OMAHA, Neb., Jan. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Innovation Accelerator Foundation (IAF) will officially announce the acquisition of the iBridge Network (www.ibridgenetwork.org), a university intellectual property marketplace originally developed by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in 2005. iBridge is one the premier university intellectual property marketplaces globally, and it is home to over 10,000 members, 22,000 innovations from over 169 universities and research organizations.

The announcement ceremony will be co-hosted by Walter Scott Jr., Chairman of the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation, a strong supporter of the project, along with Dan Neary, the chairman and CEO of Mutual of Omaha. iBridge will increase the scale and impact of scientific and technology-based innovations in the spirit of Omaha's growing business community. "We played a leadership role in bringing the Innovation Accelerator to Omaha.  The impact it has had on our innovation economy is encouraging and we're just getting started," said Dan Neary. "iBridge, for me, is infrastructure for an age of innovation" said Walter Scott, Jr.

"Increasing transparency into university sourced intellectual property serves our mission of promoting our nation's economic competitiveness," said John Pyrovolakis, the founder of Innovation Accelerator. "Collaboration with iBridge gives us an expanded infrastructure to serve government backed startups that we hope to grow into the next generation of global corporate leaders".

"The Kauffman Foundation is thrilled to hand the reigns to IAF so it can take iBridge to the next stage of growth. The IAF's work across the country is a model of incubation and collaboration that provides sound infrastructure for iBridge going forward", said Lesa Mitchell, Vice President of Innovation and Networks at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. "We have the utmost confidence that iBridge will not only be secure but also thrive with the leadership of the IAF."

About Innovation Accelerator

Innovation Accelerator (IA) http://www.innovationaccelerator.org/ is the private component of a public-private partnership with the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The goal of this partnership is to facilitate the commercialization efforts of high-technology small businesses funded by grants from the NSF SBIR program. IA-supported companies have exited, forged significant strategic partnerships, and raised substantial private financing in the last four years. In 2012, IA launched a not-for-profit Innovation Accelerator Foundation (IAF) as an extension organization to provide additional tools in supporting IA's mission of promoting America's economic competitiveness in the global economy by promoting American innovation.

About iBridge

The iBridge Network (ibridgenetwork.org), began as a pilot project in 2005 by the Kauffman Innovation Network as a web-based network for the gathering of and dissemination of innovations such as research results, reports, innovations, intellectual property, and patents. The network aggregates research materials, technologies, and discoveries on the site, providing innovation seekers with access to university-developed innovations, leading to further advances and next-generation products and services. In today's current environment, innovation and collaboration are critically important to driving economic recovery and the iBridge Network provides the tools, resources and relationship opportunities to ensure tangible outcomes. Today, it has become a global leader as an innovation catalyst with a vibrant, online community enabling universities, companies and entrepreneurs to connect, collaborate and license tomorrow's research, products and services. Many of the nation's leading research institutions utilize the iBridge Network regularly to promote, share and advance their innovations and identify appropriate partners. Since its inception, the Network has grown to over 10,000 members and hosts over 22,000 innovations from over 169 universities and research organizations.

Media Contact:
Anna Bley anna@ibridgenetwork.org
Telephone: 210-818-9178

SOURCE Innovation Accelerator Foundation