IP Ventures
Microsoft invests billions of dollars annually in research and development. Our computer science research organization, Microsoft Research, employs more than 700 of the brightest software engineers and researchers in six labs around the world. And our product development teams constantly create software building blocks and internal business applications.
IP Ventures extends and licenses Microsoft Research technology to entrepreneurs and companies to foster innovation and new product development. IP Ventures licenses early-stage innovations from Microsoft Research. Typically, these technologies are substantial enough to base a business upon.
Licensing technology from IP Ventures generally takes 3–12 months, which allows time for your evaluation of the technology and the negotiation of business terms as applicable.
Microsoft has several existing programs for entrepreneurs and emerging businesses. In general, as part of the licensing agreement, Microsoft provides some technology transfer support, including training. Depending on the specific deal, some of the benefits of these programs may include connecting licensees with Microsoft partner groups and some marketing support; the level of support is specified in the final licensing agreement.
