Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation

Robert Buderi 6/23/07

This innovative enterprise was created inside MIT’s School of Engineering in 2002 to provide a bridge between ideas and technologies inside MIT and outside markets. Desh Deshpande, founder of Sycamore Networks, and his wife Jaishree provided the initial funding. “Desh,” as he is widely known, is a leading thinker on innovation, and his ideas about how to avoid or fill gaps in the innovation pipeline are powerful.

The center reports that it has funded 64 projects with over $7 million in grants since its inception, and that the projects spinning out of its edifices have raised nearly $90 million in additional capital. The site includes a host of resources for entrepreneurs, covering everything from details about its grants programs to how to license technology to protecting intellectual property and launching a business.