NineSigma Welcomes iBridge Network to Innovation Alliance Program

CLEVELAND, OH--(Marketwire - July 30, 2008) - NineSigma, the leading provider of open innovation solutions, today announced that iBridge(SM) Network, a program of the Kauffman Innovation Network, Inc., has joined the company's Innovation Alliance Program. iBridge Network is a not-for-profit initiative that uses its Web site to provide understandable and searchable access to innovations developed by university and other not-for-profit research labs. NineSigma and the Network will work together to help connect industry leaders with the research and innovations produced inside the country's colleges and universities.

"Many innovations that are created or researched on university campuses never make it beyond the universities' walls," said Laura Dorival Paglione, director of iBridge Network. "Universities and their technology transfer offices have only so much bandwidth and cannot focus on marketing everything that is happening on their campuses. At iBridge Network, we feel that part of open innovation is making sure that these innovations are available and accessible to potential partners and commercial opportunities. We are constantly looking to enhance supply and demand for our network, and NineSigma will provide another way to connect our members and those seeking innovations with likeminded people and organizations."

With more than 1 million members, NineSigma's Innovation Alliance Program is the largest global network of scientists and technologists representing a variety of countries, disciplines and industries. The network is part of NineSigma's worldwide network of solution providers that respond to NineSigma's Requests for Proposals and Solutions on behalf of Global 1000 companies.

iBridge Network currently has 39 U.S. university members, including the entire University of California system, the University of Pittsburgh, University of Arizona and Columbia University. The organization's web site currently lists more than 3,000 innovations divided into several categories, including physical sciences, information technology and life sciences. The site's built-in upload tool allows member universities and partners to post new innovations that are searched by thousands of people each month.

"iBridge Network and Kauffman are providing a valuable service to innovators and researchers within our nation's universities, and we look forward to working together to broaden the scope and reach of their network," said Charles Brez, vice president, Innovation Alliances for NineSigma, Inc. "At NineSigma, our focus is on helping our clients resolve their technology challenges, and the iBridge Network has thousands of possible innovations that could provide solutions. We are confident that we will find a number of synergies between solution providers and innovation seekers that will lead to further advances and next-generation products."

About iBridge Network

The iBridge(SM) Network is a program of the Kauffman Innovation Network, Inc., an initiative of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City. To learn more, visit www.iBridgeNetwork.org, e-mail us at info@iBridgeNetwork.org, or call 800-573-5136. More information about the Kauffman Foundation is available at www.kauffman.org.

About NineSigma

NineSigma partners with Global 1000 companies to help transform their innovation capabilities and overcome business and technology challenges by connecting them with solutions not readily available in the public domain. NineSigma's proprietary process for Open Innovation enables companies to dramatically improve speed to market while lowering product development costs. NineSigma's open network of innovators is the largest of its kind and spans industries, geographies and technical disciplines. Companies such as DuPont, GlaxoSmithKline, Kraft, P&G, Philips, Unilever and Xerox engage NineSigma to build new innovation capabilities that leverage research and innovation globally to deliver greater value to their customers. NineSigma is a private company with offices in the United States, Belgium and Japan. For more information visit: www.ninesigma.com.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Dan Dyer 513-478-7818 iBridge Network Contact: Samantha Lasky 202-249-0235