Video Archives

Kauffman Innovation Network, Inc.

Product Name

iBridgeSM Network

Market Segment

Enabling technology

Funding

Seed round: Grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, $1.5 million. Seeking further development capital.

Competitors

No direct competitors. Secondary competitors include UTEK, BirchBob and individual university Websites.

Product Description

Finding the missing link just got easier. The iBridgeSM Network, a non-profit entity, provides the transparency and access to university- developed innovations that will lead to further advances and next-generation products. The iBridgeSM Network aggregates research materials, technologies and discoveries into an online, easy-to-search forum. Through the iBridge Website, researchers and commercial end-users can find what they need by using community tagging and open interfaces—and then obtain the materials via e-commerce.

Market Opportunity

According to the Association of University Technology Managers, over $40 billion is spent on academic research annually, though only $1 billion makes it off of university shelves in the form of new inventions and research. Even a modest improvement in accessibility and transparency will yield huge social and economic returns.

Demo Says

No matter how great an invention or discovery, it has little value if it can’t find its way to market. Unfortunately, there are many hurdles on the road from university R&D to commercialization, not the least of which is basic awareness of new IP. The iBridgeSM Network is a much-needed open marketplace of ideas that will do much to accelerate entrepreneurship around new discoveries.