Georgia Tech Research

What Georgia Tech Research does

Georgia Tech Research comprises two state-chartered 501(c)(3) nonprofit cooperative organizations that serve as the exclusive contracting entities for sponsored research at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC), chartered on April 13, 1937 (originally as the Industrial Development Council, renamed Georgia Tech Research Institute in 1946, and adopting its current name in 1984), administers contracting, grant management, and research administration services for Georgia Tech's colleges, schools, and academic campus units, and is the sole assignee for all intellectual property created at Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation (GTARC), chartered in 1997, performs the analogous function specifically for the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), with a particular focus on applied research for national security and defense sectors and facility clearances enabling classified project administration. The two corporations operate under the oversight of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents pursuant to Cooperative Organizations policy Section 6.17.

GTRC contracts for and is paid for sponsored research performed at Georgia Tech, paying Georgia Tech 100% of direct costs and 78.3% of overhead recovery, retaining the remaining 21.7% to establish reserves and pay expenses the university itself cannot absorb. Revenue streams therefore consist of overhead recovery on sponsored research contracts (federal grants, defense contracts, and industry partnerships) and intellectual property licensing royalties routed through the Office of Technology Licensing. The GTARC parallel structure handles GTRI's applied research contracting, with additional security-cleared personnel to handle classified federal projects under FAR 31.2, 2 CFR Part 200, and NIST cybersecurity requirements. Customers are segmented into internal Georgia Tech academic units, GTRI as a separate internal client, and external federal agencies and defense contractors who fund the research.

Notable recent research outputs span AI/ML (Diffusion-DFL decision-focused learning model; LLM-based strength-based job coaching for autistic job seekers; AI-driven pediatric spinal surgery prediction with Shriners Children's), cybersecurity research (VillainNet neural network backdoor discovery; GDDR6 Rowhammer attacks on Nvidia GPUs; tracking of 74 CVEs in AI-generated code), semiconductor technology (MIT collaboration on 3D GaN-on-CMOS chips via low-temperature copper bonding), combustion and propulsion (PBS Aerospace partnership using the Zinn Combustion Laboratory), and fusion energy (Michigan State University collaboration under a $5 million NNSA award for Z-pinch plasma modeling). In 2025, GTRC paid an $875,000 settlement under the False Claims Act as part of the Department of Justice's Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative for failures to comply with contractual cybersecurity requirements on federal contracts. The corporations publish audited financial statements covering FY 2004 through FY 2025 and operate from a headquarters at 926 Dalney Street NW in Atlanta's West Midtown, with senior leadership including Robert Foy as Executive Director and General Manager and a financial administration team led by Neil Vitro, Terryl Barnes, and Joseph Tesoriero.

Name

Georgia Tech Research

Legal name

Georgia Tech Research Corporation

Website

https://gtrc.gatech.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC, chartered 1937) and Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation (GTARC, chartered 1997) are two 501(c)(3) nonprofit state-chartered cooperative organizations that serve as the exclusive contracting and grant administration entities for sponsored research at the Georgia Institute of Technology, managing federal and industry research agreements, overhead recovery, and intellectual property licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Administration Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB) (EDADAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Research Administration & Grants Management Support (Pre/Post-Award, Compliance) (EDAEALAO)

Keywords

• Sponsored research administration
• Research contracting services
• Intellectual property licensing
• University research foundations
• Federal grant administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Sponsored Research Contracts and Grants: GTRC and GTARC operate as nonprofit contracting entities that manage sponsored research programs. GTRC contracts and is paid for research done at Georgia Tech, paying Georgia Tech for all direct costs and 78.3 percent of the overhead. The 21.7 percent of overhead retained by GTRC is used to establish reserves for the research program and to pay certain expenses that Georgia Tech cannot pay. The basis of the Georgia Tech-GTRC relationship is the 1953 agreement between the Regents of the University System and the Board of Trustees of GTRC.
2. Intellectual Property Licensing: GTRC is the assignee on all intellectual property developed at Georgia Tech. The Office of Technology Licensing manages the invention portfolio including licensing activities and patent decisions. Revenue may be generated through royalty arrangements from licensed technologies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Core offering

Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) and Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation (GTARC) are 501(c)(3) state-chartered nonprofit cooperative organizations that serve as the primary contracting entities for sponsored research at Georgia Tech. GTRC administers sponsored programs for Georgia Tech's academic colleges and campus units, manages overhead cost recovery (paying Georgia Tech 78.3% of overhead), and serves as the sole assignee of all intellectual property created at Georgia Tech. GTARC provides contracting, grant, and research administration services specifically for the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), including classified projects with top secret national security clearance capabilities.

