Yissum: Hebrew University's Tech Transfer Company Explained

Part of: Israeli Universities and Tech Transfer

Yissum is the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, founded in 1964 as, by its own account, the third such company in the world. It reports more than 11,500 patents, more than 200 spin-off companies and spinouts including Mobileye, OrCam, BriefCam and CollPlant. Weizmann's Yeda, founded in 1959, is older and was the first in Israel.

What does Yissum do?

Yissum handles the licenses and patents of Hebrew University researchers and employees, according to Wikipedia. The name means "to apply" in Hebrew, and its LinkedIn page says it was founded to protect and commercialize the university's intellectual property.

The company lists partners that include Novartis, Johnson and Johnson, Merck, Intel, Google, Boston Scientific and ICL, according to its Crunchbase profile.

Is Yissum the oldest tech transfer company in Israel?

Yissum is the second-oldest tech transfer company in Israel, because the Weizmann Institute's Yeda was founded in 1959 as the first in Israel and the second in the world, according to the Weizmann Institute. Yissum's own About page says it was founded in 1964 as the world's third tech transfer company.

That order matters for how the Israeli model is told. Yeda came first and Yissum followed five years later. See Olam's profiles of Weizmann and the Yeda model, Ramot and the Tel Aviv University model and BGN Technologies.

How many patents and spin-offs does Yissum have?

Yissum's reported totals depend on the source and the date, with spin-off counts ranging from 110 to more than 245.

Olam's arithmetic on the first and third rows: spin-offs rose from 110 to more than 200 in roughly nine years. The sources differ on what counts as a spin-off, and Olam has not confirmed which definition each one uses. The 2016 release also said products based on Hebrew University technologies commercialized by Yissum generated $2 billion in annual sales.

Which companies came out of Yissum?

Yissum lists Mobileye, OrCam, CollPlant, Qlight and BriefCam among its best-known spin-offs, according to the American Friends of the Hebrew University. Wikipedia adds HumanEyes, ExLibris, BioCancell and NewStem.

Mobileye is the largest by value. Intel announced on March 13, 2017 that it would acquire Mobileye for $63.54 per share in cash, an equity value of about $15.3 billion, according to the companies' joint release. Co-founder Amnon Shashua was Mobileye's chairman and chief technology officer at the time. Olam's Mobileye profile covers the company in full.

In 2015 Yissum founded a record eight companies from the university's nanoscience and nanotechnology center, then-CEO Yaacov Michlin said in the 2016 release. That year it filed 86 nanotechnology patent applications, saw 29 approved and signed 16 licensing agreements.

What is the Hebrew University research base behind Yissum?

The Hebrew University was founded in 1918 and opened in 1925, and it accounts for about a third of Israel's civilian research, according to the American Friends of the Hebrew University. The same source counts 10 Nobel Prizes and 2 Turing Awards among its laureates and ranks the university 12th worldwide in biotechnology patent filings and commercial development.

For the other major licensing franchise in Israeli academia, see Yeda's Copaxone license.

What should readers take from the Yissum record?

Yissum shows that one university office can produce a company of global scale, Mobileye, while keeping a broad licensing book underneath it. Readers comparing Israeli tech transfer offices should compare founding dates, definitions of "spin-off" and the dates behind each count, as the table above shows.

Yissum FAQ

What is Yissum?

Yissum is the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, founded in 1964. It handles the university's patents and licenses.

When was Yissum founded?

Yissum was founded in 1964 as the world's third tech transfer company, according to its website.

Is Yissum older than Yeda?

No. Yeda, the Weizmann Institute's tech transfer company, was founded in 1959 as the first in Israel and the second in the world, according to the Weizmann Institute.

What companies did Yissum spin out?

Yissum lists Mobileye, OrCam, CollPlant, Qlight and BriefCam among its best-known spin-offs, according to the American Friends of the Hebrew University.

How many spin-offs has Yissum created?

Counts range from 110 in early 2016 to more than 200 in about 2025 and over 245 on Yissum's LinkedIn page, depending on source and definition.

Part of Israeli Universities and Tech Transfer: The Founder Pipeline at the Source. Related: Weizmann and the Yeda Model, Ramot and the Tel Aviv University Model, BGN Technologies and the Negev Engine.