I'm a professor in Atlanta with research I want to commercialize. Who helps me spin it out?

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Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute

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Atlanta has a fairly developed university-commercialization ecosystem. The right first stop depends heavily on which university owns the IP and whether your research is software/deep tech, biomedical, or something else.

If the research was created under your university appointment, I’d start with your institution’s technology-transfer/commercialization office before incorporating or negotiating with investors. They can determine ownership, patent/disclosure requirements, and the terms under which a spinout could license the IP.

For Atlanta specifically:

Georgia Tech faculty: start with Georgia Tech Office of Commercialization

and Technology Licensing. For actually building a research-based company, VentureLab and Quadrant-i are specifically designed for faculty/researchers; Georgia Tech says they provide commercialization coaching, funding, and startup support.

Georgia Tech Commercialization

+1

Once you're building the company, ATDC is the major local tech incubator and works with Georgia startups beyond just Georgia Tech.

ATDC

Emory faculty: Emory Office of Technology Transfer

has a dedicated…

Trimmed here; the full answer is in the viewer.

Named: Atlanta, Georgia Tech, Georgia Tech VentureLab, ATDC, Emory University, Georgia State University, Georgia Research Alliance

Sources cited: mapbox.com, commercialization.gatech.edu, atdc.org, ott.emory.edu, news.emory.edu, med.aws.emory.edu

Claude

Short answer: your own university's tech transfer office is the first call, and in Georgia almost everything else routes through them.

Start here (before any public disclosure)

File an invention disclosure with your institution's office. Talking about unfiled work at a conference or in a paper can cost you patent rights abroad and start the clock in the US.

Georgia Tech — the Office of Commercialization runs several units: Technology Licensing (IP), Quadrant-i, VentureLab, ATDC, CREATE-X, and Velocity Startups. Quadrant-i is the one aimed at faculty and researchers, offering coaching and funding to bring research to market; OTL handles the IP itself.

gatech

Emory — the Office of Technology Transfer, whose Faculty and Start-up Services program guides discoveries to market through new venture creation and integrates the Georgia Research Alliance Venture program into OTT operations.

emory

Georgia State, Morehouse School of Medicine, Clark Atlanta, Kennesaw each have their own equivalent office.

Money for the "too early for VCs" stage

The Georgia Research Alliance is the big one statewide. GRA Ventures runs a phased program — grants at the earliest stage, then a loan of up to $250,000 to a faculty startup past the first two phases, then equity through the GRA Venture Fund. Two things to know: proposals must be submitted by your tech transfer office, not by you or your startup directly, and the project must rest on university-owned IP and be aimed at creating a…

Trimmed here; the full answer is in the viewer.

Named: Georgia Tech, Georgia Tech VentureLab, ATDC, Georgia Tech CREATE-X, Emory University, Georgia Research Alliance, Georgia State University, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Kennesaw State University

Sources cited: s1.commercialization.gatech.edu, ott.emory.edu, bme.gatech.edu, scholarblogs.emory.edu, hypepotamus.com

Gemini

To spin out research as a university professor in Atlanta, several key entities within the local ecosystem provide hands-on assistance with intellectual property (IP), funding, mentorship, and business incubation:

1. Your University’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO)

Every major research institution in Atlanta has an office that serves as your first point of contact to evaluate IP, file patents, and draft licensing agreements allowing a spinout company to commercialize university-owned IP:

Georgia Tech: Office of Commercialization / Technology Licensing

Emory University: Office of Technology Transfer (OTT)

Georgia State University: Office of Technology Transfer & Commercialization

Morehouse School of Medicine & Atlanta University Center: Office of Technology Transfer

2. State & Regional Commercialization Organizations

Georgia Research Alliance (GRA): GRA offers Phase 1 ($50k) and Phase 2 ($100k) non-dilutive commercialization grants directly to Georgia university researchers to de-risk market/technical assumptions. GRA also provides direct Phase 3 startup loans (up to $250,000) once a venture launches.

GRA Venture Fund: A public-private venture capital fund dedicated specifically to investing in early-stage, research-backed startups emerging from Georgia's universities.

3. Startup Incubators & Accelerators

Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC): Located in Midtown’s Technology Square, ATDC is Georgia’s state-backed technology incubator. It helps university…

Trimmed here; the full answer is in the viewer.

Named: Atlanta, Georgia Tech, Emory University, Georgia State University, Georgia Research Alliance, ATDC, Georgia Tech VentureLab, University of Georgia, Georgia Tech CREATE-X

Sources cited: commercialization.gatech.edu, ott.emory.edu, venturelab.gatech.edu, graventurefund.org, nucleate.org

Perplexity

Your first stop is your university’s technology-transfer or commercialization office. Before publishing or presenting the work, submit an invention disclosure; that office can establish ownership, protect the IP, evaluate licensing versus a spinout, and license the technology to your new company.

ott.emory

+2

In Atlanta, that means:

Georgia Tech: Office of Commercialization—Technology Licensing and VentureLab, which can assess the opportunity, coach the team, and match faculty with experienced entrepreneurs.

msm

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Emory: Office of Technology Transfer, including Faculty and Startup Services.

msm

+1

Georgia State: Panther Innovations, led by Joanne Mitchell.

catalog.gatech

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Morehouse School of Medicine: Office of Translational Technologies.

ott.emory

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Another Georgia institution: Start with its research office; the Georgia Research Alliance can also support faculty at accredited Georgia universities with translational grants, advisers, management connections, and startup loans.

msm

After disclosure, useful partners include NSF I-Corps Southeast for customer discovery, Georgia Research Alliance for de-risking funds, Biolocity for eligible Emory/Georgia Tech medical technologies, and ATDC once the venture is ready for startup incubation.

nsf

+3

I prepared a detailed report with contacts, resources, and a recommended eight-step spinout sequence.

ott.emory

Named: Atlanta, Georgia Tech, Georgia Tech VentureLab, Emory University, Georgia State University, Georgia Research Alliance, ATDC

Sources cited: msm.edu, ott.emory.edu, sanicka.com, annoviant.com, biolocity.gatech.edu, research.gatech.edu, eni.gsu.edu, grantedai.com, medtech.gatech.edu