As a leading American research university, the University of Minnesota advances knowledge across a wide range of fields, yielding new solutions and technologies that can then be commercialized to benefit the public, foster economic growth, and generate revenue to further support the University’s mission. Technology transfer measures are part of the goals of MPact 2025, the University’s systemwide strategic plan.
The University of Minnesota launched a record-breaking 25 startups in fiscal year (FY) 2024. UMN also received 375 new invention disclosures, executed 226 licensing deals, submitted 126 first patent filings, and earned licensing revenue of over $20 million, much of which is or will be reinvested in research and innovation at the U.
Technology commercialization statistics (below) reflect deal flow from year to year and are subject to significant volatility. Typically, the University of Minnesota is ranked among the top 10-20 US public universities for key technology transfer metrics.
“We’re proud of the tech transfer ecosystem we’ve built here at the University of Minnesota. It’s a reflection of the caliber of ideas coming out of the U of M research community and our experienced Technology Commercialization team.” --Rick Huebsch, Associate Vice President for Technology Commercialization
Technology Commercialization Statistics, FY20-FY24

Startup Companies

Since the 2006 founding of the Venture Center, which is a division of University of Minnesota Technology Commercialization, the University has launched more than 260 startup companies, with a long term success rate of 68%. Additionally, 73% of these companies have located in Minnesota. In FY2024, a record 88% of new University startups — 22 out of 25 — located in-state. The 25 startups also meet the University’s goal to spin out “25 by 2025” under MPact 2025.

Ten UMN startups have been acquired or gone public in the past decade, and overall UMN startups have attracted more than $1.8 billion in investment capital, IPOs, and acquisitions, according to a 2022 survey. See a video about the University’s 200th startup milestone.
The University is:
- Launching high quality companies at a higher rate across a diverse mix of industries
- Populating its startup pipeline with more ideas and more potential startup companies than ever before
- Investing additional resources in its venture work
- Working with companies outside the University in partnership with the state’s Launch Minnesota program
The University’s technology transfer work has been recognized for its excellence in national and global rankings:
- UMN is in the top 20 public universities for five key tech transfer metrics: startups (3rd), deals (7th), disclosures (11th), New Patent Applications (16th), and License Income (17th); AUTM 2022 Survey
- 17th among US public universities granted US Utility Patents; National Academy of Inventors Top 100, 2023
- First for technology transfer within the 20-state heartland region, and fifth among all US public universities; Heartland Forward 2022
New Initiative to Support Future Innovation
The University seeks to amplify its proven process for getting opportunities to innovators and innovations to market under its Discover→Advance→Impact™ fundraising initiative. The initiative seeks to raise $40 million to add more capital to its proven end-to-end tech transfer model that is currently undersized relative to the innovation pipeline.
Annual Research Reports
See our 2024 Annual Report on Technology Commercialization.
Learn more about the University's research enterprise.