University of Pennsylvania
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1740
- HeadquartersPhiladelphia, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
University of Pennsylvania firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- University of Pennsylvania
- Legal name
- The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania
- Website
- https://upenn.edu
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1740
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
University of Pennsylvania industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education
- NAICS
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Technology Transfer & Innovation-Driven Research Universities (High Commercialization) (EDAHABAH)
Keywords
Where University of Pennsylvania is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Philadelphia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices7 records
Markets served
University of Pennsylvania business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Tuition and Fees: Tuition revenue from undergraduate and graduate programs; 2026-27 total cost of attendance $94,582 with 3.9% tuition increase
- Research Grants and Contracts: Federal and private research funding from agencies including NSF, NIH, DARPA, supporting nine research centers and training programs
- Endowment Investment Returns: University endowment of $24.8 billion generating investment returns; $20.5B grew to $24.8B since 2021 net-zero commitment
- Philanthropic Donations: Major gifts supporting research and facilities including $55M from Blackstone's Gray for cancer prevention and $50M for autism research
- Healthcare Services (Penn Medicine): Penn Medicine operating profit of $189M in first half fiscal 2026, with $6.76B total revenue from clinical services
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Undergraduate Total Cost of Attendance 2026-27 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
University of Pennsylvania product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy League research university that delivers undergraduate, graduate, and professional education across 12 schools, conducts federally and privately funded research spanning life sciences, engineering, AI, photonics, and humanities, and operates Penn Medicine—an integrated academic health system providing clinical care that translates laboratory discoveries into patient treatments. The Penn Center for Innovation commercializes research outputs through startup formation, licensing, and industry partnerships.
Product overview
The University of Pennsylvania is an academic research institution that does not offer commercial products or services in the traditional SaaS sense. Instead, it conducts research across multiple disciplines including life sciences, engineering, medicine, and technology. The institution has launched strategic initiatives such as the $200 million Penn Engineering Futures Fund to support early-stage research in human health, sustainable infrastructure, and physical intelligence.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Penn Medicine: University of Pennsylvania Health System providing healthcare services and medical research
- Penn Engineering
- Penn Vet
- Wharton School
Products and services
- Undergraduate Education Programs Bachelor's degree programs across Penn's 12 schools including the College of Arts and Sciences, Penn Engineering, Wharton Undergraduate, and Penn Nursing, with 4.9% acceptance rate for fall 2025 and $347M allocated to financial aid.
- Graduate and Professional Education Master's, doctoral, MD, JD, MBA and other professional degree programs across Wharton School, Penn Law, Penn Medicine, Penn Engineering, and graduate arts and sciences, with over 3,700 graduate workers represented by GETUP-UAW.
- Penn Medicine Healthcare Services Integrated academic medical center delivering clinical care through hospitals, outpatient clinics, and specialty centers across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including gene therapy and CAR-T cell therapy treatments; $6.76B revenue in first half fiscal 2026.
- Penn Center for Innovation Technology Transfer Technology transfer and commercialization services supporting 330+ startups and securing $1.2B+ in sponsored research, licensing Penn-developed gene therapies, CAR-T treatments, lipid nanoparticle platforms, and other research outputs.
- Penn Global and Study Abroad Programs International academic programs including Penn Abroad with the PASSPORT platform, Perry World House foreign policy engagement, and global initiatives connecting Penn students with international research and learning opportunities.
- Penn Online Learning Online education programs and digital learning platforms extending Penn's academic offerings to remote learners and working professionals.
- Penn Institute for Translational Medicine World's first institute for translational medicine, launched in 2005 to convert scientific discoveries into practical clinical applications, providing infrastructure for translational research and commercialization.
- Penn Athletics Program Intercollegiate athletics programs competing in Ivy League and conference sports, with facilities including Franklin Field, supporting student-athletes across multiple NCAA Division I sports.
Quantifiable outcome
- 10-year durable remissions in 36%+ of large B-cell lymphoma patients treated with CAR-T therapy
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use University of Pennsylvania
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
University of Pennsylvania technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability10 records
Feature9 records
University of Pennsylvania partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, strategic and core.
- CurePSPminorCurePSP CARES grant program awarding $155,000 to four research projects at seven medical institutions including Penn, focused on progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration, and multiple system atrophy
- Greystar Real Estate PartnersstrategicGreystar and Penn closed on 493-bed graduate housing redevelopment project at Sansom Place West, with construction underway and completion targeted for 2027-28. Project is Greystar's first student housing investment through infrastructure platform.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)coreFDA launched real-time clinical trial initiative with Penn Medicine participating in TRAVERSE Phase 2 trial for mantle cell lymphoma and MD Anderson partnership. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced initiative allowing regulators to monitor trial endpoints as they occur through cloud-based systems.
- Pomelo CarestrategicPomelo Care published peer-reviewed research in collaboration with Penn's Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics analyzing administrative claims data from nearly 45,000 deliveries. Studies found 24.4% reduction in preterm births and 26%+ reduction in NICU length of stay with virtual maternity care.
- Service to School (S2S) VetLink ProgramcorePenn announced partnership with Service to School nonprofit to expand undergraduate admissions access for military veterans and service members, offering free application counseling, mentoring, and networking. Initiative addresses low veteran enrollment (4.9% acceptance rate, only 5 veterans in traditional undergrad program, 268 total across programs). Partnership in development for about six months.
