Building a company from Harvard University
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Harvard University entrepreneurship
Harvard supports student and alumni ventures through the Innovation Labs and commercializes university research through the Office of Technology Development.
Online destinations
Find Harvard University online
Where to find this organization online, grouped by who runs each page. A link here does not mean the organization controls it.
Official links
Pages the organization runs itself.
Startup and research standing
Where Harvard University stands
- in PitchBook University Rankings: Female Founders
- #3
- 2026
- alumni founders, 265 companies
- 274
- 2026
- raised by those companies
- $11.6B
- 2026
- university rankings list it
- 12 of 13
- Rankings ledger
| Ranking | Edition | Position | Since last edition | Trust | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Academic Ranking of World Universities | 2026 | #1 | No change | A | Research, Prestige |
 CWUR World University Rankings (Global 2000 List) | 2026 | #1 | No change | B | Research, Prestige, Talent |
 PitchBook University Rankings: MBA Founders | 2026 | #1 | No change | B | Activity, Talent, Ecosystem |
 SCImago Institutions Rankings | 2026 | #1 | No change | A | Research, Innovation, Prestige |
 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities | 2026-2027 | #1 | No change | B | Research, Prestige |
 Nature Index Research Leaders | 2026 | #2 | Down 1 | B | Research |
| PitchBook University Rankings: Graduate Founders | 2026 | #2 | No change | B | Activity, Talent, Ecosystem |
| PitchBook University Rankings: Female Founders | 2026 | #3 | No change | B | Activity, Talent, Ecosystem |
| PitchBook University Rankings: Undergraduate Founders | 2026 | #3 | No change | B | Activity, Talent, Ecosystem |
 QS World University Rankings | 2027 | #5 | No change | B | Prestige, Research, Talent, Performance |
 Times Higher Education World University Rankings | 2026 | =5 | Down 2 | B | Research, Prestige, Performance, Innovation |
 Financial Times Global MBA Ranking | 2026 | #10 | Up 3 | B | Prestige, Performance, People |
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Your way in
Turning research into a company
Research groups at Harvard University and the programs that fund spinouts.
Finding Harvard University startups early
Other ways in Students, Scouts
Starting something as a student
Scouting Harvard University teams
Connected organizations
Around Harvard University
01Research
Faculties, labs and teams
Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard UniversityUniversity, since 2013
Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard UniversityUniversity, since 2021
Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership InitiativeUniversity, since 2017
CAUSALabUniversity, since 2021
COVID-19 Rapid Response Systems Summer InstituteUniversity, since 2020
CURE Program (Harvard Cancer Consortium)University, since 2002
02Community
Student and founder groups
Harvard Extension School Global Development Practice Student SocietyCommunity, since 2023
Harvard University Alumni Affairs and Development (AA&D)Community
Harvard-Radcliffe Society of Physics StudentsCommunity
Institute for Climate Sound & SocietyCommunity, since 2024
Overview
Harvard Innovation Labs operates the Student i-lab, Alumni Launch Lab, and Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab. The Student i-lab is open to matriculated students across Harvard's 13 schools and offers stage-based support for exploring ideas, customer discovery, prototyping, venture building, mentoring, office hours, and funding opportunities. The Life Lab provides wet-lab and coworking space for life-science ventures.
Harvard's Office of Technology Development manages intellectual property and supports commercialization of faculty research through licensing and, when appropriate, startup formation. These are distinct pathways: i-lab participation is venture support, while the Office of Technology Development manages university technology commercialization.
Sources
Ranked near Harvard University in PitchBook University Rankings: Female Founders
Similar universities
| # | University | Founders | Companies | Raised | Raised per company |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California, Berkeley | 345 | 342 | $10.2B | |
| 2 | Stanford University | 307 | 296 | $10.8B | |
| 3 | Harvard UniversityThis page | 274 | 265 | $11.6B | |
| 4 | Cornell University | 254 | 244 | $8.3B | |
| 5 | University of Pennsylvania | 229 | 222 | $4.9B | |
| 6 | New York University | 180 | 177 | $3.2B | |
| 7 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 178 | 176 | $6B | |
| 8 | Columbia University | 153 | 150 | $3.4B |
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From public sources
What the sources say about Harvard University
Harvard Innovation Labs describes student and alumni ventures across three labs and several industries.
Source: Harvard Innovation LabsHarvard Innovation Labs has a membership route for students across all 13 Harvard schools.
Source: Harvard Innovation LabsHarvard OTD names two technology accelerator programs used to de-risk technologies for partnering.
Source: Startup FormationHarvard OTD reports 100+ recent startups tied to Harvard innovations and substantial collective equity financing.
Source: Startup FormationThe OTD route explicitly covers licensing, startup investment, and sponsored research inquiries.
Source: Industry & InvestorsHarvard OTD offers a single entry point for industry and investor engagement.
Source: Industry & Investors
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