Caltech's Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships

What Caltech's Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships does

Caltech's Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships (OTTCP) is the central administrative unit at the California Institute of Technology responsible for translating Caltech and JPL research into commercial and societal impact. Established in 1995 as the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) and later expanded in approximately 2010 through a merger with Caltech's corporate partnerships office, OTTCP manages intellectual property, facilitates corporate research collaborations, runs seed-stage funding programs, and supports startup formation. The office does not develop proprietary technology products; rather, it acts as an intermediary that identifies, protects, and licenses inventions arising from Caltech's ~2,200 faculty and researchers. Core service lines are Corporate Partnerships, New Venture Creation & Entrepreneurship, and Patents & Licensing, supported by structured programs including the Caltech Innovation Center (CIC) incubator, the Rothenberg Innovation Initiative (RI²), the Caltech Seed Fund, the Gates Grubstake Fund, the Bill Gross Prize for Entrepreneurship, and the OTTCP Summer Internship in Entrepreneurship.

OTTCP's outputs are substantial relative to its scale. The office has managed over 1,922 active patents and granted more than 1,000 technology licenses, and has helped launch 240+ startups since inception. Cumulative gross revenue returned to Caltech totals approximately $395 million, with 25% of startups achieving successful exits (acquisition or IPO) and 40% remaining active. FY25 activity included 132 invention disclosures, 8 startups launched, and $66 million in corporate contracts and gifts. Notable successes span CMOS image sensors (originally JPL technology now ubiquitous in consumer electronics), distributed feedback lasers, bulk metallic glasses, nanoparticle-based cancer therapeutics (Insert Therapeutics, acquired via Proteolix), CMOS power amplifiers (Axiom Microdevices, acquired by Skyworks in 2009), and the VITAL ventilator (FDA Emergency Use Authorization, royalty-free licensing during COVID-19).

As a non-profit university office, OTTCP does not sell products or services commercially. Its revenue model is institutional: it is funded through Caltech's operating budget, corporate partnership contributions, and program endowments, while generating return-to-Caltech revenue through licensing royalties, equity stakes in startups, and industry-sponsored research. The customer base spans three primary segments: corporate partners (e.g., Amgen, Dow Chemical) seeking research access and collaboration, Caltech faculty/researchers needing commercialization support, and student entrepreneurs pursuing new venture creation. Leadership currently rests with Fred Farina as Chief Innovation and Corporate Partnerships Officer, with Entrepreneur-in-Residence support from figures such as Julie Schoenfeld and Helen McBride.

Name

Caltech's Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships

Legal name

California Institute of Technology

Website

https://innovation.caltech.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Short description

OTTCP is Caltech's central technology transfer office, managing intellectual property, corporate research partnerships, and startup formation for Caltech and JPL. It has launched 240+ startups, granted 1,000+ technology licenses, and generated $395M in cumulative revenue since 1995.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Technology Transfer Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Support Services (61171), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Technology transfer services
• Intellectual property licensing
• Corporate partnership programs
• University research commercialization
• Startup incubation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Pasadena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Licensing and Royalty Revenue: OTTCP generates revenue through licensing Caltech intellectual property to companies, including patents, copyrights, and software. Revenue is generated from licensing fees, royalty payments, and equity stakes in startups.
2. Corporate Partnership Contributions: Corporate partners provide funding, gifts, and research support to Caltech in exchange for access to faculty, research collaborations, and early access to innovations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

OTTCP is Caltech's central technology transfer office that drives the transfer of science and engineering knowledge created by university researchers into commercial and societal use. It operates three core service lines — Corporate Partnerships (industry-research collaboration programs), New Venture Creation & Entrepreneurship (startup formation, seed funding, and incubator space), and Patents & Licensing (IP protection, patent prosecution, and technology licensing to industry). Its work is supported by funding programs (Rothenberg Innovation Initiative, Gates Grubstake Fund, Caltech Seed Fund), entrepreneurship competitions and internships, and the Caltech Innovation Center incubator facility.

Product overview

Caltech's Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships (OTTCP) is a university technology transfer office, not a single product, but rather a portfolio of services and programs. The core offerings include Corporate Partnerships (connecting researchers with industry), New Venture Creation & Entrepreneurship (startup support through the Caltech Innovation Center), and Patents & Licensing (intellectual property management). Supporting programs include the Rothenberg Innovation Initiative (RI²), Gates Grubstake Fund, and Caltech Seed Fund for funding; the Bill Gross Prize for Entrepreneurship and Timothy D. Ryan Summer Entrepreneurship Program for competitions; and the OTTCP Summer Internship in Entrepreneurship and Caltech Innovation Center (CIC) incubator for hands-on support. These programs work together to transfer Caltech research to commercial applications through industry partnerships, startup creation, and IP licensing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rothenberg Innovation Initiative (RI²): Competitive grants program for early-stage research that could lead to marketable technologies, providing up to $125,000 per year for up to two years
• Caltech Innovation Center (CIC)
• Gates Grubstake Fund
• Caltech Seed Fund
• Bill Gross Prize for Entrepreneurship
• OTTCP Summer Internship in Entrepreneurship

