TechLink

What TechLink does

TechLink is a not-for-profit technology transfer center operated within Montana State University and designated under federal Authority 15 USC § 3715 as the national partnership intermediary for the U.S. Department of Defense (since 1999) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (since 2019). It functions as the bridge between federal laboratory inventors and U.S. businesses seeking to commercialize government-developed technologies, with more than 2,090 license and option agreements facilitated over its operating history. The center is staffed by Certified Licensing Professionals and senior Technology Managers who provide one-on-one licensing guidance to companies ranging from one-person startups to Global 100 corporations.

The core product is a web-based technology marketplace that lists more than 6,600 licensable inventions drawn from 47 DOD laboratories and 73 VA medical centers, searchable by technology area and originating lab. Beyond the marketplace, TechLink delivers Innovation Discovery Workshops (in-person forums connecting federal inventors with industry partners) and Economic Impact Studies that quantify downstream commercialization outcomes, with the latter methodology now extended to NNSA programs in addition to its core DOD and VA work.

TechLink's revenue model is based on federal funding through its DOD and VA partnership intermediary contracts rather than on royalties or license fees from the transactions it facilitates. Its primary customer segments are the federal agencies that fund its intermediary role and the U.S. businesses that license the underlying technologies; the organization reports cumulative licensee sales exceeding $3.6 billion from technologies it has helped commercialize.

Name

TechLink

Legal name

MSU TechLink Center

Website

https://techlinkcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TechLink is a not-for-profit Montana State University center designated as the authorized national technology transfer partnership intermediary for the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs, helping U.S. businesses license federal laboratory technologies through its online marketplace, workshops, and economic impact studies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technology Transfer Services

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Computer Training (611420)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Technology Transfer & Innovation-Driven Research Universities (High Commercialization) (EDAHABAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emerging Tech (IoT, Blockchain, AR/VR, Edge) Consulting (BPAHAEAL)

Keywords

• Technology transfer services
• Federal technology licensing
• DOD technology commercialization
• VA medical technology licensing
• Patent licensing consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Bozeman

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Federal Partnership Intermediary Funding: TechLink is a fully funded, not-for-profit organization operating as an authorized national technology transfer partnership intermediary for the U.S. Department of Defense (since 1999) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (since 2019) per Authority 15 USC 3715. TechLink does not receive a share of license revenues, which flow directly between licensees and the federal labs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

TechLink operates an online technology marketplace and provides no-cost licensing guidance to help businesses identify, evaluate, and license inventions developed at U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs laboratories. As a federally authorized partnership intermediary, it connects private industry with over 6,600 licensable federal technologies spanning communications, photonics, materials, software, medical devices, energy, electronics, sensors, and environmental technology. TechLink also delivers Innovation Discovery workshops at DOD labs and conducts economic impact analyses of federal technology transfer programs.

Product overview

TechLink is a service-based technology transfer partnership intermediary, not a software product company. Its core offering consists of the TechLink Technology Marketplace—a web-based portal listing thousands of licensable federal technologies—supplemented by licensing guidance services, Innovation Discovery Workshops, Economic Impact Studies, and The Pulse Newsletter. These services work together to connect private industry with DOD and VA lab technologies for commercialization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TechLink Technology Marketplace A web-based online marketplace listing thousands of licensable technologies from 47 DOD laboratories and 73 VA medical centers. Businesses search, evaluate, and identify technology commercialization opportunities across categories such as Communications, Photonics, Materials, Software, Medical, Military, Energy, Electronics, Sensors, and Environmental. Featured technologies include detailed summaries, benefits analyses, images, and supplemental resources.
• Licensing Guidance Services No-cost consultation services provided by certified licensing professionals (CLPs) who help businesses navigate the federal technology transfer process, evaluate opportunities, develop commercialization plans, and pursue license agreements with DOD and VA owning laboratories.
• Innovation Discovery Workshops Facilitated events held at DOD laboratories to help federal scientists and engineers identify new inventions and promising commercial applications. Includes a DIY kit with handbook, video guidance, checklists, templates, and non-disclosure agreement resources.
• Economic Impact Studies Research and analysis services evaluating the impact of DOD technology transfer and SBIR/STTR programs on the national economy and defense mission, including assessments of licensing outcomes and job creation.

