Intellectual Assets
Intellectual Assets is a Portland-based consulting firm that helps manufacturers and growth-stage companies access federal R&D resources by connecting them to Manufacturing USA institutes, the Federal Laboratory Consortium, and the MEP National Network via its CATS program and open innovation engagements.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersPortland, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Intellectual Assets does
Intellectual Assets is a Portland, Oregon-based consulting firm, established around 2016 and led by Principal David McFeeters-Krone, that helps manufacturers and growth-stage companies access federal R&D resources and open innovation partnerships. The firm's core capability is acting as an intermediary and connector, routing clients into the Federal Laboratory Consortium's 350 facilities (~$150B annual R&D), the 16 Manufacturing USA institutes (> $1B funded), and the MEP National Network's 51 state centers with 1,400+ field staff. Its flagship product is the Center for Advanced Technology Solutions (CATS), operated as a contractor to Polaris MEP, which provides a national on-ramp to technology roadmaps and technical resources for manufacturers facing competitiveness-limiting technical problems.
The company delivers this through four integrated service modules — Strategy, Scouting, Business Development, and Marketing — plus its role as an official connector for the American-Made Solar Prize. Documented engagements include finding Bergstrom 5 agreements with 3 federal agencies, co-founding Rute Foundations for post-tensioned wind tower engineering, supporting Tangitek's carbon-fiber RF shielding with the Department of Defense, and value-stream mapping for The Renewal Workshop under Oregon MEP and Oregon BEST. Revenue is generated through quote-based, multi-year professional services engagements; pricing is not publicly disclosed and the firm operates as a sales-led consulting practice with no intermediaries.
The business is privately held with no external institutional investment, no M&A activity, and a single named principal driving delivery. Operating geographies span all four major US regions through the MEP channel, with Oregon as the home base; the firm reports an 11-50 employee range and a small-team structure. Distribution relies on content marketing (blog, portfolio case studies), the CATS/MEP referral channel, and federal Solar Prize connector status rather than traditional sales infrastructure.
Intellectual Assets firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Intellectual Assets
- Legal name
- Intellectual Assets
- Website
- https://intelassets.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Intellectual Assets is a Portland-based consulting firm that helps manufacturers and growth-stage companies access federal R&D resources by connecting them to Manufacturing USA institutes, the Federal Laboratory Consortium, and the MEP National Network via its CATS program and open innovation engagements.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Intellectual Assets industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Business Consulting Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- IP Licensing, Transactions & Technology Transfer (BPAHAMAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Technology Transfer & Innovation-Driven Research Universities (High Commercialization) (EDAHABAH)
Keywords
Where Intellectual Assets is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Portland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Intellectual Assets business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Consulting Services: Professional consulting fees for strategy, scouting, business development, and market analysis services. Engagement-based model helping clients find partners, access federal resources, and grow new products.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom consulting engagements |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Intellectual Assets product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Intellectual Assets is a business development and open innovation consultancy that helps manufacturers and growth-stage companies grow new products, enhance existing offerings, and expand into new businesses by connecting them with complementary partners in the federal government, universities, and the private sector. Its flagship CATS program provides structured access to Manufacturing USA institutes, the Federal Laboratory Consortium, and the MEP National Network, supported by four integrated service modules—Strategy, Scouting, Business Development, and Marketing.
Product overview
Intellectual Assets is a business development consultancy that operates as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core product is CATS (Center for Advanced Technology Solutions), a national commercialization acceleration program contracted through Polaris MEP that connects manufacturers to technical resources including 16 Manufacturing USA institutes, 350 Federal Laboratory Consortium facilities, and the 51-state MEP National Network. The company also offers four integrated service modules—Strategy, Scouting, Business Development, and Marketing—that work together to help clients identify goals, find partners, and execute growth initiatives. These services are delivered by Principal David McFeeters-Krone and focus on open innovation, federal government partnerships, and technology transfer facilitation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CATS: Center for Advanced Technology Solutions - a national program providing manufacturing technology connections, initially funded by the Manufacturing Extension Partnership National Network. Formerly known as MEP Advanced Technology Team.
Products and services
- CATS (Center for Advanced Technology Solutions)
Quantifiable outcome
- Facilitated 7 submissions to Solar Prize with 1 making it past the first round
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Intellectual Assets
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Intellectual Assets technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Intellectual Assets partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- NIST (Manufacturing USA)coreScouting and business development engagement. Client seeking curiosity and business model expertise. Manufacturing USA is a network of 16 institutes funded with over $1B to spur US manufacturing innovation.
- BergstromcoreStrategy engagement finding federal government partners. Established 5 agreements with 3 different federal agencies and provided market intelligence.
- Rute FoundationscoreCo-founded post-tensioned wind tower foundation company. Served as founder, chief fundraiser, and government liaison bringing bridge beam engineering to wind towers.
- TangitekcoreMarket analysis and strategic partnering with Department of Defense for novel carbon fiber composite RF shielding technology.
- The Renewal WorkshopminorValue stream mapping and project flow analysis under partnership with Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership and Oregon BEST.
