NTNU Technology Transfer AS — Trondheim's University Spin-off Engine

NTNU Technology Transfer AS (NTNU TTO) was established in 2003, jointly owned by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the Central Norway Regional Health Authority (Helse Midt-Norge RHF), to secure, manage and commercialise intellectual property arising from research at both institutions.

The TTO evaluates invention disclosures from NTNU and HMN researchers, funds proof-of-concept work, files patents and negotiates licences with industry. Where no existing company will take on early-stage deep-tech risk, NTNU TTO creates a spin-off itself, sometimes taking an equity stake in exchange for recruiting a founding team and providing financing and business-development support.

As of 2022, NTNU TTO had established 73 spin-off companies spanning subsea robotics (Eelume, Blueye), cybersecurity (Diri) and medical sensing (Cimon Medical, Nordic Brain Tech), among others. Its best-known success is Kahoot!: the underlying invention was disclosed in 2006, NTNU TTO funded roughly €100,000 of proof-of-concept work and supported about two PhDs and ten Master's theses, the company was formally established in 2012, NTNU TTO sold its shares in 2014, and by 2017 Kahoot! had more than 40 million monthly users across 180 countries.

A caveat: beyond spin-off counts and the Kahoot! case study, NTNU TTO does not publish aggregate figures for portfolio-wide jobs, revenue or follow-on investment, so the full economic footprint of its 73 spin-offs cannot be independently verified.

See the spin-off portfolio: https://www.ntnutto.no/spinoffs/

Read the full analysis: https://ttb.sk/clanky/facilitating-technology-transfer-in-norway-by-promoting-innovation-and-collaboration/