BOSTON, March 7, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- What would you do with plastic batteries or silver ink pens that write electric circuits?
A private equity firm that invests in university-derived inventions, Allied Minds, Inc. today announced the creation of AlliedMindStorm.com, an open innovation website that invites the public (Thinkers) to brainstorm new commercial applications around exciting technologies (Challenges) developed by researchers at universities across the country. Any "Thinker" whose specific application of the technology results in a new startup will receive $25,000. In addition, smaller prizes will be given out for best-in-class suggestions.
"Allied MindStorm represents the manifestation of our firm's mission: we want a diverse community of people working together to transform invention into innovation," Allied Minds CEO Chris Silva said. "Although our primary goal is to create new businesses based around the best suggestions we receive, our ultimate motivation is changing the way the public thinks about how technology evolves from an idea into a commercial application."
Hundreds of American universities market thousands of technology inventions to investment firms each year. Many of these are technologies with obvious commercial uses. Some of the most ambitious and intriguing research, however, gets passed over because of too many unanswered question about what is the best application to develop a sustainable product or service. Allied MindStorm.com is the first crowdsourcing platform within the institutional investment industry designed to answer these questions in order to commercialize research more efficiently.
One of the first participants to join Allied MindStorm, Katherine Gordon, managing director of Brown University's Technology Ventures Office, said, "The decision regarding which application to pursue first is a complex and important one. Allied Minds is creating an entirely new way for universities to make this decision, while showcasing their most interesting research, but also improving them through open collaboration."
To protect university intellectual property, Allied Minds only posts non-confidential information and forgoes rights to any IP generated from Allied MindStorm.com. There are no costs for universities or the public to participate.
The first four technologies featured on Allied MindStorm.com include:
- Paper-Thin Plastic Battery Mash-up – Brown University
- Resurrecting 4,000,000,000-Year-Old Enzymes – Columbia University
- Super Silk – Tufts University
- Silver-ink Pens that Write Circuits – University of Illinois
About Allied MindStorm
AlliedMindStorm.com is an open innovation platform designed to advance university research toward commercialization. The site posts regular challenges for creative minds to identify the best applications for the boldest technologies. Aside from flexing their brainpower, participants have a chance to win money and/or a consulting role from Allied Minds. www.alliedmindstorm.com
The Allied MindStorm logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11941
About Allied Minds
Allied Minds is a private equity-funded innovation company that forms, funds, manages and builds startups based on early-stage technology developed at renowned U.S. universities and national labs. Allied Minds serve as a diversified holding company that supports its businesses with capital, management and shared services and is the premier firm to utilize this novel and fully-integrated approach to technology commercialization. www.alliedminds.com/about.