- Polaris MEPcoreContractor for Center for Advanced Technology Solutions (CATS). National program connecting manufacturers to technical resources and facilities for overcoming manufacturing hurdles.
- Manufacturing USAcore16 Institutes funded with over $1B to help create collaborations to spur US Manufacturing Innovation. Direct contact or line-of-sight connections available through CATS program.
- Federal Laboratory Consortiumcore350 facilities across the US spending $150B annually on R&D. Access to expertise, capabilities and technologies to solve small business issues.
- MEP National Networkcore51-state center network with over 1400 field staff to help solve process improvement and connect clients to next partners. CATS leverages this network.
- Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP)minorState-level manufacturing extension partnership. Collaborated on CLT, bioproducts, compostable plastics, and advanced metal working projects.
- Oregon BESTminorOregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies. Partnership for cross laminated timber and sustainable technology initiatives.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Intellectual Assets competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lux Research: Lux Research provides research, scouting, and strategic advisory on emerging technologies and innovation ecosystems, including connecting clients with partners and federal programs. It serves a similar client profile (manufacturers, energy, advanced materials) and competes for technology-transfer and open-innovation mandates.
- Mind the Bridge: Mind the Bridge is an open-innovation consultancy that connects corporates, startups, and public-sector organizations across technology-transfer and partnership mandates. It overlaps with Intellectual Assets on scouting, federal/institutional partnership facilitation, and growth-through-partnering engagements.
- ipCapital Group: ipCapital Group is an IP strategy consulting firm that helps companies develop intellectual property strategies, evaluate portfolios, and monetize innovation. It is directly comparable to the IP-strategy and IP-evaluation portion of Intellectual Assets' offering and shares a focus on using IP as a strategic lever.
- Ocean Tomo: Ocean Tomo is an IP advisory and financial services firm offering IP valuation, strategy, and transaction support. It overlaps with the IP-evaluation side of Intellectual Assets' value proposition and with the patent-strategy consultancy work the firm performs for manufacturing clients.
- Yet2.com: Yet2 operates an open-innovation marketplace and consulting practice focused on technology scouting, licensing, and partnership facilitation between corporations and external technology owners. The model closely mirrors Intellectual Assets' CATS-style connector role, including working with federal labs and universities.
- NineSigma: NineSigma is an open-innovation services firm that connects clients with external technology providers, experts, and partners to solve R&D and innovation challenges. It is directly comparable to Intellectual Assets' scouting, partnering, and business-development mandate, with a comparable model of acting as the intermediary between clients and federal/large-firm ecosystems.
Broad incumbents
- RTI International: RTI International is a large nonprofit research institute that runs federal R&D programs and engages in technology transfer and partnership facilitation with industry. It serves as a scaled alternative to Intellectual Assets for clients needing a deeper bench to navigate federal R&D ecosystems.
- Battelle Memorial Institute: Battelle is one of the largest nonprofit R&D organizations, operating federal laboratories and providing technology transfer, IP management, and innovation-services at scale. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in the same federal R&D / technology-transfer space Intellectual Assets serves.
- SRI International: SRI International is a large nonprofit research institute with active technology-transfer, licensing, and spin-out programs. It is comparable to Intellectual Assets in the technology-transfer and federal-innovation domain but operates as a much larger, broader incumbent with its own research portfolio.
Emerging players
- Wellspring (formerly iBridge Network / Sophia Search): Wellspring provides a software and services platform for university technology transfer offices, helping institutions commercialize inventions and manage IP. It is comparable to Intellectual Assets on the tech-transfer and IP-commercialization dimension, but is differentiated as a software-platform-led player rather than a pure consultancy.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks3 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Intellectual Assets financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Intellectual Assets leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Intellectual Assets funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Intellectual Assets M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Intellectual Assets
What does Intellectual Assets do?
Intellectual Assets is a business development and open innovation consultancy that helps manufacturers and growth-stage companies grow new products, enhance existing offerings, and expand into new businesses by connecting them with complementary partners in the federal government, universities, and the private sector. Its flagship CATS program provides structured access to Manufacturing USA institutes, the Federal Laboratory Consortium, and the MEP National Network, supported by four integrated service modules—Strategy, Scouting, Business Development, and Marketing.
Is Intellectual Assets a public or private company?
Intellectual Assets is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Intellectual Assets founded?
Intellectual Assets was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Intellectual Assets based?
Intellectual Assets is headquartered in Portland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Intellectual Assets make money?
One revenue line is on record: consulting Services.
Who are Intellectual Assets's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lux Research, Mind the Bridge, ipCapital Group, Ocean Tomo, Yet2.com and NineSigma. Broad incumbents are RTI International, Battelle Memorial Institute and SRI International. Wellspring (formerly iBridge Network / Sophia Search) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Intellectual Assets have an API?
No public API is recorded for Intellectual Assets.
What industry is Intellectual Assets in?
Intellectual Assets's product category is Business Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAMAF, IP Licensing, Transactions & Technology Transfer, with a secondary code of EDAHABAH, Technology Transfer & Innovation-Driven Research Universities (High Commercialization).