Laval’s Planbox, which offers an idea-to-product innovation management platform for companies, is acquiring its Victoria, BC-based competitor, IdeaConnection.

The purchase joins two teams in a rapidly-growing market for software solutions. These services enable companies to streamline their innovation efforts and turn ideas into products.

“The global collaboration between public and private organizations all across the world to defeat this health pandemic is a great example of what can be achieved when the world’s best minds come together to solve a problem,” said Planbox CEO Ludwig Melik. “IdeaConnection has built its business on establishing the most impressive network of expert knowledge over the last decade based on this premise. Now, by combining IdeaConnection with Planbox, we are launching a unique innovation platform AND marketplace.”

Planbox acquires IdeaConnection

Planbox also has offices just outside of Philadelphia, and in Portsmouth, England. The tech company helps companies identify and develop ideas, turning them into products. Its technology provides powerful AI-enabled collaboration tools that help large companies innovate more efficiently. The company already has corporate clients like CIBC, Sun Life Financial and Verizon.

The acquisition marks Planbox’s fourth acquisition in five years. It will give Planbox customers access to IdeaConnection’s global network of 20,000 experts in fields like healthcare, engineering, big data and AI. Those experts compete to find solutions for problems posed by companies in exchange for cash rewards.

According to Planbox, the combination of the two firms “creates a game-changing Canadian innovation solution for businesses and it arrives just as swathes of industries like aviation and hospitality are being forced to innovate or collapse.”

Planbox’s AI-powered agile innovation management suite is for all sized companies, trusted by some of the world’s most recognized brands. Planbox’s cloud-based platform provides powerful tools to automate information discovery from internal and external sources, and enables companies to innovate consistently and experiment smartly within an ecosystem of employees, customers, strategic partners, universities, R&D problem-solvers and startups.

Crowdsourced problems turning ideas into products

IdeaConnection gives companies, large and small, access to the thousands of professionals eager to tackle difficult challenges. They do this through Prize-based theoretical problem solving, crowdsourcing, technology scouting and technical challenge writing.

Since 2007, IdeaConnection has worked with clients like Bayer, Fujitsu, Kraft, Magna, Nike, Pfizer, PepsiCo, Syngenta and Wrigley. The company helps these large brands run confidential challenges with pre-screened candidates under NDA.

Teams of experts develop solutions and alleviate the burden on the client. According to IdeaConnection, clients get a platform for solving critical path problems quickly. It de-risks a part of the discovery and research stages of problem-solving and new innovation activities.

Head to MTLinTECH for all your tech and startup news in Montreal!