Product overview

Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) and Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation (GTARC) are 501(c)(3) nonprofit contracting entities that support research activities at Georgia Tech. GTRC (chartered 1937) serves as the contracting entity for sponsored programs for colleges and campus units, and is the assignee for all intellectual property created at Georgia Tech. GTARC (chartered 1997) provides contracting and research administration services specifically for the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). Both organizations do not offer commercial products; they provide administrative, financial, and compliance services for sponsored research activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sponsored Research Contracting and Grant Administration
• Intellectual Property Licensing and Technology Transfer
• Classified National Security Research Contracting

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Shriners Children'scoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Georgia Tech and Shriners Children's have partnered to develop an AI tool designed to help doctors better predict and perform spinal surgery on children. The tool uses data from surgical procedures, clinical notes, x-rays, and patient histories to serve as a warning system to identify potentially dangerous changes in the spinal cord and assist clinicians with decisions such as adjusting blood pressure or staging surgeries. Shriners Children's is also building a new research institute in Atlanta in partnership with Georgia Tech, set to open later this year.
• International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR)minorOthers · 27 April 2026Georgia Tech researchers will present their Diffusion-DFL findings at ICLR 2026 in Rio de Janeiro.
• Michigan State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2026Collaborating with Michigan State University on fusion energy research under a $5 million award from the National Nuclear Security Administration. The Center for High Order Plasma Turbulence Modeling for Z-Pinch uses AI and machine learning to develop predictive models for fusion energy creation.
• PBS AerospacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2025PBS Aerospace, a global leader in small turbojet engines, has established its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Roswell, Georgia, partnering with Georgia Tech to advance defense innovation in drone and propulsion technology. The collaboration leverages Georgia Tech's Zinn Combustion Laboratory for engine testing, fuel efficiency research, and materials optimization. The company plans to produce thousands of engines by 2026 to power small drones and munitions.
• MITminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2025Collaborating with MIT researchers on development of new 3D chips integrating gallium nitride (GaN) transistors onto standard silicon CMOS chips using low-temperature copper-to-copper bonding. The research could enable quantum computing applications given GaN's superior performance at cryogenic temperatures.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• University of Michigan Office of Research: Direct peer as another major public-university research administration and sponsored-programs contracting entity with a similar mix of federal and industry research funding at large R1 scale.
• MIT Research Administration: Direct peer providing sponsored research contracting, compliance, and IP management for MIT research activity — comparable in scale, federal funding mix, and technology-transfer function.
• Stanford University Office of Research Administration: Direct peer administering sponsored programs and IP licensing for Stanford research with comparable federal compliance and technology-transfer responsibilities.
• University of California Research Policy & Coordination: Direct peer administering sponsored research and compliance across the UC system with analogous functions in contract negotiation, compliance oversight, and indirect cost recovery.
• University of Texas at Austin Office of Sponsored Projects: Direct peer administering sponsored programs at a major public R1 university with similar scale of federal funding, defense research, and IP management responsibilities.

Broad incumbents

• Battelle Memorial Institute: Larger nonprofit research management organization operating federally funded national laboratories; comparable in administering large-scale federally sponsored research and applying overhead-style cost recovery.
• MITRE Corporation: Federally funded R&D center with deep defense and national security research administration expertise; comparable in operating classified research programs on behalf of federal sponsors.
• RTI International: Large nonprofit research institute that contracts for and conducts applied research across health, education, and defense domains — comparable business model as a sponsored-research intermediary.
• SRI International: Established nonprofit research institute conducting sponsored R&D for government and industry; comparable in administering federal/defense contracts and managing IP commercialization.
• Southwest Research Institute (SwRI): Independent nonprofit applied R&D organization contracting for federal and industry clients; comparable in overhead-based cost recovery and defense/aerospace research focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/georgiatech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors4 records

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M&A

Investments2 records

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Frequently asked questions about Georgia Tech Research