inno360: The Open Innovation Engine

Description: inno360 is the leading provider of a Software-as-a-Service platform for enterprise level open innovation. inno360 offers clients a first-of-a-kind, private cloud computing innovation engine that redefines how enterprises research, develop and source new products. inno360 enables private and public clients to dynamically define new networks of knowledge and best fit talent, and rapidly build their own proprietary innovation ecosystems. The platform includes access to millions of global innovators and leading-edge web cloud and collaboration technology.

Products: inno360 created an innovation engine that leverages a combination of new advanced search and application technologies as specifically applied to innovation. Through its early adopters, inno360 has proven the ability to compress the innovation time scale to minutes instead of months by refining requirements, locating opportunities, and qualifying best-fit experts. inno360 provides an out-of-the-box, end-to-end "Collaborative Innovation Engine" that enables customers in virtually any industry to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of innovation by synthesizing the process of finding relevant knowledge to address their problems, building and managing best fit innovation ecosystems, and leveraging best practices, and advanced collaboration for innovators, organizations, communities and companies.

Accomplishments: inno360's three founding customers are Procter & Gamble, General Mills, and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, and they serve as co-development and demonstration partners, by providing guidance to inno360 and by using the inno360 platform as the basis for their innovation programs. Each has provided annual subscription revenues as inno360 continues to build the company. Expressing their continued interest and confidence in the company, each has recently renewed their contracts with inno360.

inno360 was named a Gold Medal Winner by the internationally-known 2011 Edison Best New Product Awards in the Innovative Services Category. In addition to inno360, other gold medal winners included the Apple iPad, Chevrolet Volt, and Coca-Cola Freestyle.

Founders: inno360 was founded in 2009 by Larry Huston, ex-Innovation Officer of P&G's Connect & Develop program, and Spencer Trask Collaborative Innovations, LLC.

Financing: inno360 was initially financed by various Spencer Trask affiliates, and a financing led by Spencer Trask Ventures raised a total of $5 million in 2011.

Recent News: Inno360 Named Edison Awards Gold Medal Winner (April 7, 2011)