In 1935, The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UT) was founded as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, that promotes the commercialization of UT intellectual property, encourages an entrepreneurial culture, contributes to state and regional economic development, and promotes research and education to benefit the people of Tennessee and beyond.

The Foundation was reorganized in 2003 as the UT Research Foundation, moving from agricultural inventions to modern research in biology, chemistry, pharmaceuticals and alternative energy.