ETH transfer — ETH Zurich's University-to-Market Technology Transfer Office

ETH transfer is ETH Zurich's central technology-transfer office, responsible for patenting, licensing and spinning out companies from the university's research since 1973.

In 2024, ETH researchers filed 141 invention disclosures, resulting in 107 patent applications and 49 licences. That year, 37 new spin-off companies were founded, with the largest concentrations in AI/machine learning (10 companies) and biotechnology/pharmaceuticals (8 companies).

ETH spin-offs raised almost CHF 425 million in 42 disclosed financing rounds in 2024, a 25% increase over the prior year. Of the 530 spin-offs founded since 1973, the large majority remain active in Switzerland, and 93% of companies are still operating five years after founding. In 2025 the office recorded 46 new ventures (24 classed as ETH Spin-offs, 22 as ETH Start-ups), raising CHF 540 million.

Caution: the published figures describe volume and survival, not the underlying research quality or societal benefit of each spin-off, and available sources provide no evidence on whether the model reaches under-represented founders or research groups outside ETH's best-funded departments.

Read the full analysis: https://zuerich.ai/news/eth-zurich-spinoff-record-2025-analysis/