Flowmon Spin-off Company Announced Exit. It Will Help It to Expand Abroad

The successful IT company, Flowmon Networks a.s., was developing technologies for the administration and security of computer networks. The company was founded as a university spin-off back in 2007 under the name of Invea-Tech a.s. on the basis of technology transfer from the CESNET association Masaryk University is a member of. During its existence, it has gained a strong position in the field of information technologies thanks to its quality products. It has attracted investors and started taking steps towards global expansion. To achieve this goal and gain a position overseas, all its shareholders had to exit the company in accordance with the long-term company strategy. Selling-off the company turned out to be one of the possibilities and, in the end, also the most strategic choice. The company was bought by the American company Kemp Technologies who will continue to further develop the innovative Flowmon Networks products e.g. in the USA and maintain the cooperation with universities.

Flowmon Networks has come to the exit phase during which all its shareholders (one of which is Masaryk University) support further development of the company by selling off their shares. This is the first time the university acquires financial assets by selling its spin-off company and appreciates its investment in the company,” says the director of TTO MU, Eva
Janouškovcová, who has been monitoring the company’s progress since the very beginning, regarding the sale of shares. 

“We are witness to a unique opportunity to prove that taking good care of intellectual property and applicable results together with long-term cooperation of universities and companies have their place in the academic environment. This is a unique example of the benefits technology knowledge transfer brings to the university,” said the vice-rector for development, legal and information technologies, Radim Polčák.

At Masaryk University, Flowmon collaborates with the Faculty of Informatics and the Institute of Computer Science the intellectual property of which was the subject of the transfer and the foundation of the spinoff. “Selling the shares is a natural step that helps further develop the relationship between the university and the spin-off company. We expect the close cooperation with the company to continue and develop,” says the director of the Institute of Computer Science, Luděk Matyska, on account of the future collaboration.

Flowmon Networks is one of the spinoff companies co-founded by Masaryk University. The purpose of these university spin-offs is to appreciate and make use of the university’s intellectual property. In the end, the university-founded spinoffs bring profit to all the parties involved. Thanks to these, the university increases the value of its intellectual property, the spin-off companies gain competitive advantage and, last but not least, the end product reaches the customer faster.