How Caltech’s Fred Farina Is Creating a Haven for Research-Driven Startups on Campus

Minnie Ingersoll
Minnie Ingersoll is a partner at TenOneTen and host of the LA Venture podcast. Prior to TenOneTen, Minnie was the COO and co-founder of $100M+ Shift.com, an online marketplace for used cars. Minnie started her career as an early product manager at Google. Minnie studied Computer Science at Stanford and has an MBA from HBS. She recently moved back to L.A. after 20+ years in the Bay Area and is excited to be a part of the growing tech ecosystem of Southern California. In her space time, Minnie surfs baby waves and raises baby people.
How Caltech’s Fred Farina Is Creating a Haven for Research-Driven Startups on Campus
Courtesy of Fred Farina

On this episode of the LA Venture podcast, Caltech’s Chief Innovation and Partnerships Officer Fred Farina discusses how the university converts fundamental research into new technology and supports developing startups.


Farina has been at Caltech for over 20 years, where he now oversees the Office of Tech Transfer, which is responsible for laying the groundwork for transitioning research into real-world applications. Set up in 1995, the department works on everything from patents and licensing to building a team and creating the infrastructure to support fledgling businesses.

“It’s not like we would cold call companies and try to sell patents… because of the early-stage nature of what we do,” he said. “Instead, focus has been on startups and all the programs that help get technologies more mature and more attractive for a VC, basically, to invest in the [technology] and form a company around it.”

Many of these early initiatives lack the real-world application proofing that venture capital firms are looking for before they invest, Farina said. To get these young companies over the hump, the school has proof-of-concept or “gap” funding that it distributes from the Rothenberg Innovation Initiative, to help researchers prove their ideas’ commercial potential. To help researchers “de-risk” those concepts, Caltech also offers an “Entrepreneurs in Residence” program.

Farina also helped set up The Caltech Fund and the Wilson Hill Fund, both of which provide seed funding to transform research into companies. Both funds provide between $500K and $1.5 million in seed funding for early-stage companies coming out of Caltech.

“A lot of the time, many of these projects are still not ready because…you need business people, as well as technical people and scientists, engineers. You need a plan. You need a polished pitch deck and all that stuff,” Farina said.

The next step has been to create an incubator, a space for funding recipients to work on their projects close to campus.

“The idea is to create the excitement around startups in our location that's, you know, in one place so that 5, 6, 7 startups can be in the same place and build on that excitement,” he said. Ultimately, the goal is to incubate companies ”for two years before they go out and, hopefully, then stay in Pasadena, rather than leave for the Bay Area or Boston or other areas.”

Caltech research and patents have played a major role in everything from DNA sequencing, to heavy-lift drone technology, to camera phones, among other technologies. Through NASA, Caltech also manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which researches the exploration of space.

Quantum science and computing are another area of technology that is quickly growing out of the institution. Caltech partners with Amazon Web Services to develop quantum computing hardware and software, Farina said, adding that that partnership has greatly helped foster Caltech’s startup ecosystem, providing recent graduates with high-quality jobs.

“What I'm excited about is that, for the first time, we have a large company basically on campus doing work that matches what Caltech wants to do in terms of fundamental aspects, and with potential really deep impact on society,” he added.

dot.LA editorial intern
Kristin Snyder contributed to this post.

Click the link above to hear the full episode, and subscribe to LA Venture on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast is produced by LA Venture. The views and opinions expressed in the show are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of dot.LA or its newsroom.

Subscribe to our newsletter to catch every headline.

From AI to Layoffs, Here's Why College Grads No Longer Want Tech Jobs

Lon Harris
Lon Harris is a contributor to dot.LA. His work has also appeared on ScreenJunkies, RottenTomatoes and Inside Streaming.
From AI to Layoffs, Here's Why College Grads No Longer Want Tech Jobs
Evan Xie

A new report in Bloomberg suggests that younger workers and college graduates are moving away from tech as the preferred industry in which to embark on their careers. While big tech companies and startups once promised skilled young workers not just the opportunity to develop cutting-edge, exciting products, but also perks and – for the most talented and ambitious newcomers – a relatively reliable path to wealth. (Who could forget the tales of overnight Facebook millionaires that fueled the previous dot com explosion? There were even movies about it!)

Read moreShow less

New Study Reveals Which Forces Are Driving Electric Vehicle Adoption

David Shultz

David Shultz reports on clean technology and electric vehicles, among other industries, for dot.LA. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Outside, Nautilus and many other publications.

New Study Reveals Which Forces Are Driving Electric Vehicle Adoption
Photo by Jannes Glas on Unsplash

The state of California wants 100% of new passenger vehicles sales to be fully electric by 2035. Last year, the state hit a nation-leading 16%. That’s pretty good, but 84% is still a long way to go.

A new study, published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, investigates which factors have been responsible for the rise in new EV sales nationally. The findings indicate that consumers are increasingly likely to choose an electric vehicle, and nearly all of the gains can be explained simply by improving technologies.

Read moreShow less

Colleen Wachob On Navigating Her Wellness Journey As An Entrepreneur

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Colleen Wachob On Navigating Her Wellness Journey As An Entrepreneur
Courtesy of Behind Her Empire

On this episode of Behind Her Empire, mindbodygreen co-founder and co-CEO Colleen Wachob shares her perspective on managing stress and navigating self-worth as an entrepreneur and the importance of celebrating the wins in your business.

Read moreShow less
RELATEDEDITOR'S PICKS
LA TECH JOBS
interchangeLA
Trending