The London university has seen a surge in applications to commercialise artificial intelligence-related technologies.
UCL Business, the technology transfer office of University College London (UCL) in the UK, has seen a 24.5% jump in academics seeking to commercialise their research in the fiscal year 2023 to 2024 compared with the previous year.
The number of academics seeking to commercialise artificial intelligence-related technologies saw a sharp increase. Researchers submitting invention disclosure forms that list names of inventors, funding sources and potential commercial applications surged by more than 30% compared with the prior year. In 2023 and 2024, the focus for spinout technologies was more on biomarkers and gene/cell therapies.
A new report released by UCL Business also shows that the University College London’s commercialisation arm raised £3bn ($3.8bn) of investment between 2019 and 2024. Its university-affiliated venture fund, UCL Technology Fund, has invested £13.4m in the London university’s spinouts.
Its spinouts that received funding over the past year include photonics company Oriole Networks, which raised $22m in a series A in 2024, and biopharmaceutical company Trace Neuroscience, which raised $101m in a series A in November 2024.
UCL spinout Endomag, which has developed a technology for breast cancer surgery, was acquired by US women’s health company Hologic in 2024.
