Expansion of Yale Startup License

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to share that Yale Ventures has expanded the Yale Startup Licenses for use by members of the university community developing new ventures based on Yale intellectual property. This includes the release of a new license designed specifically to support early-stage and software-enabled spinouts. The Yale Startup Licenses are designed to help innovators streamline and accelerate the launch of Yale technologies into the world where they can have the greatest impact.

The university has worked closely with a team of faculty, startup attorneys, experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders to update the Yale Startup Licenses so that their deal structures include more competitive financial terms. Especially notable is that the new structure features a lowered grant of equity to Yale, which has been benchmarked against those from peer institutions. For more information on the expanded Yale Startup License program, and to preview the licenses, please visit: https://ventures.yale.edu/programs/yale-startup-licenses 

These updates are part of an overall effort by Yale Ventures to reduce barriers for moving Yale technologies out of the university and onto their path to commercialization. The updated licenses follow the recent Yale announcement that the university will expand IP license income-sharing practices, distributing 100% of net income generated from new technologies to the Yale researchers and academic units responsible for the inventions. 

I hope you share my excitement about the potential for this expansion to further our innovation community’s positive impact on the world. Thank you for your partnership in this important mission and please feel free to share this message with colleagues for whom it may be relevant.

Sincerely, 

Michael C. Crair, PhD 
Vice Provost for Research