Reflections from AUTM: What Tech Transfer Offices Really Need in 2026

As someone working at the intersection of AI and patents at Solve Intelligence, I arrived expecting tactical discussions about tools, leveraging data and integrating systems across universities. Instead, I left thinking about how strategy and trust are critical in the evolving landscape AI, transforming how tech transfer offices (TTOs) think about risk and reward.

Here are the themes that defined the week and why they matter.

Theme 1: Tech Transfer Offices Are Under More Pressure Than Before

Across universities, TTOs are dealing with a version of the same problem but magnified.  Disclosure volumes keep climbing (many of the people I spoke with are handling hundreds, sometimes thousands, each year across every imaginable technology area). 

At the same time, expectations around commercialization are rising. Budgets, however, aren’t; in many cases, they’re tightening, while TTO teams remain lean. TTOs are being asked to file more patents, manage prosecution, market technologies, and close licenses all without adding headcount. 

It’s no surprise that backlogs are growing and teams are stretched thin, juggling increasingly complex portfolios. 

In that kind of environment, the conversation around AI has noticeably shifted. Although this was my first AUTM, I was told that two years ago, the prevailing attitude at the event in many offices was “don’t touch AI.” Now, the tone is far more pragmatic, with many attendees acknowledging the need to understand and evaluate AI tools seriously to build their own AI literacy. Conversations were focused less on “AI in principle” and more on concrete, practical workflows.

Theme 2: AI Curiosity is High but Trust is a Significant Barrier

There was real excitement around generative AI, though this was coupled with concerns around the risk and consequences of using AI tools. To mitigate this concern, many TTO leaders were asking thoughtful questions to AI platforms, such as: 

• Where is the data stored?
• Are the documents that are uploaded protected and confidential?
• Who has access?
• Can AI outputs be relied upon in formal patent filings?
• Will this stand up to scrutiny from outside counsel and inventors?

These questions are particularly critical in university settings, where reputational risk matters and is often difficult to adjust. A single weak filing can therefore affect long-term licensing outcomes. What became clear at AUTM is that AI vendors in IP need to demonstrate security-first architecture, domain-specific training, and trustworthy and transparent outputs.

This is among the many reasons why Solve takes security very seriously. If interested, you can read more about our security practices here and visit our Solve Intelligence Trust Center.

Theme 3: The Real Bottleneck Isn’t Filing. It’s Decision-Making

TTOs continue to receive large volumes of invention disclosures from PI’s. A consistent challenge is thoroughly screening the mass amount of submissions to identify highly inventive or commercially promising technologies that may otherwise be overlooked.

In light of this, one of the most interesting conversations I heard around the conference was how AI could help with triage. Tech transfer offices were not only interested in using AI to draft patents, but to help with broader decisions including which disclosures to file? In which jurisdictions? How should the TTO allocate limited budgets?

This is where structured intelligence matters. AI can help draft faster, but it can also help analyze portfolios, compare claims, surface prior art themes, and identify white space opportunities.

Theme 4: Outside Counsel Relationships Still Matter

Many offices are rethinking their reliance on outside counsel for end-to-end patent preparation and prosecution. Instead, there is growing interest in bringing early-stage drafting work in-house, using AI tools to prepare initial specifications, claims, and initial office action responses before collaborating with outside counsel for refinement and finalisation.

In this way, the conversation around using AI for patents in TTOs was not about cutting out patent attorneys, but quite the opposite. In fact, many TTOs wanted to use AI to better collaborate with their outside counsel and create better first drafts, cleaner invention disclosures, and iterate faster with their partners. 

It was inspiring to see how higher education leaders were viewing AI as a means to strengthen collaboration between tech transfer teams and law firms, rather than replacing one or the other.

What This Means for the Future of Tech Transfer

Walking through the halls at AUTM, I was reminded that tech transfer is a critical bridge between research and real-world impact. I felt there was a tremendous opportunity to help tech transfer offices protect more innovations, make smarter filing decisions, and stretch limited budgets further.

Attendees at AUTM were incredibly passionate, open-minded, and interested in sharing best practices with one another. Everywhere I looked, people were keen to discuss the latest trends genuinely interested in learning from other offices. In fact, when I was speaking with the AUTM attendees, I even ran into an old friend, Victoria Carrington, a patent attorney at Maschoff Brennan and a classmate from high school from over a decade ago. It was a personal highlight!

Why we’re launching Solve for Higher Education

In light of these conversations, it was a perfect time and setting to share that Solve was launching a special program designed for universities, called Solve for Higher Education. 

Solve for Higher Ed is a partnership program that brings professional-grade patent AI into universities, thereby supporting legal education, experiential learning, and research commercialization with the same tools used in real-world patent practice. We also partner with tech transfer offices and academic research hubs to assist with invention harvesting, patent application drafting, and responding to office actions.

For TTOs, Solve for Higher Education includes access to Solve’s Invention Harvesting, Drafting, and Prosecution Products. Here are some of the products and features at-a-glance.

Invention Harvesting

• Custom portals to interface with inventors and simplify the invention disclosure submission phase
• Invention disclosure form creation and enhancement

Patent Application Drafting

• Full utility application drafting
• Figure editing and drafting
• Chemical structure, biological sequences and data analyses
• Full patent application review functionality

Patent Prosecution

• Full Office Action response drafting
• Rejection analysis and charting
• End-to-end custom review
• Brainstorm response strategies

Among the many benefits that this program provides, TTOs are eager to participate in this program because clinics can handle more matters with greater consistency, create highly personalized Solve templates, reduce drafting bottlenecks and external spend, and modernize IP tools without compromising on quality. 

If you or your team would like to speak with Solve about this program, email partnerships@solveintelligence.com and we’d be happy to set up a call to discuss your needs.