Open-innovation platform gets funded

We've been covering "wisdom of crowds" markeplaces and predictive markets a lot at Vator.tv as they've emerged as areas of investment interest. Moreover, Vator.tv's competitions are, in a way, an open platform for organizers, investors or schools to find hot startups. So, when I saw that InnoCentive received $6.5 million in new funding, I had to post this. InnoCentive is a marketplace for solving scientific problems. Spencer Trask Ventures led the round, with Omidyar Network and Eli Lilly & Co. rounding out the remainder of the funding, according to PEHub. On InnoCentive, the community solves the problems. Companies post their problems or challenges in an RFP (request for proposal) format and participants can receive cash awards of up to $1,000,000 for winning solutions to problems in math, entrepreneurship and chemistry, etc. In this video, watch another open-innovation marketplace called Hubdub. Essentially, Hubdub lets people predict on the outcome of news, such as the presidential elections. While the two companies are very different. It's clear that businesses that tap into the wisdom of the many to find solutions or derive the most accurate predictions are gaining traction in the private sector. For our Vator Box show on predictive markets, click here.