Our Vision is to create a better future through innovation from the University of Oxford. Everything we do aims to improve lives today and support a better tomorrow.
Every idea that changes the world starts somewhere. At Oxford, it starts with people – and the knowledge and research they create.
Our story began in 1987, when Oxford University Innovation (then Isis Innovation) was created to help the University of Oxford's ideas go further. What started as a small team working with a handful of projects has grown into a global innovation partner, built on trust, expertise, and collaboration.
In those early years, we worked closely with researchers to support a handful of new companies. However, what we were building wasn’t just activity – it was trust. Trust that ideas could move beyond the lab or paper. Trust that collaboration with partners outside the University could strengthen, not dilute, academic work. And trust that innovation could be a force for public good.
Today, we support the journey from ideas to impact across the full breadth of the University. We identify and protect intellectual property, explore licensing opportunities, support company creation and growth, and connect organisations with Oxford expertise – helping ideas move beyond discovery and into the world.
But impact doesn’t follow a single path, it’s a connected system. Licensing, company creation and growth, and consultancy – these work together in an innovation ecosystem, reinforcing and strengthening each other. A company can begin with licensed intellectual property and grow through consultancy relationships. Consultancy can open the door to new collaborations, research, and long-term partnerships. Each route builds momentum for the next, enabling ideas to succeed and scale.
Since 1987, over 350 companies have been created from Oxford knowledge and research, with the University consistently ranked first in the UK for spinout creation.
Our companies address challenges across all UN Sustainable Development Goals, reaching millions of people worldwide. At pivotal moments, this work has reached global scale. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Oxford research helped deliver a vaccine that saved millions of lives – showing what’s possible when research, licensing expertise, and partnership come together.
What makes this work sustainable is its continuity. As companies and licences succeed, the value created is reinvested back into the University – supporting new research, new ideas, and the next generation of innovators. It’s a cycle that sustains itself and grows over time.
We’ve evolved over nearly four decades, but our purpose remains the same. We’re here to make sure that great ideas don’t stop at discovery. We’re here to help them go further. Because when Oxford ideas meet the right expertise, partnerships, and ambition, they don’t just succeed – they build a better future.
UK university for spinout creation for the fourth year running
companies created since 1987
Created two £1bn Unicorns with successful sales of OrganOx and Oxford Ionics
Major contributor to UK growth with an estimated £16.9bn economic impact in 2021/22
people are already using Oxford companies’ products and services
Our teams bring experience from research, business, investment and public impact. Many work directly with Oxford researchers and staff to help ideas move from early thinking towards meaningful impact, supported by operational teams who keep OUI running smoothly behind the scenes, and guided by our Strategy Team and Board of Directors.
We exist to help Oxford-born ideas make a positive difference to the economy, people and the planet. Discover how our Theory of Change approach supports our Vision by turning ideas into impact.
We’d love to hear from you. Whether you have a question, want to explore working with us, or have feedback to share, our team is here to help.
