What Aquitaine Science Transfer does

Aquitaine Science Transfer (legally SATT AQUITAINE SAS) is a French technology transfer office (TTO) established in 2012 as part of the national SATT (Sociétés d'Accélération du Transfert de Technologies) network, which professionalizes the transformation of inventions from public academic research into commercial innovations. Headquartered in Talence with a secondary office in Pau, the company serves three primary constituencies: academic researchers and doctoral students at Nouvelle-Aquitaine institutions (shareholders include Université de Bordeaux, Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, Bordeaux INP, CNRS, and INSERM); companies seeking to license or co-develop public-research technologies; and entrepreneurs building deeptech startups. Its core services span IP protection and management, research-result maturation funding, startup incubation via the Chrysa-link incubator, and licensing facilitation through a catalog of 40+ technologies spanning medical devices, biotechnology, materials, optics, energy, and digital sectors.

The company's operating model combines institutional mandate with commercial intermediation. It provides shareholder institutions with IP drafting and portfolio management services, deploys maturation capital into research projects (e.g., €588K deployed across three startup projects in October 2019, including KUNE, ZENITH, and AERODIODE), and supports ventures through competition wins such as i-LAB 2019 (CERTIS THERAPEUTICS, NUREA, CARBON WATERS). Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed but consist of professional services fees, public-program funding through the Investissement d'Avenir program, and potential equity stakes or licensing royalties from incubated startups and licensees such as Vygon, Decathlon, Kromatiz, Treefrog Therapeutics, Corlieve Therapeutics, Hemangiol, and Nova Carbon. The organization holds ISO 9001 certification, sits within the French Tech Seed Aquitaine consortium (alongside Bpifrance and regional technopoles), and is governed by President Maylis Chusseau, who also leads the national CURIE Network of 180+ public research valorization actors.

Name

Aquitaine Science Transfer

Legal name

SATT AQUITAINE SAS

Website

https://ast-innovations.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aquitaine Science Transfer is a French technology transfer office (SATT) that matures and commercializes inventions from Nouvelle-Aquitaine public research laboratories, serving academic researchers, licensees (such as Vygon and Decathlon), and deeptech startups through IP management, incubation, and licensing services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Talence

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Technology Transfer Services: Services to assist in drafting IP securities and managing intellectual property assets for shareholder institutions. Supports maturation of research results and transfer to companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Aquitaine Science Transfer (SATT Aquitaine) is a technology transfer accelerator that connects public research from regional universities and research institutions (CNRS, INSERM) to commercial markets. It provides intellectual property drafting and management services for shareholder institutions, funds research maturation, licenses technologies via an innovations catalog, and runs the chrysa-link incubator and "Mature your PhD" program to create deeptech startups from academic research.

Product overview

Aquitaine Science Transfer operates as a technology transfer accelerator (SATT - Société d'Accélération du Transfert de Technologie) that connects public research with industry. The organization does not offer a unified software product but rather a portfolio of services including the Chrysa-link incubator for deep-tech startups, practical guides for researchers and companies on innovation pathways, an innovations catalog featuring technologies available for licensing from regional laboratories, the Mature your PhD program, and support for the i-PhD competition. These services collectively form an ecosystem for transferring academic research innovations to the commercial sector through intellectual property management, project maturation, and startup incubation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• chrysa-link incubator: Incubator program for startup projects supported by the company
• French Tech Seed Aquitaine consortium

Products and services

• Chrysa-link Incubator Incubation program that provides support and funding for deeptech startup projects emerging from public research laboratories in Nouvelle-Aquitaine; offers maturation investment, incubation services, and pathways to market for spinoff ventures. Targeted at researchers, doctoral students, and entrepreneurs seeking to convert lab IP into startups.
• Mature your PhD Program Acceleration program designed to help doctoral researchers mature and valorize their research results toward commercial or transfer applications. Targeted at PhD students working on research with industrial or societal potential.
• Technology Transfer & IP Management Services End-to-end technology transfer professional services for shareholder institutions and industry partners: drafting IP securities, managing intellectual property assets, maturing research results, licensing technologies from the innovations catalog, and facilitating research-to-industry partnerships. Targeted at public research institutions (CNRS, INSERM, regional universities) seeking professionalized IP and transfer support, and at companies seeking access to research-validated technology.

