommend subject-matter experts, and create conceptual research maps. These capabilities significantly reduce manual workloads and enable academic teams to stay updated in rapidly evolving scientific domains. For instance, in 2024, Elsevier B.V., a Netherlands-based scientific information company, launched Scopus AI, a generative AI research assistant built on its extensive academic content database. The tool provides concise and reliable research summaries, identifies foundational and influential papers, and includes an academic expert search feature, helping universities and R&D institutions streamline literature screening and insight synthesis across disciplines.

In January 2024, Academic Partnerships LLC, a US-based education technology company, acquired Wiley University Services from John Wiley & Sons Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Through this acquisition, Academic Partnerships LLC aims to expand access to affordable and workforce-oriented online degree programs by combining its expertise in university program support with Wiley University Services’ career-focused academic offerings. John Wiley & Sons Inc. is a US-based research and learning company that primarily supports academic research and development initiatives.

Major companies operating in the academic research and development market report are University of Oxford, Harvard University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Cambridge, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, University of Washington, University of Toronto, The University of British Columbia, Peking University, Tsinghua University, National University of Singapore, Kyoto University, University of Tokyo, Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, Helmholtz Association, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, The Scripps Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, Stanford University School of Medicine, Indian Institute of Science (IISc)

North America was the largest region in the Academic Research and Development market in 2025. The regions covered in the academic research and development market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the academic research and development market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The academic research and development market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing services such as laboratory services, licensing services, consulting and advisory services, tuition services, research assistance, academic funding services, and publication services. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The academic research and development market also includes sales of laboratory equipment, scientific instruments, chemicals for research, books, and research papers and products that are used in providing academic research and development services. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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