A key player in technology transfer
TTT’s core business is to invest in technological development programs, based on academic research done in the Occitanie region and includes the following:
- Intellectual Property and legal management, to create more value by filing patent applications and protecting know-how
- Technical operations to design and fund relevant proof-of-concept programs to bring them up to a level that attracts businesses
- Market studies to identify relevant targets and the corresponding market mix; then licensing out the technologies to existing companies or startups
TTT thus bears the technological and financial risks of the innovation process in order to maximize the socio-economic impact of academic research and transform it into a source of growth and employment.
Since it was founded, Toulouse Tech Transfer has:
- 954 disclosures : 697 projects scouted, 218 patents filled; 224 patent families managed
- 249 maturation projects launched: 31 M€ invested from 25 M€ engaged
- Signed 96 licensing agreements
- Supported the creation of 14 start-ups
A multidisciplinary team
TTT is organized into business units focused on specific market areas:
- Engineering & systems
- Information & communication technologies
- Healthcare
- Environment, feed & food industry
The business units benefit from teams of intellectual property and legal specialists.
TTT’s dedicated staff interacts with:
- Research teams in laboratories in order to identify inventions, to assess their potential markets, and to determine the best technology transfer strategy
- Industry in order to identify market needs, and to promote technology transfer to existing companies or start-up companies
History and shareholding
Following a French National initiative, 13 technology transfer companies called SATTs have been created to boost technology transfer in the public sector. Toulouse Tech Transfer was founded in January 2012 as one of the first five SATTs.
Just as for any company, TTT has shareholders with the following breakdown: Toulouse Federal University, Bpi France, CNRS (the French national center for scientific research), Toulouse Métropole and Région Occitanie.
Regional technology transfer offices
Toulouse Tech Transfer is one of the founders of the SATT Network.
The SATT Network is an association that federates the 13 SATTs or Technology Transfer Accelerator Offices, whose mission is to simplify and professionalize technology transfer from French academic research toward industry.
Created in 2014, the association aims to carry out joint actions to increase the efficiency, and visibility of the SATTs while raising awareness of their role. Through its action, the SATT Network enables:
- The sharing of a common catalog of technologies ready to be transferred
- The development of partnerships
- The showcasing of shared values
- A coordinated communication strategy
SATTs are French private TTOs (technology transfer offices), shared by several public research organizations that were created to develop and commercialize research results by transforming them into innovative products. They evaluate, market and license technologies from French Universities and Public Research Organizations.
Through a combination of professionalism, expertise and financing, SATTs intervene in the transfer chain according to the needs of industry. By increasing Technology Readiness Levels, they also contribute by reducing companies’ risks.
SATTs stimulate economic development by reinforcing companies’ competitiveness, with an emphasis on SMEs and start-up companies.