Fifteen years ago, Northeastern University made a strategic decision to make sure the research happening in its labs could reach patients, drive innovation, and change the way people live.
Since creating the Center for Research Innovation (CRI) in 2011, Northeastern researchers have disclosed 1,874 inventions; the university has been granted 799 patents, with protection in 27 countries; and 122 companies have been built on Northeastern research — raising more than $515 million in capital along the way.
Behind those numbers is a dedicated team, a growing community, and a shared belief that great scientific research deserves a clear path to industry and the world. This year, CRI celebrates 15 years of building that path together with faculty inventors, students, industry partners, and investors.
“Having worked alongside CRI for over a decade, I’ve watched this office turn promising ideas into real protection for our researchers and real value for the university and the public. As the science gets more ambitious going forward — from proteomics to infrastructure in space — CRI will ensure that innovation never outruns the protection it needs” – Andy Curtin, Senior Counsel, Office of the General Counsel
Building the Foundation
In 2011, CRI began with a gift from Rich D’Amore and a staff of three: a director, a patent specialist, and a manager of operations and finance. At the time, there was no patent database, so patent correspondence lived in email inboxes and processes had to be written from scratch.
Eager to grow, the team got to work. They hired specialists, chose a database, set up financial and compliance systems, and introduced themselves to the fast growing research community. The team saw quick success, with invention disclosures nearly doubling in just two years, from 57 in FY11 to 107 in FY13.
CRI also created RISE — Research, Innovation, Scholarship & Entrepreneurship — Northeastern’s university-wide showcase of student research and creativity. RISE brought undergraduate and graduate work into the spotlight and helped make student innovation a core part of the university’s culture.
Scaling the Model and Creating Momentum
As Northeastern’s research grew, CRI grew with it. What started as three people became a group of specialists spanning intellectual property, contracts, commercialization, venture creation, marketing, finance, operations, and compliance. Commercialization managers took ownership of portfolio areas, supported by PhD and master’s students who brought deep technical expertise to the work — and gained business skills that are rare in their fields.
“We’ve won the trust of our research community and are now considered a trusted partner. We’ve supported academic founders in evolving into successful entrepreneurs while fostering the industry connections, investment opportunities, and commercialization strategies needed to launch high-impact spinout companies from the lab,” said Jennifer Boyle-Lynch, Executive Director of the CRI.
An important addition was the Spark Fund. The team recognized early on that great research often stalls before it can attract investors — not because the science is weak, but because it needs the right funding to reach the next stage. Spark Fund proof-of-concept awards closed that gap. Over the years, the fund has invested $2.05 million across 38 projects, helping spinouts raise $24 million in external capital — about eight dollars for every dollar invested.
Patents granted climbed from 20 in FY13 to 82 in FY20. Spinout formation accelerated as well, with seven companies in FY19, twelve in FY20, and fourteen in FY21 — more in three years than in CRI’s first six combined. Capital raised by Northeastern spinouts jumped from single-digit millions to $135.1 million in FY21.
A Record-Breaking Year
Fiscal year 2026 set new highs for innovation and commercialization by nearly every measure. Northeastern recorded 188 invention disclosures, up 10 percent and the most in CRI’s history. Patent applications reached 333, up 8.5 percent; and 66 patents were granted, including 57 in the United States — a 10.7 percent increase from the previous year. This year, the team executed 12 new licenses and options, launched nine new companies, and watched spinouts raise another $25.7 million.
Over the past five years, active technology families have grown 52 percent while patent applications rose 17 percent, meaning that CRI is supporting more inventors and more inventions while keeping a focused, well-curated portfolio. That focus means licensees and partners are supporting technologies that can make real-world impact.
The portfolio is strong in other ways, as well. Sixty percent of disclosed technologies carry government funding behind them. Another 18 percent came from collaborations with other universities — demonstrating that Northeastern’s reach extends well beyond its own campuses and is increasingly supporting the global research and innovation ecosystem.
Out of the Lab to Create Real-World Impact
Of the 122 companies built on Northeastern research, 61 are active today and nine have been acquired. Thirty-nine have set up in Massachusetts, creating jobs and keeping talent close to home. Ninety-four Northeastern students have completed co-ops at spinout companies, working inside businesses built on research from their own university.
The technologies supported by CRI span nearly every field that Northeastern touches. Success stories include spinouts such as Scipher Medicine, built on research from Albert-László Barabási’s lab, which helps predict which rheumatoid arthritis patients will respond to which treatments before therapy begins. Flaskworks, from Shashi Murthy’s lab, was acquired by Northwest Biotherapeutics and is advancing cell therapy manufacturing. Quad Technologies was acquired by Bio-Techne, and its cell separation products are used in laboratories worldwide.
Newer ventures are also moving fast. For example, Fourier Thermal Solutions is developing advanced thermal management for clean energy, and has earned a spot in the National Security Innovation Network’s Emerge program, a Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Catalyst grant, and a place in MassChallenge. Ada IQ completed Techstars Boston, secured SBIR Phase I funding with CRI’s grant-writing support, and partnered with product design firm PTC. Pathfind is compressing deep learning models so AI can run on simple devices. Tantu Therapeutics is advancing microbe-based therapies for inflammatory bowel disease. CellOS is automating control of 5G and 6G networks, Rheopoint is applying AI to fluid mechanics and materials discovery, and ViralNPQ is building tools for pandemic preparedness.
Success in industry is compounding, as the wins these startups achieve also return home. Over 15 years, license agreements have generated $6.87 million in gross revenue for the university, with $2.06 million flowing back to Northeastern labs and inventors to fund the next round of discovery.
Northeastern Research is Stronger Together
Much of what CRI has built over these past 15 years depends on networking and collaboration with others. The team founded the Technology Transfer Venture Consortium (TTVC), a national network of universities and organizations that pools resources, shares best practices, and presents investors with a diversified portfolio of academic ventures instead of asking each company to compete for attention on its own.
Venturium, the consortium’s signature pitch platform, has hosted three events since 2024, featured 44 early-stage spinouts, drawn 605 RSVPs, and welcomed 340 attendees. A quarterly investor newsletter now connects more than 250 investors and strategic partners with spinouts actively raising capital.
Furthermore, Northeastern’s chapter of the National Academy of Inventors has become a gathering place for faculty and student innovators, and the university has been recognized among the NAI’s top 100 institutions worldwide for U.S. utility patents.
CRI also partners across campus — with colleges, institutes, research administration, and legal counsel — so that faculty get coordinated support rather than a maze of separate offices.
The Next 15 Years of CRI
The pipeline ahead is as ambitious as anything in CRI’s first 15 years. Northeastern researchers are working on infrastructure to run data centers in space, next-generation proteomic sequencing, new materials to fight climate change, and new classes of therapeutics. One Northeastern spinout is preparing technology for a 2028 lunar mission.
The team’s goal for the years ahead is to expand its reach without boundaries. That means deepening industry partnerships and strengthening CRI’s reputation as a trusted commercialization partner, as well as working even more closely with Northeastern’s colleges and institutes, growing the patent portfolio in fast-moving fields like AI and computer science, and continuing to support national networks like TTVC and Venturium that connect academic ventures with investors. Above all, it means making sure researchers across every discipline and career stage can find a path to market.
Fifteen years ago, CRI set out to help bring Northeastern’s research into the world. Today that research is in clinics, data centers, factories — and soon, on the moon — and CRI will ensure it receives the breakthrough support it deserves so it can change the world for the better.
To explore how CRI advances Northeastern research into real-world applications, visit cri.northeastern.edu.