The same principles that brought us here, now serving deep techs and companies that want to innovate with science.
We embrace our clients and assign a dedicated Personal Advisor to every project.
All-in-one: a solution designed around the startup's or company's need, from management to fundraising.
Information exchanged with legal safeguards from the very first conversation.
We translate the language of the market for the startup, and the language of science for the company.
Two pillars that connect science and market in complementary directions.
For researchers and science-based startups
We help startups born in university environments — often led by researchers with no business experience — structure themselves as investable businesses, with professional management and access to public funding (PIPE-FAPESP, Finep and others) and private capital.
For companies that need to innovate
We identify companies' innovation needs and find solutions in universities and research institutes — through contract R&D or by creating/funding a startup — enabling innovation without the costs and risks of in-house R&D.
Pillar 1 · Structuring University Deep Techs
Four management fronts that a scientific startup's technical team usually lacks, delivered as a single solution.
For technical founders without management experience: mastering new business areas, structuring and executing strategy, governance to make the startup investable.
Product and service development, building and structuring partnerships with research institutes, project management and technical documentation.
Financial feasibility and market analysis, strategic positioning and competition, sales planning, marketing and branding.
Proposal writing for FAPESP, Finep and similar agencies; connections with private investors, Private Equity and Venture Capital.
Pillar 2 · Open Innovation for Companies
Much of Brazil's research capacity sits in universities and science and technology institutes — with labs, researchers and results ready to become products. What companies lack is a safe path to that knowledge. 4 Trade Tech builds that path: it turns the company's innovation need into a technology demand, finds who can solve it, and structures the execution, funding and intellectual property arrangement.
The result is innovation with shared costs, diluted technical risk and access to capabilities that would take years to build in-house.
I want to innovate with science
The company commissions research and development directly from a research group or institute. Recommended when the need is well defined and the goal is a specific technical result, with the company owning or licensing what is generated.
We create or fund a startup to develop the solution, with the company as client, investor or strategic partner. Recommended when the technology can serve other markets and there is interest in capturing value beyond in-house use.
Institute and company develop together, with public co-funding through FAPESP's PITE or PIPE-TC and Finep. Recommended when the research still needs to mature and the company wants to take part in development from the start.
Universities and companies speak different languages: timelines, incentives, ways of measuring success and intellectual property rules rarely match. Without someone to translate both sides, promising projects die in the contract or in integration. That is why integration is gradual: we give the cultures time to align before the technology enters the client's operations.
Open innovation in practice, from diagnosis to integration — in four steps.
The client identifies an innovation or competitiveness need.
4TT locates the solution in universities, institutes and research groups.
Contract R&D or creation/funding of a dedicated startup.
Time to align cultures between startup and client, avoiding conflict.
Brazil has research capacity; what is missing is funding to execute new projects. FAPESP offers different instruments for different configurations of actors. The instrument follows from the arrangement, not the other way around.
Complex, broad-scope, long-term scientific research.
Technology developed by a small technology-based company.
A company needs to absorb knowledge originating in a research institute.
A PIPE technology already exists and private investment comes in.
Institute and company develop the innovation jointly, with co-funding.
Amounts and rules must be read according to FAPESP's current regulations and, where applicable, the specific call. Intellectual property is structured before submission, not after approval. 4TT also prepares proposals for Finep and other funding agencies.
Universities, research institutes, funding agencies and companies we have built projects with.
"I am very grateful to have found 4Trade Tech for our brand development needs. Their team provided innovative, creative concepts perfectly aligned with our business goals, and their marketing strategies were effective in driving customer engagement and loyalty. The database-integrated marketing concepts were a game changer for our business, and I strongly recommend their services to anyone looking for a dynamic, effective brand development consultancy."
"4Trade Tech's business management expertise is unmatched. Their team gave us invaluable insights and guidance in developing our IT projects, and their technology partnerships were key in helping us grow. The team is highly professional, reliable and always goes above and beyond to deliver exceptional results. I recommend 4Trade Tech to anyone looking for a top-tier business consultancy that delivers on its promises."
"I had the pleasure of working with 4Trade Tech on a technology partnership project, and I must say their team exceeded my expectations. They paid attention to every detail, communicated effectively throughout the process and delivered results that went beyond. Impressive. Their expertise in IT and mobility projects was evident in the quality of their work, and I would not hesitate to recommend their services to anyone in need of a reliable business consultancy."
"Working with 4Trade Tech was a game changer for my business. Their team provided valuable insights and expertise in developing our IT projects, which helped us streamline operations and improve overall efficiency. They were also instrumental in creating a comprehensive brand, a project perfectly aligned with our marketing goals. I recommend 4Trade Tech to anyone looking for a reliable, professional business consultancy."
A lab-validated technology is not yet a business. The difference between deep techs that raise capital and those left behind usually lies in the narrative — and it has to exist before going to market or applying for funding.
The invisible error affecting 50% of deep techs.
Communication is not finishing; it is infrastructure.
They combined deep tech with a solid 5-to-10-year market narrative.
The time to invest in communication is before going to market or applying for funding.
Analyses on funding, university deep techs and open innovation — what we learn structuring projects between science and market. Selected articles are available in English; the full collection is in Portuguese.
The instrument follows from the arrangement between company, institute and startup — not the other way around. A practical guide to get the start right.
The invisible error affecting half of university deep techs: twelve slides about the molecule and none about the customer.
Contract R&D, dedicated startup or institute–company cooperation — when each makes sense.
One newsletter a month with the essentials on funding, deep tech and open innovation (in Portuguese). No spam; unsubscribe anytime.
Two addresses in São Paulo: one downtown and one inside the University of São Paulo's innovation ecosystem.
Inova USP Office
Av. Prof. Lúcio Martins Rodrigues, 370A technology that needs to become a company, a company that needs technology, or a project that needs the right funding arrangement. We start by understanding your case.