UNM Rainforest Innovations

What UNM Rainforest Innovations does

UNM Rainforest Innovations (UNMRI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation formed and wholly owned by the University of New Mexico Board of Regents, designated as a New Mexico University Research Park and Economic Development Act organization. It operates as UNM's technology-transfer and economic-development arm, headquartered at the Lobo Rainforest Building in Albuquerque's Innovation District. UNMRI's core function is to protect UNM-developed intellectual property (patents, copyrights, trademarks), manage invention disclosures through a Wellspring Software-based portal, license technologies to established companies and startups, and catalyze regional economic development. It serves two primary constituencies: UNM faculty, staff, and student inventors (the disclosure side) and external companies/entrepreneurs (the licensing side), with secondary engagement of investors, tribal entrepreneurs, and community members through programs such as Innovate ABQ, Innovate New Mexico, and the Tribal Entrepreneurship initiative.

UNMRI's product portfolio spans core services (Technology Transfer & Commercialization, Technology Portfolio, End-User Direct Licensing, Licensing Revenue Distribution Service under Policy 1700), funding programs (Wellborn Gap Fund up to $25,000 per project; UNM Health Sciences & Main Campus Research Collaboration Seed Grant with a $250,000 total pool), recognition programs (annual Rainforest Innovation Fellows award since 2010 with a $2,500 honorarium; annual Innovation Awards dinner), entrepreneur-development programs (Cecchi VentureLab, Lobo Hackathon, Pitch Deck Competition, Rainforest Accelerator, Rainforest Student Pitch Competition, Rainforest University Center with Entrepreneurial Capabilities Certificate), and economic-development initiatives (Innovate ABQ, Innovate New Mexico, UNM Business and Economic Summit). Notable licensees documented in source material include Avisa Pharma, Pajarito Powder, MesoSystems Technology, Batterade LLC, Pucara Engineering and Logistics, Nanopore, Lotus Leaf, Alpine Biosciences, Intellicyt Corporation, Nanocrystal Corporation, Osazda Energy, Osazda Materials, Agilvax, and Daihatsu Motor Company, illustrating deal flow across biotechnology, clean energy, advanced materials, semiconductors, and fuel cells.

Revenue mechanics rely on license fees (cash or equity), ongoing royalties on licensee sales with annual minimums and milestone payments, event registration fees (typically free or low-cost), and partnership-driven programming. Under the MOA with UNM, net license/royalty revenue (less patent expenses) is allocated 40% to UNMRI, 40% to inventors (paid semi-annually), and 20% to UNM, with quarterly reconciliation. UNMRI also retains equity in startup licensees as non-cash consideration. Headcount is in the 11–50 band and includes President & CEO Stephine Poston, a Controller, Technology Marketing Manager Hannah Russert, and additional staff supporting events, accounting, inventor relations, and tribal/community outreach. The organization rebranded from STC.UNM (and before that, Science & Technology Corporation @ UNM) to UNM Rainforest Innovations without any change in ownership or governance.

Name

UNM Rainforest Innovations

Legal name

UNM Rainforest Innovations

Website

https://innovations.unm.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UNM Rainforest Innovations (UNMRI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit tech-transfer and economic-development organization wholly owned by the University of New Mexico Board of Regents, headquartered in Albuquerque's Innovation District. It protects UNM-developed IP, licenses technologies to companies and startups, administers gap funding and recognition programs, and supports regional entrepreneurship and economic development across New Mexico.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

University Technology Transfer Services

NAICS

Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (533)

SIC

Patent Owners & Lessors (6794)

akta.pro primary industry

Environment, Climate & Sustainable Development IGOs (BPADAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) (HDADAIAC)

Keywords

• Technology transfer services
• University technology licensing
• Patent commercialization
• Invention disclosure management
• Startup incubation support

Headquarters

HQ city

Albuquerque

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. License Agreement Fees: Initial license fees due upon execution of license agreements, payable either in cash or in shares of licensees' stock; per MOA with UNM, UNMRI retains 40% of net license and royalty revenue (less patent and related expenses), inventors receive 40%, and UNM receives 20%.
2. Royalty Payments (% of Sales with Annual Minimums): Ongoing annual royalty payments based on a percentage of licensees' sales, with required annual minimum payments and milestone payments; inventor royalty sharing paid semi-annually by March 31 and September 30.
3. Equity in Startup Licensees: License agreements can stipulate equity in the form of shares of licensees' stock as part of upfront fees, providing non-cash consideration from startup licensees.
4. Event Registration Fees: Charges registration fees for select events (e.g., 2026 Innovation Awards priced Free – $25) to support programming; many events including SCORE Mentor Office Hours and the Lobo Hackathon are offered free of charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

