Taking Tech Off Campus: Navigating University Tech Licensing
Your breakthrough started in a university lab, so how do you get it out?
Licensing tech from a university’s Office of Technology Licensing (OTL) is one of the first big hurdles for research-born startups, and getting it right shapes everything that follows: your fundraise, your IP, and your cap table.
Join Berkeley Gateway Accelerator and Ashurst Perkins Coie for an evening fireside chat on how founders work through the OTL process, from first conversation to signed license.
The Conversation
Jim Brenner, Partner at Ashurst Perkins Coie, moderates.
Jim guides startups through their whole lifecycle, from formation and fundraising to governance and exit.
He has particular depth in deep tech: aerospace, robotics and automation, data center infrastructure, and dual-use defense.
Adam Shevell, Partner at Ashurst Perkins Coie, joins us as topic expert.
Adam advises founders on everything from product launch to exit, and is known for negotiating high-stakes deals for startups.
He works across AI, robotics, autonomous mobility, clean tech, digital health, and fintech.
He speaks often on IP questions around gen AI, has appeared on This Week in Startups, and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal.
Director of Commercialization at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), leading industry partnerships, IP strategy, licensing, and startup incubation
Former Deputy Chief Technology Transfer Officer at Berkeley Lab, where she ran IP and licensing and led entrepreneurship programs like Energy I-Corps
Co-created the Cleantech to Market (C2M) program with Berkeley Haas
B.S. in Chemistry from UVA; master’s in Science, Technology & Public Policy from George Washington University
Agenda
5:30 - 6:15pm: Doors open, networking, and office hours
6:15 - 6:30pm: Welcome and opening remarks
6:30 - 7:15pm: Fireside chat, Q&A
7:15 - 8:00pm: Networking and office hours continue
🙏 Thank You to Our Sponsor
A huge thank you to Ashurst Perkins Coie for sponsoring this evening and for showing up for founders. We’re grateful to Jim and Adam for sharing their time, their expertise, and their office hours with our community.
💼 Office Hours with Jim & Adam
Want 1x1 time with the experts? Jim and Adam will hold informal office hours during the networking blocks. Sign up here: [form link]
About Ashurst Perkins Coie
Ashurst Perkins Coie’s Emerging Companies & Venture Capital lawyers advise the world’s most innovative companies and most visionary investors, from formation to exit. Their clients have raised more than $25B in private markets over the past three years, from pre-seed to growth stage. They work across AI, aerospace and defense tech, fintech, digital health, energy innovation, and more.