Financing, Ownership, and the Long-Term Trajectories of University Spin-Offs in Quebec, 1976-2025

University spin-offs (USOs) are widely promoted as vehicles for converting publicly funded research into economic activity and supporting regional development. However, their long-term financing, ownership and outcomes have been much less studied than the factors that foster their creation and early growth. Drawing on company records and documented financing transactions, this article reconstructs the trajectories of 345 spin-offs originating from university research in Quebec between 1976 and 2016, tracked through 2025. It examines the changes in the institutional and geographical composition of their financing and how these factors relate to subsequent outcomes, including changes in ownership and acquisitions. The support of public institutions is crucial during the early stages of development, while private and foreign financing become increasingly important for USOs that reach later stages of development, particularly after a decade of operation. Nearly two-thirds of acquisitions result in the transfer of ownership to foreign corporations. These results suggest that although public financing of USOs can contribute to bringing university technologies to the market, their eventual ownership and location of activities do not necessarily correspond to the regional and national economic development objectives that underly public intervention.