Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation

CATI was founded in June 2001 as a private, non-profit 501(c) 3 entity by academic, workforce development, and economic development organizations in Southeastern Wisconsin. CATI’s vision is to be a source of innovation for entrepreneurs, companies, and students seeking new opportunities by harnessing the research and development engine of U.S. industry.

At its core, CATI is a unique tech transfer model designed to leverage private industry intellectual property by acquiring late-stage technologies via out-licensing, joint venture, or donation, and matching those with the strategic strengths of the regional economy.

CATI - A Tool for Regional Economic Development

Economic development efforts across the world have undergone a substantial transformation, with growing competition causing local, regional and statewide economic development groups to focus on value-added services that distinctively position them for new wealth and tax base creation.

Economic development must remain a locally based effort, but success requires a broader vision and scope.

CATI offers a partnership model that can be leveraged to support regional and statewide economic development efforts on a number of levels:

Training and Technical Services

CATI can provide economic development staff training on integrating technology and know-how transfer as a programmatic tool for your economic development group.

CATI Regional Partnerships

CATI has launched several partnerships in cooperation with regional and statewide economic development groups interested in replicating the CATI programming model, as well as being tied into a growing national network of private industry technologies available for licensing.

The CATI Advantage

Technology Commercialization Joint Ventures with CATI

With any patent donation or joint venture opportunity, there is a need for aggressive plan and strategy for finding the appropriate match and application for the technology. CATI develops a full commercialization plan and targets existing companies for licensing opportunities, or in many cases, has formed management teams around technologies to form new ventures. To date, CATI has acquired patented technologies and entered into joint venture agreements with global companies including Kraft Foods, S. C. Johnson & Sons, International Specialty Products, and Caterpillar.

Licensing CATI Technologies

CATI has a great deal of interest in securing licensing agreements for its technologies, whether with an existing company or through the development of new ventures. This can include, but is not limited to, exclusive license agreements and examinations of the technologies. CATI licensing opportunities are primarily with late-stage technologies, which in many cases, can minimize the necessary research and development efforts required to bring the product or process to market. CATI can also make available marketplace data and strategic research associated with the licensed technologies.