Abstract: The transformation of scientific research achievements has long been a challenge for governments, research institutions, and universities, with academic entrepreneurship serving as a critical pathway. In China, the success rate of academic entrepreneurship has consistently remained low, and its evolutionary path and key challenges are not well understood theoretically, while in practice, many enterprises are still struggling in their explorations. Thus, from a path evolution perspective, this research employs an embedded longitudinal single-case study to conduct exploratory research on the quantum team at the University of Science and Technology of China. The results indicate that: (1) The academic entrepreneurship process based on basic scientific research can be divided into five stages: basic science research, applied basic research, applied technology development, intermediate experimentation, and commercialization. These stages exhibit a stepwise progression and interaction, with each stage corresponding to distinct core characteristics; (2) The five stages of the academic entrepreneurship process correspond to five key challenges: insufficient research funding, shortage of R&D equipment, difficulty in securing international technology standards, inadequate exploration of application scenarios, and low knowledge heterogeneity within the executive team. This study enhances the theoretical understanding of academic entrepreneurship and offers insights for stakeholders, including universities, academic entrepreneurs, academic spin-offs, and governments.

Key words: academic entrepreneurship, technological innovation, path evolution, entrepreneurial process