Tech Push Meets Market Pull
The Secret to Launching Deep Tech Ventures That Matter
In the world of innovation, there’s a common failure mode we see again and again:
A brilliant technology is discovered in a lab.
A startup is formed to commercialize it.
Years pass, millions are spent…
And no one buys it.
Why? Because no one needed it.
This is the classic “tech push” trap—and it's especially common in university and R&D ecosystems. A powerful technical capability is identified, but the market fit is an afterthought. The result: solutions in search of problems.
At MIT Proto Ventures, we’ve built our entire venture studio model to avoid this trap—and replace it with a deliberate balance between tech push and market pull.
What Do We Mean by “Tech Push” and “Market Pull”?
Tech Push = Starting with a novel invention or capability and looking for a use case.
Market Pull = Starting with a real, validated customer need and looking for a solution.
Neither on its own is sufficient. Tech push without pull leads to cool demos that no one pays for. Market pull without tech leads to shallow products and copycat startups.
Breakthrough ventures need both.
Why Deep Tech Is Especially Vulnerable
Deep tech startups are born from cutting-edge science: advanced materials, fusion diagnostics, bio-fabrication, quantum computing. These ventures often begin with technology that is genuinely novel—but that doesn’t guarantee someone wants to buy it.
Compounding the issue:
Many researchers aren’t in touch with market signals
Many entrepreneurs lack access to scientific frontier breakthroughs
Many institutions don’t have a structure for matching tech with unmet needs
This is where R&D Venture Studios shine.
Our Process: Balancing the Equation
At MIT Proto Ventures, we work at the intersection of tech push and market pull. Here’s how:
Technology Scouting
We scan the labs for overlooked inventions, novel datasets, and latent capabilities—whether or not they’ve been disclosed to MIT’s Tech Licensing Office.Market Needs Discovery
In parallel, we interview dozens of executives, funders, investors, and industry experts to identify white-space needs. We ask: What’s broken in your industry? What’s missing from your solution stack?Synthesis
Only then do we match technology with need. We’re not force-fitting a technology into a market. We’re finding the right context where a breakthrough will be transformative.Iteration
We refine both the problem and the solution, often pivoting as we learn more. Many of our best ventures are combinations of multiple capabilities—not a single invention.
Case in Point: Vertical Horizons
One of our most promising ventures — Vertical Horizons — builds power supply units for AI data centers that are more efficient and compact.
The underlying tech? A new way of producing gallium nitride semiconductor power devices developed in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science.
What made it a venture?
Market pull.
The founders talked with hundreds of industry experts discovered a critical industry need: new power supply units that would make it possible to boost server rack density to hundreds of kilowatts or even a megawatt. Data centers are desperate for solutions—and nobody could deliver.
That convergence — latent MIT technology + urgent market need — is where venture opportunity lives.
Why This Model Works
We don’t force every idea to be a company.
We don’t start with a company and then look for IP.
We let the market and the tech co-evolve.
That’s why our ventures have real traction. They aren’t just academic curiosities—they’re answers to critical questions the world is asking right now.
Final Thought
Deep tech entrepreneurship is not about choosing between science and markets. It’s about designing ventures where each strengthens the other.
That’s the power of an R&D venture studio. And that’s why balancing tech push and market pull is our north star.
Next in our series: “From Fusion Labs to Orbit – How Embedded Venture Builders Create Unexpected Startups.”