UNM Rainforest Innovations (UNMRI) is the technology-transfer and economic-development organization for the University of New Mexico. It protects UNM-developed technologies by filing patents, copyrights, and trademarks and transfers them to the marketplace through license agreements with established companies and startup formation. It also administers gap funding programs (Wellborn Gap Fund, Research Collaboration Seed Grant) and runs entrepreneur-development programs (Rainforest Accelerator, Cecchi VentureLab, Lobo Hackathon, pitch competitions, certificate programs) and economic-development initiatives (Innovate ABQ, Innovate New Mexico).

Product overview

UNM Rainforest Innovations (UNMRI) is the technology-transfer and economic-development organization for the University of New Mexico. Rather than a single unified product, its offering is a portfolio of programs and services organized around technology commercialization: a core Technology Transfer & Commercialization service (including the Technology Portfolio, End-User Direct Licensing, and the Wellspring-based Invention Disclosure Portal) anchors the platform; funding programs such as the Wellborn Gap Fund and the UNM Health Sciences & Main Campus Research Collaboration Seed Grant support inventors; recognition programs such as the Rainforest Innovation Fellows award and the annual UNM Innovation Awards celebrate inventors; entrepreneur-development programs — including the Cecchi VentureLab, Lobo Hackathon, Pitch Deck Competition, Rainforest Accelerator, Rainforest Student Pitch Competition, Rainforest University Center (with the Entrepreneurial Capabilities Certificate Program), Tribal Entrepreneurship (with the Indigenous Entrepreneurs Podcast), and the University Team Pitch Award — build the start-up pipeline; and broader economic-development initiatives (Innovate ABQ, Innovate New Mexico, the UNM Business and Economic Summit) extend the offering statewide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Technology Transfer and Commercialization
• Technology Portfolio
• Invention Disclosure Portal
• Wellborn Gap Fund
• UNM Health Sciences and Main Campus Research Collaboration Seed Grant
• Rainforest Innovation Fellows
• Rainforest Accelerator
• Entrepreneurial Capabilities Certificate Program
• Cecchi VentureLab
• Licensing Revenue Distribution Service

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Columbia Technology Ventures: Columbia University's technology transfer office handling invention disclosures, patenting, and licensing across Columbia research. Comparable core function for an urban R1 university setting.
• Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures (JHTV): Johns Hopkins University's commercialization and entrepreneurship arm managing IP licensing, startup formation, and gap funding. Closely analogous mission with biomedical IP exposure similar to UNM Health Sciences pipeline.
• Purdue Research Foundation: Nonprofit foundation that operates Purdue University's technology transfer, startup incubation, and economic development programs — including the Purdue Research Park. Directly comparable full-stack tech-transfer-plus-incubation model.
• University of Michigan Innovation Partnerships: U-M's tech-transfer office handling invention disclosures, licensing, and startup support across a major biomedical and engineering research base. Comparable full-stack commercialization mission.
• MIT Technology Licensing Office: MIT's central office for managing intellectual property and licensing innovations from MIT research. Comparable core mandate of evaluating disclosures, filing patents, and licensing to industry/startups.
• Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC): Nonprofit corporation affiliated with Georgia Tech that administers sponsored research and technology licensing. Comparable 501(c)(3) nonprofit structure with university IP commercialization mandate.
• Stanford Office of Technology Licensing (OTL): Stanford University's TTO handling invention disclosures, patenting, and licensing for Stanford research. Directly comparable in core function; significantly larger in scale and deal flow.
• Arizona State University — Skysong Innovations: ASU's tech-transfer and innovation platform operating the Skysong Innovation Center as both licensing office and startup ecosystem. Comparable integration of tech-transfer with innovation-district co-location, similar to UNMRI's Lobo Rainforest Building model.
• Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF): One of the oldest and largest university-affiliated 501(c)(3) technology transfer organizations in the U.S., patenting and licensing inventions from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Directly comparable to UNMRI in mission, governance structure, and revenue model (license fees and royalties shared with inventors and the university).

Others

• Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM): Industry association for university technology transfer professionals. Not a competitor but a relevant ecosystem peer that sets best-practice standards, gathers benchmarking data (similar to UNMRI's metrics booklet), and convenes the TTO community UNMRI operates within.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/unminnovations
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCvSGf0aK1KNJ358sYJ8_IRQ/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/unminnovations
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/unminnovations
• Instagraminstagram.com/unminnovations

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UNM Rainforest Innovations