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Good practice Imported

ETH transfer — ETH Zurich's Technology Transfer Office

Switzerland · Zurich · See the Switzerland profile · See the Zurich profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 29% 76/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

ETH Zurich's tech-transfer office produced 37 new spin-offs in 2024, which attracted almost CHF 425 million in financing that year alone; of all ETH spin-offs founded since 1973, 530 remain active today, with 93% still operating five years after launch.

37 spin-offs
New spin-offs founded (2024)
425 CHF million
Financing raised by spin-offs (2024)
530 companies
Active spin-offs since 1973 (1973-2024)
93 %
Five-year survival rate (2024)
ETH transfer — ETH Zurich's Technology Transfer Office

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
ETH Zurich (ETH transfer)
Period
1973–2024
Region (NUTS)
CH04
Keywords
University technology transfer, deep tech spin-offs, venture financing

Context

ETH transfer is the technology transfer office of ETH Zurich, one of Europe's leading technical universities. It manages invention disclosures, patenting and licensing for ETH's research groups, and has operated continuously since 1973.

Activities

The office supports researchers through the full pipeline from invention disclosure to licensing and spin-off creation, including the Pioneer Fellowship programme and related coaching. In 2024 its spin-off portfolio was concentrated in artificial intelligence/machine learning and biotechnology/pharma.

Results

ETH Zurich produced 37 new spin-offs in 2024, which attracted almost CHF 425 million in financing across 42 disclosed rounds, a 25% increase over 2023. Of the 530 spin-offs founded since 1973 that remain active, 519 are still based in Switzerland, and 93% of spin-offs are still operating five years after launch.

Conclusions

The record reflects decades of sustained, publicly reported conversion of university research into companies rather than a single success story, though the figures are self-reported by ETH Zurich rather than independently evaluated. Founding-team diversity remains limited, with mixed or all-female teams in only about a third of spin-offs founded between 2017 and 2024.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Running costs of a university TTO covering disclosure handling, patenting and fellowship coaching are not separately disclosed in public sources; scale is moderate relative to the CHF ~425 million in external financing the spin-offs themselves attracted in 2024.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Operating continuously since 1973; the current spin-off cadence and survival-rate track record reflect over five decades of sustained institutional investment.
Staffing & skills
technology transfer officers managing invention disclosures and licensing, Pioneer Fellowship coaches supporting spin-off founders

Conditions for success

  • access to ETH Zurich's large, well-funded research pipeline across AI/ML and biotech
  • structured invention disclosure and patenting process
  • dedicated coaching and fellowship funding for spin-off founders

Common failure modes

  • founding-team gender diversity remains limited (only around 35% mixed or all-female teams, 2017-2024)

Where it fits

Governance type
university-led
Scale
institutional/national
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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