InnoCentive Receives Venture Capital Funding

The company also named founder Alpheus Bingham as president and chief executive officer. Bingham will retire as vice president for Lilly Research Laboratories.

InnoCentive connects scientists and science-based companies online to collaborate on complex scientific challenges. The company's virtual R&D network involves 85,000 scientists worldwide that work for companies including, Lilly, Boeing, Dow Chemical and Procter & Gamble.

Source: Inside INdiana Business

Press Release

ANDOVER, Mass., Feb. 1 -- InnoCentive today announced it has closed a $9 million Series A Preferred venture capital financing round led by Spencer Trask Ventures, Inc., a New York-based venture capital firm. Additionally, joining the round were Lilly Ventures and Omidyar Network.

It was also announced that InnoCentive founder, Alpheus Bingham, Ph.D., has been appointed as InnoCentive president and CEO, and will retire from his position as vice president for Lilly Research Laboratories, a division of Eli Lilly and Company.

"This investment is an endorsement of the strength of our global scientific network and each and every researcher who contributes to its success," said Dr. Bingham. "We are pleased to secure capital funding from Spencer Trask Ventures, a venture capital firm who believes in backing bold ideas like InnoCentive. We have chartered an aggressive growth plan for InnoCentive in the coming year and look forward to continuing to work with our business building partner, Spencer Trask, who will provide world class experience at the board level. We are grateful for their tireless efforts to help us prove and validate our open innovation model."

"InnoCentive is a pioneer in the field of open innovation and possesses a unique and compelling business model that has the potential to transform industrial R&D globally," said Stephen T. McGrath, CEO of the Redwood City, CA-based Emerging Technologies Group at Spencer Trask & Co. "This $9M round of Series A financing reflects our mission to rapidly grow new ventures that either create new markets or transform the rules of competition in existing ones."

"InnoCentive is removing the barriers of distance, specialization, and organization from the sciences, facilitating global collaboration that is driving scientific discovery," said Doug Solomon, vice president of investments at Omidyar Network. "Moreover, InnoCentive has created an efficient marketplace that allows research "seekers" to access the best ideas and research "solvers" market incentives to solve them."

"This funding reflects the attainment of key achievements for InnoCentive, its online network and its future potential," said Darren Carroll, senior managing director of Lilly Ventures and chairman of the InnoCentive board of directors. "As a founding executive of InnoCentive, I have seen the network significantly reduce financial risk for innovation-driven companies and deliver cutting-edge solutions since its inception in 2001."

InnoCentive has developed a solid global brand with their unique virtual R&D network of over 85,000 scientists spanning more than 175 countries that has greatly helped companies reduce the escalating costs required to bring products to market. InnoCentive's goal is to further advance scientific research and collaboration in worldwide markets.

About InnoCentive

InnoCentive is the first online forum that allows world-class scientists and science-based companies to collaborate in a global scientific community to achieve innovative solutions to complex challenges. Companies including Boeing, Dow Chemical, Eli Lilly and Company, Procter & Gamble and others, which collectively spend billions of dollars on R&D, post scientific problems confidentially on the InnoCentive Web site where more than 85,000 scientists and scientific organizations in more than 175 countries can solve them. Scientists who deliver solutions that best meet InnoCentive's challenge requirements receive financial awards ranging up to and over USD100,000. To learn more and to register as an InnoCentive Solver, visit the InnoCentive Web site at http://www.innocentive.com.

About Spencer Trask Ventures

Spencer Trask Ventures is a leading venture capital firm discovering ideas for the 21st century. With a network of co-investors and business leaders, Spencer Trask Ventures provides entrepreneurs with financial and intellectual capital to transform bright ideas into world-changing companies. Headquartered in New York City, Spencer Trask Ventures invests in early stage and emerging growth companies in the communications, information technology and life sciences fields. For more information please visit http://www.spencertrask.com.

About Omidyar Network

Omidyar Network is a mission-based investment group committed to fostering individual self-empowerment on a global scale. Established in June 2004 by Pierre and Pam Omidyar, the Network is founded on the simple core belief that every individual has the power to make a difference. Omidyar Network funds for-profits, nonprofits and public policy efforts that promote equal access to information, tools and opportunities; connections around shared interests; and a sense of ownership for participants. To date, Omidyar Network has created a diverse portfolio that fosters individual self-empowerment across the economic, political and social realms, with investments in areas such as microfinance, bottom-up media, open source, and transparency in government. Through its work, Omidyar Network intends to catalyze a new breed of business for which social impact directly drives profitability. To learn more about Omidyar Network and the organizations it has funded, please visit http://www.omidyar.net .

About Lilly Ventures

Lilly Ventures is the venture capital arm of Eli Lilly and Company, a leading innovation-driven pharmaceutical company. Our primary goal is to facilitate the success of companies in our areas of focus through early to expansion stage investments and value-adding resources. Lilly Ventures currently has $175 million under management and focuses on three major areas of interest: biotechnology; healthcare IT; and medical technology.

Source: InnoCentive