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.6 billion in sales of new products and services facilitated through tech transfer agreements
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019TechLink was selected by the VA in 2019 to provide technology transfer partnership intermediary services for the VA Technology Transfer Program. TechLink markets and licenses VA healthcare innovations including medical devices, drugs, prosthetics, and health IT developed at VA medical centers nationwide.
• U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999TechLink has been the authorized, nationally focused technology transfer partnership intermediary for all laboratories of the U.S. Department of Defense since 1999, the first such national partnership intermediary in the country. TechLink facilitates licensing agreements, conducts economic impact studies, and runs Innovation Discovery workshops at DOD labs across all service branches. The relationship is governed by Authority 15 USC 3715.
• Montana State University (MSU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996TechLink is a center within Montana State University's (MSU's) Office of Research and Economic Development. Originally established in 1996 to help Montana technology companies partner with NASA centers, TechLink expanded its scope to include DOD and VA. TechLink also manages MSU's Technology Transfer Office and operates the university's Software Engineering and Analysis Laboratory.
• BPR MedicalcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerBPR Medical licensed the VA-developed thermal fuse cover technology for home oxygen safety. The clamshell cover integrates with BPR's existing thermal fuse device, which BPR already supplied to the VA. BPR is committed to highest safety standards for patients.
• VA–University of Pittsburgh Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe VA–University of Pittsburgh Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL) partnered with VA clinician Doug Hilliard to refine and validate the thermal fuse cover design through multiple 3D-printed iterations, developing a streamlined, manufacturable solution.
• VA Office of Advanced Manufacturing (OAM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the VA's Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL), OAM bridged the gap between prototype and real-world testing by manufacturing hundreds of initial thermal fuse covers for a VA pilot program at the Erie VA, enabling rapid deployment of the safety device.
• U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMMDA) Medical Technology Transfer Office (MTT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSAMMDA's MTT works with DOD inventors to commercialize products for the Warfighter using an award-winning Assistive Technology Transfer (AT2) process. MTT helped Dr. Villahermosa apply for a provisional patent and trademark for the Delta Hook, and connected with USAMMDA's Medical Prototype Development Lab for fabrication of prototypes.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• yet2.com: yet2.com operates an open innovation and technology transfer marketplace that connects global corporations with licensable technologies and inventors. It shares TechLink's marketplace-based intermediation model and target audience of innovation-seeking businesses, though it focuses more on corporate IP than federal lab inventions.
• Innoget: Innoget operates an online open innovation and technology transfer marketplace aggregating research institutions, companies, and funding opportunities globally. Its marketplace model for matching licensable technology with commercial partners mirrors TechLink's online technology marketplace, though it serves a broader European/international footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Battelle Memorial Institute: Battelle is a large nonprofit that operates or co-manages multiple U.S. national laboratories (including for DOE) and runs substantial technology transfer programs that move federal inventions into commercial markets. Like TechLink, Battelle monetizes federal R&D via licensing and commercialization services, but at much larger scale and across more agencies.

Direct peers

• Tech Launch Arizona (University of Arizona): Tech Launch Arizona is the University of Arizona's dedicated technology transfer office that commercializes UA inventions through startup creation and licensing. It shares TechLink's model of a university-embedded T2 organization helping researchers and outside companies find and license research outputs.
• MIT Technology Licensing Office (TLO): MIT TLO manages invention disclosures, patenting, and licensing of MIT research to industry partners. TechLink parallels this function at the federal laboratory level, with both organizations helping translate research investments into commercial products via licensing professionals and structured application processes.
• Stanford Office of Technology Licensing (OTL): Stanford OTL is one of the most prolific university technology transfer offices in the world, licensing Stanford research inventions to commercial partners. As TechLink operates within MSU's research office to license DOD/VA inventions, both organizations perform the same fundamental T2 function—evaluating, protecting, and licensing research outputs for commercial use.
• Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC): The FLC is the formally designated national network of federal laboratories that work to promote and facilitate technology transfer from federal labs to the marketplace. TechLink operates as a member organization within this consortium's framework, executing the same core mission of brokering federal lab inventions to private industry through formal channels.
• AUTM (Association of University Technology Managers): AUTM is the premier professional association for technology transfer professionals working in academic, government, and corporate settings. TechLink's certified licensing professionals (CLPs) hold AUTM-aligned credentials and participate in similar T2 ecosystem activities, making AUTM a direct functional peer for talent, practices, and best-in-class licensing standards.

Regional players

• Max Planck Innovation: Max Planck Innovation is the dedicated technology transfer organization of Germany's Max Planck Society, responsible for evaluating and licensing inventions from Max Planck Institutes. As a research-organization-affiliated T2 entity facilitating commercialization, it parallels TechLink's intermediary role but operates in the German/European research ecosystem.
• PARTEQ Innovations: PARTEQ Innovations is the technology transfer office of Queen's University (Canada) and licenses university inventions to industry partners. It performs the same university-based T2 function as TechLink, but operates primarily in the Canadian market with different federal/university relationships.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TechLinkCenter
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@techlinkcenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/TechLinkCenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/techlink-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about TechLink