Named customers13 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

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• La Rochelle UniversitémajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2019Partnership for valorization of research results from La Rochelle Université. AST was granted first right of review to invest in research results from La Rochelle University, with a 1.5 M€ allocation under the Investissements d'Avenir Plan.
• French Tech Seed Aquitaine consortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcosystem bringing together SATT Aquitaine Science Transfert, technopoles (Unitec, Bordeaux Technowest), and ADI, supported by French State, Aquitaine Region, research establishments and Bpifrance. Supports creation of deeptech startups with continuum of accompaniment.
• CURIE NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational association of public research valorization with 180+ actors. AST President Maylis Chusseau was re-elected president of CURIE network in September 2020.
• CNRScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench National Centre for Scientific Research - one of AST's founding shareholder institutions, representing major public research partner.
• INSERMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench National Institute of Health and Medical Research - one of AST's founding shareholder institutions.
• Université de BordeauxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of AST's founding shareholder institutions and major research university partner.
• Université de Pau et des Pays de l'AdourcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of AST's founding shareholder institutions and major research university partner.
• Bordeaux INPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitut Polytechnique de Bordeaux - one of AST's founding shareholder institutions.
• UnitecmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnopole supporting i-LAB 2019 winners and French Tech Seed Aquitaine consortium activities.
• Bordeaux TechnowestmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnopole supporting i-LAB 2019 winners and French Tech Seed Aquitaine consortium activities.
• ADI (Aquitaine Développement Innovation)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional development agency part of the French Tech Seed Aquitaine consortium.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SATT Conectus Alsace: Alsace-based French SATT that operates the same technology-transfer acceleration model as AST, including IP management, research maturation, and deeptech incubation under public funding.
• SATT Grand Est: Regional SATT serving eastern France with an identical model — valorization of public-research IP, maturation financing, and deeptech startup incubation — making it a structural peer in scale, funding sources, and deal-flow dynamics.
• SATT Paris-Saclay: Larger French SATT serving the Paris-Saclay research cluster (Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, CEA, INSERM). Directly comparable business model of maturing public-research IP and licensing to industry, but with significantly larger funding scale and broader technology scope.
• SATT Nord: French SATT covering the Hauts-de-France region with the same technology-transfer mandate (IP, maturation, incubation) as AST. Comparable size and government funding profile, competing for national recognition of deeptech spinouts.
• SATT Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (Toulouse Tech Transfer): One of France's other SATTs operating the same regional technology-transfer mandate in the Toulouse/Midi-Pyrénées area. It runs the same Investissements d'Avenir-backed model of IP management, research maturation, and deeptech startup incubation as AST, making it the closest comparable peer.
• SATT Ouest Valorisation: SATT covering western French academic institutions, running the same Investissements d'Avenir-backed technology transfer and incubation model. Strong direct comparability on portfolio breadth, partner research labs, and corporate licensing channels.

Broad incumbents

• Inserm Transfert: INSERM's wholly-owned technology-transfer subsidiary, focused on health/biotech valorization. INSERM is also an AST shareholder, so Inserm Transfert is a related but larger-scale, sector-specialized TTO with overlapping biotech deal flow.
• Bpifrance: France's public investment bank and AST's financial partner within the French Tech Seed Aquitaine consortium. Operates far more broadly across innovation funding, venture capital, and export finance, but shares deeptech-startup co-investment and maturation capital activities with AST.
• CNRS Innovation: The dedicated technology-transfer arm of CNRS — one of AST's founding shareholders. Operates nationally across all CNRS labs with a broader portfolio and mandate than AST's regional focus, making it an upstream/adjacent incumbent in the same valorization space.

Regional players

• Cambridge Enterprise (University of Cambridge): University of Cambridge's technology-transfer office providing IP management, research consultancy, and seed funding to spinouts. While UK-based and not directly competing in France, it is a structurally analogous regional TTO with similar deeptech incubation outputs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/sattaquitaine
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SATTAquitaine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aquitaine-science-transfert-satt-aquitaine-

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments2 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Aquitaine Science Transfer