Microsoft Celebrates 5 Years of Successful IP Investments in Start-Ups

The Microsoft Intellectual Property Licensing program is not the only initiative through which the company shares its wealth of innovation with third-party companies. Five years ago, the software giant debuted the IP Ventures Program, making the first step toward opening up its intellectual property dowry to start-ups. Earlier this week, the Redmond company celebrated the fifth anniversary of the IP Ventures Program, noting that the initiative continued to successfully fuel new business opportunities for emerging companies.

“When you’re dealing with new technologies and there aren’t established players, it lends itself to starting new ventures and creating tangible job opportunities around the IP,” Sharieff Mansour, the director of the IP Ventures Program, stated. “IP Ventures works with entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to get those technologies to market quickly. The program also serves as a vehicle for the venture capitalist community to work with us in a meaningful way.”

Microsoft has reserved immense financial resources for its Research and Development efforts. This year alone, the company will fuel its R&D division with no less than $9 billion. A direct consequence of the investments it makes in research is the fact that its intellectual property assets are growing considerably year over year. Through the IP Ventures Program, Microsoft is choosing to leverage its IP by investing it in start-ups.

Since the program was introduced, eight companies have taken advantage of what Microsoft has to offer. According to the “Microsoft's IP Ventures” study from the Harvard Business School, the majority of the emerging companies that jumped on the “IP for equity” bandwagon from the software giant are faring quite well.

A Microsoft spokesperson highlighted the most successful examples of the IP Ventures Program for Softpedia:

“- Zumobi, a mobile media company that creates innovative applications which run on next generation smartphones and ‘Superphones.’ The Zumobi business plan was built around new Microsoft technology that enabled a cutting-edge interface for consuming applications on a mobile phone. The company has evolved alongside a rapidly changing market to become one of the largest networks of mobile media on phones, having built the official mobile apps for MSNBC, the Today Show, Xbox, American Idol, and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“- Seattle-based companies Sabi Inc. and Inrix. Sabi is a children’s learning game company founded in November 2008 that has launched two reading and creative thinking games based on cutting-edge drawing recognition technology, and Inrix, which provides reports and predicts traffic conditions for commuters.

“- Several companies outside the U.S. Among the standouts are Toronto-based PlanetEye which uses an advanced content platform to enable consumers and clients to build compelling travel websites; Ireland-based Zignals, which today celebrated the commercial launch of its online service set to transform investing for the active trader; and Dublin-based InishTech, which provides licensing and protection services to software publishers and developers.”