- NovartiscoreStrategic partnership with Novartis resulted in FDA-approved CAR T therapy Kymriah; exemplifies Penn's shift from traditional patenting toward collaborative innovation models
- BioNTechcorePartnership with BioNTech on mRNA technologies, leveraging Penn research capabilities in gene therapy and immunotherapy
- Liberate BiostrategicLiberate Bio secured exclusive and non-exclusive licenses to Penn's myeloid-optimized CAR design patents for advancing in vivo CAR-M therapies, combining with proprietary lipid nanoparticle delivery and RAPTOR screening platform
- Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)corePenn Medicine's partner in multiple breakthrough research initiatives including gene therapy (Luxturna), CAR T therapies, and ARPA-H maternal health project OMEGA; CHOP spinout Spark Therapeutics manufactures Luxturna
- University of Pennsylvania Thoracic Surgery DepartmentminorPenn's thoracic surgery department partnering with AiraLux Medical startup on small-scale clinical trial for gamified digital incentive spirometer targeting post-surgical patient compliance
- MD Anderson Cancer CentercoreMD Anderson partnering with Penn and FDA on TRAVERSE Phase 2 real-time clinical trial for mantle cell lymphoma as part of FDA initiative to modernize drug development
- Keystone AI + Quantum Factory ConsortiumstrategicPennsylvania's seven research-intensive universities including Penn, Carnegie Mellon, Pitt, Penn State, Drexel, Temple, and Lehigh joined Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center and Team Pennsylvania in statewide innovation network focused on AI and quantum computing research translation
- UPMC Magee Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Washington University, Institute of Photonic Sciences (Spain), Tyndall National Institute (Ireland)strategicNine-member team on ARPA-H OMEGA project for wearable fetal monitoring during labor; Carnegie Mellon leading $39.3M contract for direct fetal oxygen delivery assessment technology
- IsometricstrategicJennifer Wilcox, Penn Presidential Distinguished Professor, serves as Chief Scientist at Isometric carbon removal company while conducting research on carbon capture policy and science at Energy Solutions Forum
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
University of Pennsylvania competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Harvard University: America's oldest higher-education institution and Ivy League peer with comparable scale, $50B+ endowment, world-leading medical school, and similar translational research output. Direct competitor for faculty, students, and federal research funding.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Elite private research university with leading engineering, AI, and biotech programs, a comparable $20B+ endowment, and similar translational commercialization engine. Competes directly for STEM talent, federal grants, and startup formation.
- Stanford University: Private research university with comparable scale, Silicon Valley-adjacent commercialization engine, and leading medical school. Direct competitor for translational research funding, biotech spinouts, and elite graduate students.
- Yale University: Ivy League research university with parallel graduate/professional school structure, large endowment, and similar research-intensive model. Competes with Penn across law, medicine, and sciences.
- Columbia University: Ivy League research university in a major US metro area with comparable medical center scale, similar endowment size, and overlapping research areas including translational medicine and engineering.
- Princeton University: Ivy League peer competing for the same undergraduate applicant pool with similarly elite brand, comparable endowment per student, and overlapping strengths in sciences and engineering.
- Johns Hopkins University: Private research university with the largest US academic medical research enterprise, parallel biomedical commercialization focus, and similar federal funding profile. Closest direct peer to Penn in translational medicine scale.
- Cornell University: Ivy League research university with parallel land-grant-adjacent research scope, comparable engineering and life sciences programs, and similar federal research funding mix.
- Duke University: Private research university with strong medical center and engineering school, similar endowment magnitude, and analogous translational research and commercialization activity. Competes with Penn for biomedical talent and partnerships.
- New York University: Major private research university with a large medical center (NYU Langone), substantial research portfolio, and similar urban footprint. Competes for graduate students, medical faculty, and federal research dollars.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
University of Pennsylvania social profiles
Digital presenceUniversity of Pennsylvania financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
University of Pennsylvania leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
University of Pennsylvania subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
University of Pennsylvania funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
University of Pennsylvania M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments15 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about University of Pennsylvania
What does University of Pennsylvania do?
The University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy League research university that delivers undergraduate, graduate, and professional education across 12 schools, conducts federally and privately funded research spanning life sciences, engineering, AI, photonics, and humanities, and operates Penn Medicine—an integrated academic health system providing clinical care that translates laboratory discoveries into patient treatments. The Penn Center for Innovation commercializes research outputs through startup formation, licensing, and industry partnerships.
Is University of Pennsylvania a public or private company?
University of Pennsylvania is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was University of Pennsylvania founded?
University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1740. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is University of Pennsylvania based?
University of Pennsylvania is headquartered in Philadelphia, United States, in the North America region.
How does University of Pennsylvania make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Tuition and Fees are the primary driver. The others are research Grants and Contracts, endowment Investment Returns, philanthropic Donations and healthcare Services (Penn Medicine).
Who are University of Pennsylvania's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Yale University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, Duke University and New York University.
Does University of Pennsylvania have an API?
No public API is recorded for University of Pennsylvania.
What industry is University of Pennsylvania in?
University of Pennsylvania's product category is Higher Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHABAA, Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary), with a secondary code of EDAHABAH, Technology Transfer & Innovation-Driven Research Universities (High Commercialization). Its NAICS code is 6113 and its SIC code is 8200.