The next world-changing innovation could be sitting in a university lab right now. How can it be brought to market? The answer is tech transfer bridging the gap between groundbreaking research and real-world impact. No one understands this process better than Katharine Ku. For nearly three decades, she led Stanford University’s Office of Technology Licensing, helping bring hundreds of technologies to market, including the early search engine that became Google. Now, as chief licensing advisor at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, she works with startups to help them navigate the challenges of licensing technology from universities.  

In this episode, I sit down with Katharine to talk about how she built Stanford’s tech licensing office into one of the most successful in the country, her philosophy on taking chances when it comes to licensing, and the biggest challenges tech transfer offices face today. Katharine shares the story behind the Nine Points to Consider in Licensing University Technology, which is a framework she helped create that guides universities in making licensing decisions to benefit both researchers and the public.  

She also reflects on how the role of tech transfer offices has expanded beyond just licensing. More and more, they’re being asked to support entrepreneurship, provide funding, and help build startup ecosystems. She talks about how universities are trying to balance these responsibilities while still keeping their core mission in focus. Whether you're an entrepreneur, researcher, or just curious about how university research turns into real-world products, this conversation is full of insights you won’t want to miss.

In This Episode:

[01:52] During Katharine's early career, she was a serial job changer. She noticed a posting at Stanford for a patent engineer. She thought she might give it a shot, since she had a patent at Monsanto and she was also an engineer.

[02:54] This was at the end of 1979. She was involved in the tech transfer profession in the very early years.

[03:21] She became president of AUTM in 1988.

[04:10] She led the Stanford Office of Technology for 27 years. 

[05:31] Stanford was always very entrepreneurial and supportive of the faculty.

[06:15] They've always believed in marketing and the philosophy of taking chances. The goal was to move the research results into the private sector in order to help the public.

[07:56] With the cradle-to-grave model you have to know everything along the path of innovation.

[08:15] The vision for the Stanford office was to do as many licenses as possible.

[09:20] Google came out of Stanford. 

[11:26] Katharine talks about the Nine Points to Consider in Licensing University Technology. 

[13:54] The first point had to do with retaining the right for people at our university and other universities to practice any invention a university would file on.

[15:29] This was an example of a university's understanding of the broader mission of tech transfer.

[16:07] Challenges include having to do more and more. They have more responsibility to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

[18:28] Advice for bridging the gap between universities and industry.

[19:57] Katharine talks about her role at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

[21:25] Advice includes being at the intersection of technology, science, business, and law, as well as university, industry, and government, making it a very exciting field. There's endless things to learn. Stay curious!

Resources: 

Katharine Ku - Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Katharine Ku - LinkedIn

Office of Technology Licensing

Nine Points to Consider in Licensing University Technology

AUTM 2025 Annual Meeting