Nanyang is intuitive about tech transfer

Nanyang Technological University has established a new commercialisation arm dubbed Ntuitive. The private company has set out a five-year plan to increase tech transfer of university research.

Headed by Dr Jui Lim, Ntuitive’s main goal will be to have a steady stream of startups and spin-outs seeing exits by either floating or being acquired. The company is a result of the merger between NTU Ventures, the former commercial and technology outfit, and Nanyan Innovation and Enterprise Office, the university’s licensing department. The merger was initiated in April 2014.

Ntuitive has 37 portfolio companies, of which eight are spin-outs and 29 are startups. Most of these focus on software, but Ntuitive is hoping it can help set up more hardware-focused companies in the future.

Dr Lim joined the university only 18 months ago. He holds an MD from Columbia University, with a specialisation in anaesthesiology from National University of Singapore.

Dr Lim said: “We want a better way to fine-tune our efforts, to find out who wants to be startup founders, what are the factors that made them succeed. Then, we have a better way of identifying successful entrepreneurs.”