Cornell's Center for Technology Licensing (CTL)

Issue 01 – May 2026

Cornell Discovery to Impact

Technology commercialization in action

Welcome to Cornell Discovery to Impact!

In this newsletter, we share stories and opportunities that highlight how Cornell innovations move beyond the lab to deliver real-world impact through products, commercial solutions with industry partners, and new ventures.

We value your interest in engaging with us, and hope this publication helps you discover new ways to connect, collaborate, and advance technology commercialization together.

Sincerely,

Lisa Placanica, Senior Managing Director at CTL at Weill Cornell Medicine

Alice Li

Executive Director

Center for Technology Licensing (CTL)

Lisa Placanica

Senior Managing Director at CTL at

Weill Cornell Medicine

In This Issue

📖 Cornell startup Exostellar acquired by Qualcomm

🔥 Gap funding impact: Ignite stories

✨ The journey from lab to market

🚀 Startups to watch: SensVita and Quantera Analytical

📣 Numbers and reports: FY25 Report and Ignite Impact Report

📅 Engage with us

Cornell Startup Exostellar Acquired by Qualcomm

Exostellar founders Robert Van Renesse, Hakim Weatherspoon and Zhiming Shen

Exostellar, a company founded on technologies licensed from Cornell, was recently acquired by Qualcomm, a Fortune 500 company, to bring its cutting-edge datacenter AI solutions to market.

Read the acquisition story ➜

Interested in Cornell's computing and AI technologies? Connect with our team to explore opportunities.

Gap Funding Impact

Accelerating biomed startups

Read the story ➜

Ignite semiconductors story illustration

Igniting semiconductor innovations

Read the story ➜

Ready to advance your technology? Explore gap funding opportunities at every stage:

Ignite gap funding: Cornell and Cornell Tech researchers →
Catalyst Fund: Weill Cornell Medicine researchers →
Ignite Startup Projects: Open to founders from all Cornell campuses →

The Journey from Lab to Market

Dr. Hazel Szeto's journey from therapeutic discovery to FDA approval

Read the story ➜

Harvey Tian takes his lab invention from Cornell to clinical sequencing

Read the story ➜

Also: A Weill Cornell surgical innovation — licensed by CTL, acquired by a global company. Read the story →

🔗 Explore more commercialization stories

Startups to Watch

Cornell startup aims to monitor heart and lung health without touch

Read their story ➜

New Cornell startup targets faster, cheaper, greener testing

Read their story ➜

Interested in Cornell startups and investment opportunities? Join our biannual Investor Brief list. Contact Lynda Inseque. Explore our current startup portfolio.

Commercialization Snapshot

CTL Fiscal Year 2025 Commercialization Report

Professor Iwijn De Vlaminck's lab doesn't stop at papers and grants. In FY25, his RNA technology was licensed to Illumina, and he co-founded Romix Biosciences with an Ignite Fellow. His story is one of many behind CTL's FY25 numbers.

Licenses & Options

$22M

Revenue Generated

New Startups Based on Cornell IP

$462M

Funding Raised by Startups in FY25

Get the FY25 Commercialization Report ➜

Gap Funding Milestones

Professors Debdeep Jena and Huili Grace Xing turned two semiconductor discoveries into two Ignite-backed ventures: Soctera and Gallox Semiconductors, both now incubated at Praxis. Behind Ignite's results are stories like theirs.

$231M

Follow-on Funding

42-to-1

Ratio for every Ignite dollar

New licenses & options for technology commercialization

Startup companies secured significant funding for growth

Review the Ignite Impact Report ➜

Gap Funding Opportunities

Cornell innovators, investors and industry experts convene at Ignite Connect 2026. Watch the pitches →
Enterprise Innovation expands support for early-stage research at Weill Cornell Medicine. Read more →

Engage with Us

Technologies available for partnerships

Explore Cornell's portfolio of technologies available for licensing and industry collaboration.

Search available technologies →

Where Cornell innovations meet expert feedback

Cornell Innovation & Venture Advisors (CIVA)

For industry and investors: Join the CIVA network to access Cornell innovations and share your expert feedback as an advisor.
For Cornell inventors: Present your innovation at the next CIVA roundtable.

Request your invitation: Email Kris Behnke to join as an advisor or to be considered as a presenter.

Learn more about CIVA →