OLD GREENWICH, Conn., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- inno360 LLC, a leading online platform for next-generation open innovation, today announced the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has joined as a founding member its Alpha program. The US Air Force has been a leader in collaborative, open innovation since the onset of air-based weaponry. AFRL manages over $4 billion in annual R&D spending, of which 60% is spent through outside partners. inno360's Alpha program unites global pioneers to co-develop the next-generation open innovation platform.

Alok Das, Senior Scientist for Design Innovation at AFRL, says, "inno360 helps us reach out to unusual and unexpected places for breakthrough technology, so the US Air Force can continue to keep America and the world safe from threats. We have always worked in partnership with leading aerospace innovators in the private sector, but we look forward to a platform that will help us find common cause with a broader range of partners from industry and academia, including the most innovative startups and academic pioneers."

AFRL is engaging with inno360 through a unique public-private partnership with the Wright Brothers Institute (WBI). Located in Dayton OH near the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, WBI operates as a neutral place for multidisciplinary (government, industry, and academia) teams to come together in intense collaborations focused on complex problems or challenges. Using the inno360 platform, WBI will assist the AFRL to find and work with leading innovators in the US and globally.

Bart Barthelemy, Associate Director of WBI, says, "The internet was originally created for the Department of Defense as a collaboration capability. Over the years, it's become so big that we need tools to help with that collaboration. inno360 provides some of that help, and lets us use the internet for collaboration far beyond what was initially imagined."

"We're excited to welcome the AFRL into our customer community given their strategic mission, experience and commitment to open innovation," says Glenn Wienkoop, CEO of inno360. "With their rich culture of public-private collaboration and their focus on solving real-world challenges under demanding conditions, they will be valuable partners in guiding and improving our world-leading innovation platform. We look forward to working with them for years to come."

About inno360

inno360 LLC provides the leading global software and service platform for open innovation. A Member Firm of Spencer Trask Collaborative Innovations LLC (STCI), inno360 enables clients to build their own proprietary innovation ecosystems. The platform includes access to millions of global innovators and leading-edge technology. The inno360 technology assists with problem definition, Innovator Relationship Management (IRM), innovation campaigns, internal collaboration, deal management, dashboards and metrics. Together, these capabilities and communities provide an unparalleled foundation for organizations to drive top-line growth by tapping the global brain.

About Spencer Trask Collaborative Innovations LLC (STCI)

STCI is focused on a single, overarching goal -- to fundamentally change the way clients do business by embracing global, interconnected communities of intelligent, imaginative and innovative people. By channeling the raw power of human intelligence and creativity in more efficient ways, our clients seize market opportunities, create business value and drive positive societal change. We call this the 'Innovation Effect'(TM) -- driving economic growth and societal gains. Founded by visionary venture capital firm Spencer Trask & Co. and some of the world's leading visionaries and pioneers in open collaboration, STCI and its Member Firms are designed to bring the collaborative innovation revolution to fruition at the world's leading corporations, and government organizations. For more information, see www.stcinnovations.com.

SOURCE inno360 LLC