Products and services

• Corporate Partnerships
• New Venture Creation & Entrepreneurship Support services for creating startups from Caltech research, including funding programs, mentorship, and incubator access through the Caltech Innovation Center (CIC).
• Patents & Licensing Intellectual property management services including invention disclosure intake, patent filing, patent prosecution, and technology licensing of Caltech innovations to industry licensees.
• Rothenberg Innovation Initiative (RI²) Competitive grants program providing up to $125,000 per year for up to two years to help Caltech researchers de-risk early-stage innovations with marketable potential.
• Gates Grubstake Fund Funding program for Caltech faculty providing up to $75,000 per year in support for research with marketable commercial potential.
• The Gates Investment Fund
• Caltech Seed Fund Fund that supports and funds startups commercializing Caltech technology, integrated with the OTTCP Summer Internship in Entrepreneurship program.
• Caltech Innovation Center (CIC) On-campus startup incubator facility in Pasadena providing office space and resources to nascent Caltech-affiliated startups, particularly those licensing Caltech technology.
• Bill Gross Prize for Entrepreneurship Annual business plan competition for current Caltech students providing $100,000+ in prizes and mentorship for student entrepreneurs.
• Timothy D. Ryan Summer Entrepreneurship Program Summer entrepreneurship program for Caltech students providing mentorship and support for developing startup ventures.
• OTTCP Summer Internship in Entrepreneurship Ten-week paid internship placing Caltech undergraduate and graduate students at startups funded by the Caltech Seed Fund or collaborating with OTTCP to gain hands-on entrepreneurship experience.
• Sustainability Partnership Program Corporate partnership program focused on sustainability-related collaborations between Caltech and industry partners.
• Entrepreneurship 101 Introductory entrepreneurship education program for Caltech students.

Quantifiable outcome

• 240+ startups launched, with 25% successful exits and 40% remaining active
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AmgencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2015Multi-faceted partnership spanning research, graduate student training, and shared resources. Amgen funds up to five research projects per year for three years focused on drug discovery, drug-delivery devices, and diagnostic technologies. Also provides graduate fellowships and access to the Amgen Biology-Enabling Resource database.
• Dow Chemical CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 October 2011$10 million partnership establishing Dow as founding member of Caltech's Corporate Partners Program. Includes five endowed fellowships in chemistry/chemical engineering and five in energy science, plus funding for Resnick Sustainability Institute and the Dow Chemical Company Bridge/CI2 Innovation Program.
• Rothenberg Innovation Initiative (RI²)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Program created in 2009 to bridge the 'valley of death' gap. Funded by Jim and Anne Rothenberg with $15M commitment. Provides up to $125,000/year for up to two years per project to help researchers de-risk innovations.
• NASA/Jet Propulsion LaboratorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaltech manages JPL for NASA. OTTCP handles technology transfer for JPL innovations including VITAL ventilator (offered royalty-free during COVID-19 pandemic).
• IdealabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal tech incubator partner for SUSI (Summer Undergraduate Startup Internship) program, founded by Caltech alumnus Bill Gross.
• PalamedrixminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaltech startup co-founded by Paul Rothemund, using DNA origami to improve drug development and disease detection.
• DNATWOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaltech startup co-founded by Judith Campbell and Brian Stoltz, developing DNA2 protein inhibitors to target cancer cells.
• ToofonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaltech startup co-founded by Mory Gharib, developing autonomous heavy-lift drones for firefighting and supply-chain applications.
• FlionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaltech startup co-founded by Kimberly See, commercializing novel sustainable battery technology based on research by Nobel laureate Robert Grubbs.
• Port TherapeuticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCaltech startup co-founded by Mikhail Shapiro, developing next-generation programmable cell therapies.

Scale indicators14 records

Direct peers

• Princeton Office of Technology Licensing: Princeton's tech transfer office handling invention disclosures, patenting, licensing, and startup formation. Directly comparable as another top-tier private research university TTO with similar structure and programs.
• Harvard Office of Technology Development (OTD): Harvard's tech transfer and corporate partnerships office, handling patenting, licensing, and startup formation from Harvard research. Closely comparable in function and elite-research-institution positioning to OTTCP.
• UC Berkeley Intellectual Property & Industry Research Alliances (IPIRA): Berkeley's central tech transfer office handling invention disclosures, patent prosecution, licensing, and startup support. Directly comparable as another elite research university TTO with similar scope and programs.
• Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF): Independent nonprofit that manages IP and licensing for University of Wisconsin-Madison research, with multi-billion-dollar asset base. Closely comparable to OTTCP in mission; differs in being an independent foundation rather than a university department, making it a structural comp as well as a functional one.
• Columbia Technology Ventures: Columbia University's tech transfer office managing IP, licensing, and startup creation for Columbia research. Comparable to OTTCP in mission, with a similarly structured private research university setting.
• Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures (JHTV): Johns Hopkins's tech transfer and commercialization arm managing IP, licensing, and corporate partnerships for university research. Directly comparable to OTTCP in mission and scale at a peer private research institution.
• MIT Technology Licensing Office (TLO): MIT's central tech transfer office that handles invention disclosures, patenting, licensing, and startup formation for MIT researchers. Directly comparable to OTTCP, with similar patent productivity and corporate partnership programs at a peer private research university.
• Georgia Tech Research Corporation / Office of Industry Engagement: Georgia Tech's tech transfer and corporate engagement arm handling IP, licensing, and startup formation from engineering-heavy research portfolio. Comparable to OTTCP given Caltech's strong engineering and applied science focus.
• Iowa Research Foundation / University of Iowa Research Foundation (UIRF): University of Iowa's tech transfer office managing IP, licensing, and commercialization of university research. Functionally analogous to OTTCP, though operating at a smaller scale than Caltech.
• Stanford Office of Technology Licensing (OTL): Stanford's central tech transfer office manages IP licensing, startup creation, and corporate partnerships for Stanford research. Directly comparable to OTTCP in mission, scale, and structure as a top-tier private research university tech transfer operation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Caltech's Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships