Cornell University is unique among US institutions of higher education in that it combines the academic excellence of an Ivy League School as one of its eight members and the public service mission of a land-grant university of the State of New York. Its academic comprehensiveness reflects the vision of its founder, Ezra Cornell, who would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study with research and teaching programs spanning from agriculture to veterinary medicine, from engineering to human healthcare, from arts and sciences to human ecology, industry and labor relations, and architecture, design and planning, and professional studies in business management, hotel administration, and law.
The Cornell Center for Technology Enterprise & Commercialization (CCTEC) is responsible for the management of innovations resulting from the university’s many programs to advance its mission. Over the years, CCTEC and its partner, Cornell Research Foundation, introduced many Cornell innovations to industry partners who successfully translated them into useful products and services for the public benefit. In FY2010, Cornell celebrated the 30th anniversary of the seminal Bayh-Dole Act by granting an additional 114 commercial licenses to industry partners, 12 of which were to new businesses founded with the licensed Cornell innovations to create new jobs and economic growth.
Featured Startups and Technologies
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc.
Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (Menlo Park, CA) was originally founded as Nanofluidics in Ithaca, NY by Cornellian Steve Turner and Cornell professor Harold Craighead with the license of a portfolio of zero-mode waveguide technologies from Cornell. The company developed the proprietary SMRT(TM) (Single Molecule Real Time) technology that enables the rapid analysis of biomolecules with single molecule resolution. The technology is finding applications in genomic analysis, personalized medicine, clinical and genetic diagnosis and agricultural research, with potential uses in molecular diagnostics, drug discovery and development, food safety, forensics, biosecurity and biofuels. The company successfully secured $200M in its initial public offering with a market capitalization of over $850M in late 2010. It employs 433 as of October 2010.
Kionix, Inc.
Kionix, Inc. (Ithaca, NY) was founded by Cornellian Greg Galvin with the license of a portfolio of MEMS technologies from Cornell. It successfully spun off its optical switching applications to Calient Networks in 2001,and then reincarnated itself by developing the licensed technologies for velocity change sensing applications. The reincarnated company was acquired by ROHM in 2009 for $233M and is currently operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of ROHM in Ithaca, NY employing over 160 with an annual payroll that exceeds $12M.
Achronix Semiconductor Corporation
Achronix Semiconductor Corp. (San Jose, CA) was co-founded by Cornellians Clinton Kelly, Virantha Ekanayake, and Cornell professor Rajit Manohar in Ithaca, NY with the license of a patented picoPIPE(TM) data acceleration technology from Cornell. The company developed the world’s fastest and highest density Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). With performance up to 1.5GHz throughput, Achronix’s Speedster 22i FPGAs are the most advanced in the world, enabling new, innovative, and high-performance programmable designs for applications including networking, telecommunications, military and aerospace, test and measurement, encryption, high-performance computing, video and imaging, and digital signal processing. In October 2008, the company completed their $52M Series B Preferred Stock Financing. In November 2010, Intel Corp. and Achronix announced a strategic partnership under which Intel will make Achronix chips allowing Achronix access to its most advanced production processes.
e2e Materials
e2e Materials (Ithaca, NY) was founded by Cornellian Pat Govang with the license of a portfolio of Cornell technologies. The company sells environmentally green high-strength composite materials composed of plant fibers in a soybean-based polymer matrix which are manufactured without the use of organic solvents.The company’s materials are finding uses in consumer products, furniture, and buildings.
Multiphoton Microscopy
Multiphoton Microscopy (MPM) is developed and marketed by Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH with a portfolio of licensed technologies from Cornell. MPM enables user to view live tissues in real time at high resolution without the need for chemical- or cryo- fixation, staining, or thin-slicing. MPM can be found today in most advanced research and analytical laboratories and has contributed significantly to the advancement of life sciences.
SNPlex® Genotyping System
SNPlex® Genotyping System is developed and marketed by Life Technologies with a portfolio of licensed technologies from Cornell. SNPlex® allows users to simultaneously genotype up to 48 single nucleotide polymorphisms against a single biological sample. It has become an indispensable research tool in most molecular research and analytical laboratories and contributed significantly to the advancement of biotechnology.
Geneva® Apple Rootstocks
The Geneva® Apple Rootstocks are a series of rootstocks developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station of Cornell University. The rootstocks are selected for resistance to fireblight infection and performance in various soil and climate conditions to ensure a robust fruit production without the heavy reliance on chemical fungicides that cause significant food safety and environmental concerns. The rootstocks are licensed broadly and are available to apple growers worldwide.
Nobivac® Canine Flu H3N8
Nobivac® Canine Flu H3N8 is developed and marketed by Intervet/Schering- Plough Animal Health. It is the first vaccine, fully licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture, proven to significantly decrease the clinical signs, severity, and spread of Canine Influenza Virus infection. The vaccine is comprised of killed virus (type A, subtype H3N8) combined with an adjuvant and its safety was proven after a year of clinical use in 500,000 dogs.
Contact Us
Cornell Center for Technology Enterprise & Commercialization
395 Pine Tree Road
Suite 310
Ithaca, New York 14850
Phone: (607) 254-4698
E-mail: cctec@cornell.edu